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I play it like on the Blue Mitchell recording: voicing from the bottom up F Bb E (-3, b6, 9) over a D note in the bass.

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I think we're the same J+. On my real book it's D-m7(#5) but that looks the same as G-7/D to me. I play it like you. When I showed my teacher my voicing he confirmed it was correct.

He did correct me on the B section which he had me play with tenths in the bass and a chord on the RH.

BTW - this guy on youtube plays Tones with a sustained 'bass' tone of A instead of D. Sounded good. I actually started applying it, going from A to D.

Nice tune isn't it? I don't which is harder, this or Dolphin Dance. Both complex.

J+. I have Jazz Piano Book. Is it worth getting Jazz Theory book too? Is there enough new material?

Which book was first?

Hi Everyone,

I thought I would jump in here in the middle of Jazzwee’s Tones for Joan’s Bones – which I do have in my fakebook, but I am staying away from that one.

My latest piano blog goes like this:

I have become addicted to Mal Waldron’s style of ballad playing. Jazz+ turned me on to Waldron and sent me a transcription of several of his ballads. (Thank you, Jazz+) I am trying to get Waldron’s feel into my fingers. I have recorded “The Man I Love”. I would appreciate feedback as to how close I am to Waldron’s take on this. Thank you for listening.

Here I am:
http://www.box.net/shared/vjw7w27cow

Here is Mal Waldron’s youtube link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIvY5FJ3y-Q&feature=related

Barb,

That was some serious swing right there. Really really nice.

I'm interested, how did you learn this?

great post!

Thank you, Knotty.

Here was my approach:

I put Waldron's youtube playing of the transcribed ballads on to my CD player. I listened to it each morning during my exercise walk. I was able to sing along, I knew it that well. Then, I worked through the transcription given to me by Jazz+. While learning measure by measure at the piano, I kept listening to Waldron play the exact part that I was working on. The guy is amazing in his playing. It is so intense. I am hooked.

That sounds great, Barbara. I like how each melodic phrase is a little different speed, the way they acclerate and then slow down, it's expressive

Jazz+

You've been busy Barb! That's a great job! Sounds great. You've been progressing very well too since we started this thread. Your blog is too short. Tell us more. It's been awhile since we all worked on something.

How's your improv coming along? Gotta keep focusing on that as it takes the longest to develop.

Here's a guy playing Tones for Joan's Bones. Interesting how it's a solo piano version. Chick Corea's version was a trio. This was originally from Chick's first album in 1966 I believe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOoZGuSQ1fA

Quite a bit of a jump from Autumn Leaves isn't it? Some people think all we play is AL...

Here's his version of Herbie Hancock's Dolphin Dance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFOuhiT-0Gg&feature=related

Again, it's kind of neat to hear it in solo piano.

Yeah but it was a quintet. Great album, although not the kind you play while having dinner.

Thank you Jazzwee and Jazz+

You want a longer blog Jazzwee? OK – you asked for it.

My Waldron ballads take up a very small fraction of my 6-8 hour day at the piano (trust me, lots of breaks throughout the day).

The improv is developing in context with my new love – reading from my jazz fakebook of 625 standards and jazz classics. Before I discovered this thread, songs that had non changing chords for a measure or two used to be songs that I AVOIDED. Now, I love those songs because I am able to use my knowledge from this thread to try interesting improv fills.

I have also discovered recently that I can pick out a tune, and fit a left hand harmony to it, then fill in those right hand voicings. This is in the very slow development stage, but, as I do it daily, it does get easier. It is a challenge, and much fun to do.

I am spending a good part of my day on learning to comp. Months ago, I was rather clueless about the whole thing. My comping was boring, I almost fell asleep while comping. Now I am experimenting with different rhythm patterns betweeen the right and left hand. I record myself, then play the melody as I listen to what I just recorded. It is very exciting. I love the creative process of comping. Each song is different and requires a different comping sound.

Another big part of my day is my repertoire of 60+ songs… I’ve lost count. Around 40 songs are memorized, the rest is fakebook reading songs. I don’t plan on actively trying to memorize any more. But I don’t want to lose what I have already memorized.

As you can tell, my day is packed. As far as improvising a chorus, I had to put that on hold for a while. After I get my comping under control by working up Tom’s repertoire, I will have time to revisit the thread and try those longer improv lines.

Okay, lurkers – who will be the next blogger?

Barb,

I just went to your blog and none of the mp3 links work.

++

You're right, Knotty. Something fishy is going on with Mindspring today. I have to wait for my techie husband to come home and check it out.

I'll send you a pm when it is resolved.

Love it Barb! We keep ourselves motivated with friends here. Keep sharing.

He!he! 'So What' isn't Dinner fare either but AL is...

BTW Chick played Tones only as a Trio, so the rest of the quintet sat one on this. I was actually newly exposed to this album. My teacher wanted me to work on this tune for a long time but I though it was too complicated (I was right).

But these are good advanced learning tunes because of unusual keys, fast moving chords, and unusual harmonies. Another tune that is a great learning tune is "Invitation". This one is popular among players here.

My teacher BTW is known as a Modern Jazz player so I don't think we'll be finding his style in a restaurant somewhere. But I'm drawn to his style. Mehldau wouldn't fit in a restaurant either -- too intellectual.

What's amazing about jazz is the wide range of styles inside it. There's a great swath of choices for everyone. I enjoy all the substyles except maybe the old fashioned stride.

ahah you got me! I'll pull it out of the shelf.

Hi Riddler:

I just wanted to tell you again how much I loved your C-Jam Blues - really awesome! My teacher wants me to work on improv with this one now, and the blues in general. Any tips? Would it be okay if I *tried* to copy bits of what you did, just to get me started? Thanks again!

C Jam blues -- I remember that well. . My lesson 3 years ago! A whole year of blues. I hardly do any blues now unfortunately but I'm still trying to perfect playing Blue Monk in thirds.

Elssa, blues is about copying so I would freely copy anyone that sounds good. I worked off a book of blues licks all year long. Unfortunately, it ended up turning me off to the whole process but apparently it works for most. There are several Blues Licks books in the market.