Cedar Walton “Clockwise” Riff (LOTW #173)
Check out the opening riff from Cedar Walton’s renowned composition,”Clockwise.” After ascending up an E major triad, he goes back down by way of a C major seventh sound. Dig this, and develop your own compositional ideas! CLICK HERE TO GET A TRANSCRIPTION OF THE LICK If you have questions or suggestions for a Lick […]
Oscar Plays the Blues On “Love For Sale” (LOTW #172)
We love Oscar Peterson for his ability to play beautiful lines over chord changes, but most of all for his bluesy solo ideas! Check out this passage from “Love For Sale” off of the album Oscar Peterson Plays the Cole Porter Songbook, it ain’t nothin’ but the blues!! CLICK HERE TO GET A TRANSCRIPTION OF […]
A Swinging Solo Break by Red Garland on “A Foggy Day” (LOTW #171)
Here is Red Garland’s solo break from a classic album of his, “A Garland of Red” (1957). There is some quintessential playing from Red on this record that is definitely worth checking out! https://youtu.be/9O5UwrR2Nt4 CLICK HERE TO GET A TRANSCRIPTION OF THE LICK If you have questions or suggestions for a Lick Of The Week […]
Gerald Clayton Plays it Cool on Strasbourg St. Denis (LOTW #170)
Gerald Clayton lays down possibly one of the most grooving solos of all time over Roy Hargrove’s jam tune “Strasbourg St. Denis.” At the end of several choruses of pure groove, he plays it cool with a line which sidesteps its way outside of the changes. Follow along with the notation to see how he […]
JPS Ep:167 – The Power of Music
Music is very powerful. Like…very…very…powerful. I mean you know right?! Why do you think you’re on this journey? Music has the power to heal, transform, inspire, calm, soothe, and about a billion other things. In this episode I talk about what music means to me, how it changed my life, and how my mission to teach you jazz piano will help you change lives as well. Here we go!
JPS Ep:166 – The Secret of the “Backdoor ii-V”
What the heck is a backdoor ii-V? Find out in this week’s podcast! Once you master this short but common progression, you will be seeing it all over the place!
JPS Ep:164 – 3 Improvisation Strategies You Need For Ballads
Improvising over ballads is usually more difficult than improvisation over medium or fast tunes. Why is that? Because you’re EXPOSED. Everything is movving sooooo slowwwww. What do you do? How do you spice things up and creating interesting lines? In this episode I’m going to show you 3 strategies I use every-time I improvise over ballads that you absolutely have to integrate into your toolbox. Enjoy!
JPS Ep:163 – What is “The Lady Bird Turnaround?”
If you have never encountered the Lady Bird turnaround or are looking for some new strategies with which to improvise over this device, search no further! In this podcast lesson, we’ll go over how Tadd Dameron came up with this trademark chord progression and how you can play over it with style and ease.
JPS Ep:162 – 12 Improv Strategies To Jam Out On 1 or 2 Chords (Funk)
What do you do when you are jamming out on 2 chords?…or even 1 CHORD?! Does your mind start freezing up? Well don’t worry, in this podcast, I use my electric rhodes sound on my keyboard and give you 12 strategies that you can use to improvise when you’re jamming out on 1 or 2 chord harmonies. I demonstrate in a funk style manner but these can also be used in any jazz tunes as well. Enjoy!
JPS Ep:161 – How to Practice Like a Pro Pt. 2: “Time In!”
For the second installment of this series, we’ll be talking about one of the most important aspects of music: TIME. When it comes to practicing, time can be a factor that makes or breaks the efficacy of your practice session. Find out how you can optimize your practicing through good use of time!
