Thanks, guys! I really like how something so simple can be so musical.

On the other hand, I notice the recording quality is still not great.

TB - right, I knew it's your favorite piece!

Peyton - the title is Mariage D'Amour. It's composed by Paul de Senneville and often played by Richard Clayderman.

b528nf7 - it's CA550.

ten lefts - what a great rhythm to work on! I've been trying to inject some different rhythms into our traditional music, since a full evening of oom-pah has finally gotten boring to me (and probably long since so to everyone else), and this is another inspiration.

Cathy

TB - that was your own composition? That's amazing. Nice job.

Bill - loved that. I've played You've got a Friend on the Guitar for a long time now (since it was a hit). So it was quite memorable.

LisztAddict - beautiful playing and I love that piano sound. Came out nicely on the recording. I'm only able to do digital recordings unfortunately.

TLT - Calypso beat! It's great you're trying out different rhythms. Great job.

John Frank - great job on Come Back To Sorrento. I have always loved that song. I like your additions. As usual I appreciate the background info on the song. Well done.

Peyton - loved that Schumann piece and I lost count of how many times I listened. Sheer perfection! It is truly remarkable that you also come across so convincingly on the Welch tune, from such a different genre.

Balladeer - great work on Danny Boy. You have captured the deep sadness of this beautiful song. Great ending.

TrueBeginner - your Lament is a beautiful piece, a genuine composition - and so very well played!

Bill - another home run! Very convincing, your comping is perfect.

LisztAddict - great job on Marriage D'Amour - I really like the dynamics and touch. Well done.

TLT - way to go - nice upbeat tune, well played, cool improv too.

My piece this month is Naima, generally considered John Coltrane's best composition, and named for his first wife. He continued to play it and record it long after he divorced Naima, which, I guess, means he really liked it, and ... knowing how men often feel about ex'es... maybe it means he really was a saint, in a manner of speaking(?) The harmonies are very unusual, and there is a pedal point throughout except for the very end.

Ed

http://www.box.net/shared/3tqq13ulyt

Riddler - you definitely have a great feel for this kind of tune. I especially enjoyed your bridge work.

Balladeer

TLT- A nice piece. You played in a fun lively manner. Nice left hand work too.

riddler- I always look forward to your pieces. One of these days I need to try that big band softwear. You are having WAY too much fun!

Thanks for your comment on my Schumann BTW. I really did try extra hard to play it well. (I'm only sorry I didn't put on a dress shirt and look a little more "professional".... )

Riddler (Ed) - that was so cool. I'm actually not familiar with that tune. Such a very interesting Latin beat. Not Bossa. I actually had to listen to this several times. Very enjoyable.

Ed - that was cool - I just got back from a walk to the grocery store in the heat and it was just what I needed I liked it a lot

Cathy

My contribution this month is a my solo piano arrangement of My Foolish Heart popularized in Jazz circles by pianist Bill Evans. This is in jazz ballad style and my first recording on my new Yamaha P155.

Forgive the errors as kids were distracting me as I was playing.

http://www.box.net/shared/v3x3kodbys

Errors!?! nah - better kids than, er, uh, bar patrons

This was great, jazzwee - just the kind of laid-back playing that's pro. Lovely.

Cathy

I've just been enjoying Riddler's and jazzwee's contributions.

Riddler - I'm curious - how do you manage to play drums at the same time?

Jazzwee - you get a beautiful tone out of your Yamaha. I don't know if I've heard you play something that sounds like a piano before, but that was lovely!

Jazzwee - How do you do that!? Just beautiful. Your pace and phrasing is what I am paying particular attention to. Is there any specific recording or artist you listened to as you prepared this one? It's is right up my alley, and now you've forced me to put it high on my list.

Balladeer

Bill, thanks for your astute recognition of this - Great songs with strong melodies are exactly what has generated my passion for learning to play this wonderful instrument - and for that I thank the composers (and highly trained performers) who bring them to life and inspire me! But, so many great songs, so little time.

