Erroll Garner’s Swinging Lines on “I’ll Remember April” (LOTW #135)
Erroll Garner swings in a league of his own on his famous recording “Concert by the Sea.” He treads the line between bebop and swing, and his chromatic and adventurous lines lead him to new destinations every time! https://youtu.be/iprk9P7g8is CLICK HERE TO GET A TRANSCRIPTION OF THE LICK If you have questions or suggestions for […]
Keith Jarrett’s Ballad Stylings on “Danny Boy” (LOTW #134)
Keith Jarrett interprets the traditional Irish Ballad “Danny Boy” with a personal touch at this Tokyo solo concert from 2002. He uses voicings that you don’t hear every day, some including major 9ths and passing tones. Note how he throws in his personal flair with a reharmonization in the 5th bar! When compared to Bill […]
LOTW #133 – Bill Evans’ Rubato Stylings on “Danny Boy”
Bill Evans interprets the traditional ballad “Danny Boy” showcasing his elegant piano style and beautiful voicings. Note how he presents the melody with advanced harmonies and splits the voicings between two hands with the flexibility to maintain the melody. Bill Evans shows his mastery in this recording, the rest of this track is definitely worth […]
JPS Ep:144 – Improve Your Modal Playing in 10 Minutes with “The Coltrane Scale”
This quick tool will give you a new way to think about improvising in a modal jazz setting that can take your playing to the next level! In this podcast lesson, we look at how to use the “Coltrane Scale” to improvise in a variety of harmonic settings that will give you access to a sound you may have heard, but never thought would come out of your own hands!
JPS Ep:143 – Piano Warmup: “The Rachmaninoff Exercise”
Sometimes people ask me, ‘what do you put in your warmup routine?’ Here is a quick exercise you can do every time you sit down to play the piano that will get your hands warm, and work to build facility and ease into your technique. The more you do it, the easier it gets! Try out “The Rachmaninoff Exercise” and see how you like it!
Burning Oscar Peterson Lick (LOTW #136)
Oscar Peterson is undoubtedly one of the most burning piano players out there. What is his secret? If we look at this lick from “Softly as in a Morning Sunrise,” we can notice by putting it on the keyboard that it actually fits in the hand very naturally. While it is certainly virtuosic, it is […]
JPS Ep:142 – 12 Ingredients For Jazz Piano Success
It’s hard to be honest with ourselves. What do we know, and what do we NEED to know? What do we NOT know…we don’t know! Confusing…I know…but hopefully these 12 CRUCIAL ingredients to jazz piano success will allow you to have a clear picture of everything you need in order to become a successful jazz pianist. I shouldn’t say everything you need, but at least the most important things you need. Let’s just say…without these 12 ingredients, you will not be able to reach the level you’re hoping for. So with that being said…let’s start learning!
Jazz Fusion: The Electric, Rock-Infused Cousin of Jazz
Of course we’re talking about… As an American art form, jazz has continually evolved to absorb elements of the culture and technology around it. Jazz had progressed from its Dixieland roots in New Orleans into the swing tradition of the 30’s, bebop in the 40’s to hard bop, modal, and cool jazz styles of the […]
JPS Ep:141 – How To Integrate Jazz Extensions Into Your Voicings
I get this question a lot, and that is… “Brenden, how do I integrate extensions into my voicings?” Well most of the time you’ll here upper structure triads brought up immediately. In this episode I would like to go a step further and teach you some easy strategies you can use to extract SPECIFIC colors from your voicings by integrating the extensions of your choice! Here we go!
JPS Ep:140 – The 8th Note Exercise: The Key to Smoother Lines for Jazz Piano
This exercise is a trade secret I learned to make my improvised lines smoother. After working with this exercise, you will make it through the changes of tunes you used to find challenging with style and grace! In this podcast lesson, well be looking at the notorious jazz standard, “Cherokee” and I’ll be showing you different ways to approach working on your eighth notes flows through this exercise. Let’s go!
