3 Note Voicings In 3 Easy Steps (Ep: 197)
Lots of people dive into all sorts of voicings. Myself included. What are 3 note voicings? What do they do? Why are they important? When should you learn them? How do you integrate them and use them? I’ll answer all these questions in this podcast to give you all the necessary information you need.
Oscar Peterson Burns Down the House with “Woody ‘N’ You” (LOTW #186)
At the famous London House Sessions of 1961′ Live in Chicago, O.P. and his trio took no prisoners. This raucous version of Woody ‘N’ You features chorus after chorus of burning soloing followed by three iconic shout choruses. This lick is an excerpt from the first chorus of solo. Follow along as Oscar burns down […]
#BLM – Blues Tribute (Ep: 196)
This week I, Brenden Lowe, owner and founder of Jazz Piano School make a statement about how we as a company stand for #BLM. We also are gathering blues tributes from as many people as possible in honor of George Floyd, BLM, jazz, the blues, and the resilience, fortitude, oppression, suffering, courage and bravery the African American people went through to deliver the great music of jazz.
If you have questions or suggestions for a podcast lesson you would like us to do, please leave them in the comments down below.
Blazing Minor Lick from Keith Jarrett’s “Köln Concert” (LOTW #185)
In 1975, Keith Jarrett made history with “The Köln Concert” when he performed a completely freely improvised solo piano concert. The extended riffs, progressions, and melodies which he created at this concert have lived on, cementing his place among jazz piano greats and influencing a generations of pianists to follow. This minor lick appears in […]
Bud Powell Solo & Analysis – Rhythm Changes Part 2 (Ep: 195)
This week we continue our analysis of Bud Powells solo over Anthropology. We also learn about WHY taking small, bite sized, improv lego building blocks from transcriptions and solos is MUCH more beneficial than just learning the enter solo from the get go. After we analyzed the individual parts, THEN we can learn the entire solo. But if we fail to understand what is happening, then the only thing that happens is we copy what someone else has done when we’re improvising instead of spontaneously improvising from our own soul. Which would you rather do?
Benny Green Lays it Down on “These are Soulful Days” (LOTW #184)
Benny Green shows his Hard-Bop jazz chops on this Lee Morgan tune, “These are Soulful Days” from his album of the same name. He lays down a double time line and grooves over a minor cadence, putting a period at the end of a masterful sentence of improvisation CLICK HERE TO GET A TRANSCRIPTION OF […]
Discover the “Lost Art” of the Shout Chorus!
You know what can really take things to the next level? A good old-fashioned shout chorus! The best pianists such as Oscar Peterson, Erroll Garner, and Nat King Cole utilized shout choruses in their trios. Sometimes they took sections and ripped them straight from their favorite jazz big band arrangments! Check out some of our favorite shout choruses in this week’s podcast.
Oscar Peterson Starts Things off Right with “Just You, Just Me” (LOTW #183)
Besides being the king of burning down the blues, Oscar Peterson was also a master of playing intros! Setting up the tune can be on of a pianist’s most important responsibilities. Listen how Oscar starts things off right on “Just You, Just Me” from his classic album with Lester Young. https://youtu.be/RNLghVAt8sU CLICK HERE TO GET […]
Bud Powell “Anthropology” Transcription Analyzed (Ep: 193)
Bud Powell was clearly and innovator of his time and greatly contributed to the language of jazz we all use today. In this podcast episode I’m going to analyze Bud Powell’s solo over “Anthropology” but at the same time teach you HOW to deconstruct improvisation solos into what I call “Lego Building Blocks”. This strategy will not only help you be able to use the ideas quicker, but will allow you to combine them with others in order to create your own solos more effectively. I absolutely love helping students with this because I use to learn licks and lines and simply plop them right into my solo. And guess what? It was CLEAR that what I had just played was NOT spontaneously improvised by myself. It sounded fake! So this “Lego Building Block” strategy is sure to help you with that problem.
Kenny Kirkland Lets Loose on this Modal Lick! (LOTW #182)
Kenny Kirkland is one of those stars who burnt brightly, but quickly. During the short time we had him on this Earth, he left us with some amazing piano playing! Listen as he lets loose on “Mr. J.C.,” a track dedicated to John Coltrane off his self-titled album from 1991. Kenny could sure burn!!! https://youtu.be/CKj2oZ7KdQc […]