Now, if only my technical skills would finally catch up with my burning inner passion for these musical masterpieces, and that they would sound in reality just how I hear them in my "minds ear"

Regards, JF

jazzwee,

That was exquisitely played and exquisitely voiced. You sound like the master himself. Your playing reminded me very much of Bill Evans' interpretation of the piece. I first fell in love with My Foolish Heart when I heard Evans play it.

Barb

Jazzwee,
beautiful arrangements!

Riddler,
Naima is one of those tunes that reveals Coltrane's exquisite tone. I liked how you kept the original intent of the composer. Your solo was very tasteful.
I even liked BiaB, and I usually dont

Thanks all!

Jotur - You got that right To be professional, one should be able to play reasonable well even while bar patrons are asking where the bathroom is! So the disturbance ambience was just the perfect setting .

Balladeer - Coming from you that's quite a compliment. I was drawn to your beautiful ballad playing, that's why I chose this. In jazz style, ballads are still played to a fixed tempo and it is expected to be played with drums and bass. This tune and style is based on this master (I'm ashamed to compare as I have a long way to go).

Bill Evans: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2LFVWBmoiw

TLT, I didn't record pianos before because my keyboard was not weighted. Noise level makes it hard to use the real deal (sounds much better on the Steinway).

Barb - I saw this on your Website and you voiced it even way beyond what I did with block chord style.

Knotty - I noticed your bias towards jazz tunes. I wonder why

Jazzwe- What errors? Great playing. Very at ease sounding, like you play this every day. Your new piano sounds fantastic.

Well, after all, this is a piano bar! I think you can save the formalities for the recitals. Coat and tails would be appropos there, I'd say, or at least, not out of place.

Ed

Listening to some recordings, I noticed that a lot of people play this song with latin rhythms. After some trial and error, I decided to use the Rhumba Style with Real Drums on Band In A Box. Since the bass notes are all pedal points (set to beats one and three), the only effect was on the drums. The BIAB Real Drums drum track is actually not an algorithmic midi track, it is a recording of an actual drummer, at a speed which is adjusted by the software to fit the tempo I selected. I don't know anything about drumming, but I kinda like the fills he played, especially in the transitions to/from the bridge.

Ed

Jazzwee - wow! I agree with Barb, your performance of My Foolish Heart called to mind the Bill Evans version(s), which motivated me to listen to a couple of them on Youtube. (BTW, interesting comment there: "Bill Evans is more alive than many of us.") Very, very cool voicings and phrasings.

Ed

TLT, it ain't easy.

Sorry, I normally remember but this time I forgot to mention that the bass and drums were generated by computer software (Band In A Box).

Ed

Interestingly, in this case, no part of the BIAB file was generated by its algorithms. The bass notes were programmed to be pedal points only, and the drum drum track was based on real drummer recordings.

Ed

Thanks to all for listening and commenting on my piece.

Ed

Ed, thank you. you also made me listen to Coltrane's Naima So that was Rhumba you were doing...I was trying to figure it out and it just sounded different but I couldn't put a finger on the beat (not a drummer either).

Peyton - Thanks. I think I have some catch up to do to you. I'll take awhile...

Thanks for the explanation, Riddler. The drums were very convincing, and now I know why.

Riddler - very nice playing on "Naima" - I used to listen to a lot of Coltrane decades ago (Miles, too!) - seems like another lifetime - don't remember this piece, but it was "many moons" back - enjoyed this considerably, as usual!

jazzwee - very nice touch on that great old standard - I picture a penthouse suite overlooking Manhattan late at night with someone very special sitting by your side ...

" ... it's love,
This time it's love,
My Foolish Heart".

What a great song!

Regards, JF

JohnFrank, I just listened to your Come Back to Sorrento. Nice job. It is very relaxing and "Italiano."

Peyton, I love your version of Annabelle. It's a very moving and sentimental song. The Schumann piece is beautiful as well. Great job!

Balladeer, what a beautiful version of Danny Boy! Soothing and sentimental. I like the cricket sound in the background, too. It adds to the peaceful feeling of the piece. Really sweet ending, too.