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CA .. your step 9 - the way you're going about that and sticking with it is basically amazing. other pianists to listen to .... well, there are all the "usual" suspects .... but two who maybe don't get as much notice as they should are herbie nichols and phineas newborn. larry young (organ) is another great player. but, really, there are SO many fabulous pianists! george shearing for the absolutely gorgeous unworldly tone he created at the piano. cecil taylor as a pianist/percussionist! who's the first pianist who captured your attention? who do you recommend as someone not to miss?

Hey Prints
Thanks for your encouragement and the Phineas Newborn suggestion. I look forward to starting Daahoud next week - amazing intro, head, solo - I will have Transcribe on 15% speed.

The first pianist suspects hehe to capture my attention were KJ then Bill. Then soon after Jacky Terrasson - in particular I like his early improvs on standards e.g. Nardis and his recent originals e.g. Gaux Girl, My Church.

One of my favorite soloists is Sonny Rollins. What do you think of his improv on the bridge of God Bless The Child ? I am literally decades away from playing anywhere like this, especially:
- his use of thematic improv, imperfect imitation, rhythmic displacement
- his tone; how do you emulate that on an instrument with a decaying tone ?

no worries

i forgot about his daahuod. 15% sounds about right! ... and something else great to do with transcribe is use it as a play along tool ... you're probably doing that already. my guess is phrasing w/ PN at 15% ... and slowly speeding up as you would be reeeaaaallly interesting.



... there are a trio recording of BE with Philly Joe Jones in I think late 1959. The interplay between them == pretty much beyond words ... i have a feeling you know that recording . i need to check out JT. I'm bugged because KJ was just in London and tix sold about in about 10 minutes or so!



i never listened much to that particular track ... (so back to spotify i go ...:)

many consider his "live at the vanguard" (with elvin jones and wilbur ware) as a definition of jazz for exactly what you've said (thematic improv, imperfect imitation, rhythmic displacement.) ... fred hersch has a great softly as a morning sunrise where he quotes from sonny rollins' vanguard recording.

emulating rollins' tone at the piano. one approach is play very softly. because that'll give you a greater dynamic range within which to work. so in relation to everything else louder notes will seem to last longer.

you can probably conjure magic playing along with rollins (with transcribe at a slow tempo) and in doing that just capture as much nuance as you can from his phrasing. the thing is, there's A LOT of nuance in his phrasing - it's possible you'll find that getting rhythms and attacks and imitating slides into notes really accurately will take away the need to imitate sustained tone.

... you might check out Ran Blake who's a really different (seriously different) jazz pianist than just about everyone else. his strength is playing with amazing dynamics and with unworldly pedal technique to shade what he's playing. you might find it interesting to see if there's something in his approach you can apply ....

of course, bach and chopin (and really any great keyboard composer) has music that's worth playing as a way to develop your own approach to phrasing and shading melodies. but if you had to go to a desert island w/ONLY two composers those two are probably worth considering as the "suspects."

hope this helps ...

Hi Lost Woods
It's great that you are wanting to learn how to improvise over standards. As you correctly imply, improvising is actually a lot of hard practice and work.
Even though I am sharing my approach, I don't think it will work for everyone as it is torturous and obsessive-compulsive. But it does ensure you know a new standard intimately.

1. Sing along phrase by phrase of a professional recording you like. If you like, you can transpose certain phrases into other keys.
2. Analyse the standard globally e.g. determine the key(s) for each section
3. Analyse the standard locally e.g. determine the scales and arps for each bar
4. Learn the roots by making a melody of the roots.
5. Learn the head in another 3 keys.
6. Do a composition.
7. Improvise* using small chunks and then larger and larger chunks.
8. Learn how to solo over another key
9. Sing along phrase by phrase of a professional recording which you don't particularly like, one which will stretch you and challenge you towards another direction. Transpose a section into another key.

* What strikes you about this standard ? e.g. the downward arps, the ascending chromatics, the jaggedness.
Use this shape as the basis for your whole improv. Develop this theme across the different keys of the standard.

(iii) As you play more and more, I suspect you will be less guided by theory and more guided by what is inside you. How long have you been learning jazz for ?

Cus,

Thanks for sharing this. I really like the liberties you take with your left hand, and the amount of tension in the left, it makes for some really interesting sounds.

Thanks again for the reply!
To answer the question: I started with pianolessons 2 years ago at age of 22 never had any in the past.. these lessons where a mix of classical, jazz an basic stuff you can think of. So although I have had lessons for two years I don't really have the feeling I've been learning jazz for two years.. (btw before that I knew nothing, - totally nothing - about jazz..) I just bassicaly got a bit of all kind of music and piano basics.

Btw yout ATTYA is interesting. Didn't play that tune mayb I'll try that one too. Next to solo I don't really know how to arrange a standard. I've seen this masterclass:
http://www.davefrankjazz.com/ustream/billevans/evans.html

Really like it, but if I'm right in the end it is really about arranging the standard yourself isn't it? Trying over and over again what to do in LH and RH. Actually it's sort of like composing.

EDIT: custard apple do you have a recording how you play autumn leaves?:D

Hey LW,

You'd be foolish to listen to me.

When you say Block Chords, you mean a la George Shearing? People will hate me for it, but I was never a big fan of Shearing. That said, he has an interesting Vid with Mary McPartland and Billy Taylor where he explains some of his approach. I personally do not like the style very much.
Erroll Garner's block chords, however, this I dig of him ;-)

Shearing's technique however is absolutely spectacular, some of the very best.

If you can read decently, and have decent technique, there are books of just about anyone in just about any style. I still think that playing that from sheet will help you get the sound in your ear and in your fingers.

As far as improv, I am a big believer in the Dave Frank school. But if you have access to anyone who'd have studied with Charlie Banacos for a few years, he is likely to be a killer teacher.

If you want to post something you played for feedback or ask specific questions about how to approach something, this is the right place.
Often people give criticism in private messages.