The "Vol 54 Piano Voicings" is one of the companion books that I talked about...it is a note-for-note transcription of the piano comping (accompanying) on the recording, and yes, Jamey himself is doing the piano work.

As far as the original recordings go, there are a number of classic recordings of some of them. I have my full list at home, so I'll have to check it out later.

But in the meantime, Herbie Hancock recorded "Maiden Voyage" on an album of the same name. He also recorded "Watermelon Man" on both an album called "Taking Off" and another Mongo Santamaria recording. "Autumn Leaves" has been recorded probably thousands of times, but one of my favorites is on an album called "Something Else" by Cannonball Adderly.

"Impressions" was done by John Coltrane, but I can't remember on which album. Doxy was written by Sonny Rollins, and it was on an early Miles Davis album. "Cantaloupe Island" was recorded by Herbie Hancock on "Empyrean Isles".

Check allmusic.com or the iTunes Music Store for some of the others until I'm able to find my list.

Thanks...

Wondering if someone could help me with something, such as free online downloading of partitures...

Despina, you may want to start a new thread re those "partitures" - which in American usage is "sheet music."

Thanks all.

Do you tend to listen to the full piece (for instance, the Herbie Hancock version) before attempting to play the piece?

No, it's not really necessary.

I agree.

When I was in the middle of my big learning phase, I noticed that on some pieces I might need just to hear a little bit, while on others I might want to grab everything I could off of it (say, for example, transcribing a solo, note for note).

On most new material that I worked on, I put together what I called my "tune tapes". When working on "Autumn Leaves", for example, I made a tape of every recorded version I could find. I found my own interpretation might take a little bit from one recording, a little bit from another, especially if there was a particularly clever version (a good example -- J.J. Johnson had a really nice recording of Autumn Leaves where he paraphrased the melody without explicitly playing it).

Online services where you can buy individual recordings (for example, iTunes Music Store) are a boon to this method. You can search for every version of a particular piece in their library, and sample a snippet of it. I still do this frequently.

Okay, so this has been giving me lots of fun!! I even managed to put in a blues scale to Lyndyrd Skynyrd's Sweet Home Alabama haha!

Only problem I am having is what to do with the left hand... should I focus on just block chords?

The reason I ask, is because once I take away the backing track, my piano playing sounds rather empty and very amateurish...?

I know they are called "Easy To Learn Jazz Pieces" - but are they really that easy? To be able to put the melody in time, with all the off beat and improv into practice?

Thanks again for the great recomendation!!

Rintincop, You made a post yesterday.... which has now been removed? Can I see your answer again lol.

Amnesia

you say quote "I quite like playing along to stuff... and it helps me progress and improvise.

Yes you'er spot on with that view.

It gets your subconscious brain in gear and teaches you to play by ear correctly. That I believe is the best way to success in jazz playing. Pick a recording that just meets your ability or tests it rather. That is the way to improve. You cannot spend too much time on the piano.

Happy New Year all,

Alan (swingal)

IMO the more complex aggregates become, the more it becomes apparent that the individually moving voices within the progressing aggregates are significantly more important than a harmonically conceptual progression of chords.

This is very evident in the fugues of Bach and the orchestral music of Bartok.

When I play a progression of what would later be analyzed as very complex chords, it would be impossible for the theory of chord progression to guide me. I'm not controlling chords, which can easily contain all 12 notes, but controlling the paths of between 6 to 15 notes. Hearing each one of these aggregate components propogate themselves alog their own gravitational pull set in motion purely by what I hear.

When you learn to view aggregates (chords) by their individual, simultaneously occuring components, struck coincidentally together at nodal points (like a well written fugue), your control and translation from your mind of the perceived harmonic fabric becomes far greater and more subject to instant composition, the highest state of improvisational because each and every note sounded is done so under the strictest linear control.

Chords are nothing more than simultaneously sounded counterpoint and hearing and viewing them thusly will open up your playing to new dimensions.

Disciple-
Do you reccomend any specifics excercises regarding developing control for hearing and controlling individual moving voices in the context of aggregates?
What about hearing ahead in an improvised line? What kind of excercises do you reccomend working with?
Best,
Tom

In all of western music, the single most important element is the creative and tasteful development of the melodic line. It's shape (contour) and rhythmic development. This is true of both the composing process and the improvising (instant composition) processes.

Most great composers with a high level of instrumental skill, are brilliant improvisors.

I think linearly when I improvise. In ever-motivically developing, overlapped stretches that stand on their own and are combined with other interlaced stretches based on either one or more motifs or the established melody of the song.

Learning Tin Pan Alley songs with melodies that embrace a high potential degree of harmonic diversity (like What Is This Thing Called Love vs. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) vs. static melodies implying very inflexible harmonic potential, is an excellent way to learn expressing creation based on each song's parameters.

I start improvising students by having them learn the melodies of several songs and work with developing these melodies starting at a very slow tempo, everything totally under control.

Here's an example of this type of additive, totally controlled approach to learning to improvise:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z3DeldDZtk

Connie studied with Lennie Tristano for many years, and is also a life-long student of Lennie's concepts and approach.

Connie's approach reminds me of Lee Konitz's ten step approach.
However, both of these methods assume you have something in your ear worth playing. Many players aren't hearing anything in their minds ear, or if they are it's a very weak signal.
It's a different process for each individual, but I seem to think that transcribing and singing solos/tunes is the best way to expand what you can hear over a particular harmonic sequence.
However I've found singing basslines, singing the melody over basslines, and singing guide tone lines to really be beneficial.

Very perceptive. In bodybuilding, the addage is "garbage in, garbage out", meaning that if your diet isn't conducive to muscle growth, the exercise portion of the entire growth phase won't be as effective as it would be with excellent nutrition.

Singing melodies as you play, with recordings, and countermelodies is excellent nutritional support for your ear and mind and better fills you with music that comes out from within.

In music, melodies and stretches are king. Chords are an illusion created by the nodal rhythmic coincidence of counterpoint.