Educational Perspectives of a Jazz Pianist by David Hazeltine
By David Hazeltine I was 11 years old when after 3 years of basic music instruction, I began my weekly lessons with Will Green, a very accomplished blind, Jazz pianist and organist. His style of teaching was completely hands on, meaning he taught me exactly how to play tunes with precise voicings and bass notes, […]
Now For Something Different – Lee Konitz’s “Motion”
By Joanna Sabater Let’s talk about a wonderful album called Motion by the great saxophonist Lee Konitz. Motion features the following musicians: Lee Konitz – Alto Saxophone Elvin Jones – Drums Sonny Dallas – Bass Do you notice anything interesting about this lineup? There’s no piano! Although the piano is an extremely important instrument, listening to groups […]
Red Garland Plays “A Foggy Day”
By Sam Griffith Red Garland is a masterful pianist. He plays with taste and eloquene, and is a great pianist to emulate. Garland’s adaptations of standards are usually pretty terrific and provide nice blueprints for playing in a trio format. Let’s take a look (and listen!) to his version of “A Foggy Day” from the album […]
Jazz Piano Voicings – How To Comp Like Wes Montgomery
Wes Montgomery is frequently overlooked when talking about the GREAT jazz soloists. Montgomery’s approach to jazz improvisation should be utilized by ALL soloists but especially pianists. Instead of focusing on specific harmony or rhythm devices used, the core of Wes’ improvisation come from his use of different textures to develop ideas. Pianists can take full advantage of […]
Jazz Piano School Ep 42: Beginner Course & 2015 Thoughts
So excited to be back podcasting! I had so many problems with the podcast on iTunes. A couple episodes were not showing up. Then I had to take the podcast off and it was a mess! Anyway I’m back. I’ve launched the Jazz Piano School Beginner Course! So excited for this. Already have a lot of signups. In this podcast I go over my thoughts on the new Jazz Piano School Beginner Course. Why it’s different than other online jazz piano courses. I also talk about my thoughts for JPS in 2015 and how it can help you!
Active Listening – Written By Fred Hersch
I have taught jazz piano and composition for many years at music schools including New England Conservatory, The New School, The Manhattan School and have given workshops, master classes and done residencies at schools around the world; I am been lucky to have taught a number of prominent young pianists. And one thing keeps showing […]
Short Dominant Line Series – Minor 7th Line (LOTW #103)
This small dominant line is used a great amount. The out lines the C7 chord tones up to the b9. Once you get to the b9 you can resolve down to any chord tone of your maj7th chord. The b9 is the important note as it creates a small amount of tension which is followed […]
Short Dominant Line Series (LOTW #102)
Short Dominant Line Series – Dominant 7th Line (LOTW #101)
For this lick we start on the 13th, and move to the #11 to approach the fifth which is a chord tone. From here we move up our mixolydian scale until we reach the 4th and resolve down to the 3rd of the chord. Really great movement to add into your repertoire. Enjoy!
Beginner Course Launch, Saturday, January 10th, 10:30pst
[x_video_embed type=”16:9″ style=”padding-bottom:20px;”] [/x_video_embed] Beginner Course FAQ’s What is the Jazz Piano School beginner course? I wanted to create a course for beginners that started them at point A and led them to point B. In my experience beginner jazz piano materials don’t do a great job of tying information together. Yes they present information […]
