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I just picked this because it's real short. It was meant more to demonstrate the linear playing sound on the CP5 so I probably played more sparse chordal stuff and more lines then I normally would, then again maybe not..

Say for example at around :29 , :48 ,:52, 1:02, 1:06 and a good example, the very last melody note I place a voicing under.
http://soundcloud.com/dave-ferris/groovin-high-yamaha-cp5

This is probably a more pronounced example where I just played and had no preconceived idea of what I was going to play. At :14 : :20 :26 :32-35 :44 :51 and the whole turnaround at the end of the first form--and basically quite a bit as you can hear throughout the rest of the next chorus. Some block, cluster type structures like David mentioned are in there too.

Whisper Not
http://soundcloud.com/dave-ferris/whisper-not

Basically you just want to break the texture up so it's not all the same color. It doesn't have to be *what I did* ....just come up with something to take away that sameness vibe or as Terry Trotter used to tell me..."too eighth notey" sounding. It can be something rhythmic, a little Monkish jab with a two note LH voicing for example. Maybe a more sustained voicing in the LH with the RH line against it.

Hope this helps...

Nice examples Dave. Thanks for sharing that. One more thing to add to the vocabulary.

My teacher tends to stick to one note lines but he has the capacity to vary the intensity whereas I reach a technical limit. This provides some way to develop that contrast and I've not really been focused by him before to do this.

The only confusion for me is the mix between LH comping and this technique you're doing. Obviously you're doing both. Depending on how you time the LH comp to the top note then it becomes what you're talking about when they coincide.

Right?

No big secret, just 'correct' piano technique.
What I find amazing is not that their lines sound clear, but the musical content of what they play; that's impressive.

Thanks...yeah just another avenue of approach. It's a mix of comping and harmonizing the melody line. It works well for solo and also Trio playing.



not sure I know what you mean there....

One of the most profound things ever said to me 30 years was by my teacher at that time, Terry Trotter. I used to gush non-stop over a particular Chick solo or Herbie's playing or something KJ did. One time at a lesson Terry said something like..."you know you'd be better off spending less time putting all these guys up on an unreachable pedestal and spend more time figuring out what it is exactly that makes them so great ". "They did and probably still do the same things you are working on right now".

I think you just answered it. It's just comping. And some of the comping just coincides with the harmonization of the note in the line.

I appreciate what you're saying here. Normally when I'm playing, I'm trying to think of comping as being in the quiet space where I don't play anything in the RH.

But comping with the solo line is something I haven't consciously applied. Then it goes from being comping to playing block chords.

I do this but I'm not aware of it and so bringing it up here puts it in focus for me so I can more consciously apply it.

There's also rhythmic variations when you use it that shows how my comping gets static when I solo. Good stuff. Thanks.

I can definitely see this from your vantage point. Me, I'm a guy with a full time job hoping to get a half hour of good practice in on a weeknight, a bit more on a weekend. I'm never getting to their level, so I'm happy to put them on a pedestal and use them for inspiration. Indeed, I'm pleased that, after studying jazz these past few years,I can now better appreciate what they are really doing.

Either way, Chick to me is like an athlete. Obviously impossible to copy but one appreciates it nevertheless. I don't lose sleep that I'm never going to sound like Chick. You can play the same notes as he does and still not sound like him.

What's actually interesting is that over time we get a new breed of jazz musicians but some of these guys are one time phenomenoms. KJ, Chick, Bill Evans, Tristano, Wynton Kelly, etc.

We don't need to sound like them. But it is useful to analyze why they sound the way they do. Some can be copied at least partially.

Chick is just the hardest to copy IMHO. His technique is just profoundly different. I show videos of him to the classical guys in Pianist Corner and they don't really understand what's going on.

Sure it's detached, pearly playing. But how to do that constantly is the unknown.

Maybe because he is an immortal alien trapped inside a human body. That must help him I think.
But seriously I don't know if Chick is harder to copy than the other greats. Sure he has that amazing crispness in his lines but I don't see it as any more difficult than the stride of Tatum or the speed of Powell, the angularity of Monk or the fluidity of Jarrett etc.
If you really want to develop that sound then lots of work at staccato scales would probably help, as the clarity of his notes must be due to a fast release of the notes leading to a slightly increased articulation.

Oh without a doubt. I don't mean to diminish their historical importance or say they shouldn't be a lightning rod for inspiration and growth.

I'm listening to some of those live Soundcloud tracks of Chick and shaking my head. The guy still amazes me even at 70 now !

I think you said it...after putting in some time studying the music and the instrument, the ability to process what these guys are doing just becomes easier.

Beeboss, since you have so much crispness in your playing, I will take your advice seriously.

BTW - what's up with this SoundCloud thing. Something new again? What's the advantage?

Nefertiti from Chick -- very unique approach to this tune

http://soundcloud.com/chickcorea/nefertitti

Nice playing Dave, you always keep the accompaniment interesting and it builds so organically. Shame it was so short. Your piano sounds great

Dave,

Interesting accompaniment on "Whisper Not".
What's the secret to your playing there?

J+

Really nice Dave . . . grooving!

Taking the kids/wife to the sticks, then off to a week's jazz camp (this time I'm all bass).
It'll be interesting to see how much basic technique I actually have . . . and I will be playing piano in the evening jams (as well as tutoring a piano class as well as a theory class.)

Next week is musically busy for me. Gigs and jams squeezed into one week.

Chris - Double bass?

2 recordings from last night:

http://www.box.net/shared/qxci0xtekjd8dpka9qxk
http://www.box.net/shared/eocimi9bsk0hvq1ryauz

your thoughts on the rhythm section?

Oh, yes.
Nothing but . . .
For last couple of months I've been at it at first 5 mins, then 10 a day (now up to 2 x 15 ).
Man is it a difficult beast to play, but oh so much fun.
Got my bow yesterday, so now I can give our neighbours cat a run for its money . . .