PG Music - Jazz Pianist

5/24/2018 PG Music - Jazz Pianist

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PG Music - Jazz Pianist

@001 As Time Goes By, written by H. Hupfield, is performed in a solo stride style which incorporatesmany of the pianistic elements of Fats aller and Art Tatum. !t is played in a "ery strai#ht$aheadmanner, althou#h the "ariation at bar %& ta'es a few more melodic and harmonic liberties. (ote the

different methods of playin# the bass notes) sin#le note, octa"e, fifth, se"enth, tenth, and tenth with afifth. *tride playin# is one of the +..fundamental thin#s + that still apply to piano playin#. This all time hitwas the theme son# from the mo"ie asablanca where at one point, a broodin# Humphry Bo#art saysto the piano player, +...-lay it *am, you played it for her, now you can play it for me...+. ey of /b.-erformed by iles Blac'. -icture of Art Tatum.

@002 Arthur3s Theme, was written by Burt Bacharach, hristopher ross, arol B. *a#er and -eterAllen. -erformed in a solo -op style, the melody is played and harmoni4ed by the ri#ht hand while theleft hand supplies the bass mo"ement and counter$rhythms in ascendin# arpe##ios. A useful techni5ueto spice up a triad with the fifth in the lead is to add the 2nd 6!./. 1,2,&,78. This was the theme from the9udley oore mo"ie +Arthur+ and was recorded by pop sin#er hris ross. ey of A. -erformed by:on ;ohnston. -icture of :on ;ohnston.

@00& Bill Bailey, was written by H. annon. This old chestnut is played in the solo stride style of Fatsaller, ;ames -. ;ohnson and illie +the


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@00D Be#in the Be#uine, was written by ole -orter, one of the #reatest of the American son# writers.This is played in the solo$rubato$coc'tail style of 9ic' Hyman and others. Bar 122 demonstrates aneffecti"e techni5ue employin# the ma=or triads /b and 9b as a substitute for an altered G%. ole -orteralways wrote the lyrics and the music. He was 'nown for his ele#ant chord pro#ressions and witty lyrics.This tune was written when the +Be#uine+, a 0. !n the piano style ofHerbie Hancoc' and Bill /"ans, note the use of half$steps within the chords 6e.#. in bars 1 and >8. !nse"eral inter"iews, Bill /"ans claimed that the tune was actually written by him alone and he wonderedwhy iles too' credit for it. This is a hauntin# and sophisticated melody which seems to ha"e a ne"er$endin# 5uality to it. ey of 9m. -erformed by :enee :osnes. -icture of Bill /"ans.

@010 an3t Help Fallin# in


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renditions. any =a44 artists ha"e paid tribute to Fran'3s consistently #reat statement of melodies. eyof G. -erformed by iles Blac'. -icture of Tommy Flana#an.

@017 /asy to 0 by :ichard :od#ers with lyrics by


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@022 ! oncentrate on Eou, was written in 1?&? by ole -orter. This trio arran#ement has some of thecharacteristics of eith ;arrett3s playin#, especially in the second chorus. ole -orter, one of the mostprolific writers of the American popular son#, was 'nown for writin# > bar tunes such as this one,6most standards are &2 bars8. ey of /b. -erformed by iles Blac'. -icture of eith ;arrett.

@02& ! 9idn3t now hat Time it as, was written in 1?&? by :ichard :od#ers and


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@0&1 The an !


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@0>0 The :ose, was written by A. cBroom and is the theme of the mo"ie of the same name whichstarred Bette idler. This readin# be#ins "ery #ently in a tender mood in the 'ey of . After the firstmelodic statement the bass and drums =oin in the 'ey of Ab. The arran#ement builds in intensity andmodulates to the 'ey of A for the third chorus. The tune winds down to it3s ori#inal mood for the endin#.A nice eample of the use of dynamics. The pianistic style is that of eith ;arrett. ey of . -erformedby iles Blac'. -icture of eith ;arrett.

@0>1 *ecret 2 *eptember !n The :ain, was written by Harry arren and Al 9ubin. This is a "ery relaed solostride readin# of this old standard in the style of Art Tatum, 9a"e cenna or Han' ;ones. (otice thatthere are a lot of tenths bein# played in the bass. This slower tempo permits this 'ind of left hand

approach. 9inah ashin#ton had a hit recordin# of this tune in the mid$fifties. ey of F. -erformed byiles Blac'. -icture of Art Tatum.

@0>& *omeone To atch "er e, was written by Geor#e and !ra Gershwin. This is a sensiti"erendition of one of the most touchin# of the Gershwin ballads. The two choruses are played in a solorubato mode. A few points of interest are, the descendin# bass line in the first phrase, the phrase whichconnects the two choruses and the "ery pretty endin#. ey of Bb. -erformed by :enee :osnes.-icture of :enee :osnes.@0>> *weet Geor#ia Brown, was written by Bernie and -in'ard in 1?27. This +old standard+, aperennial fa"orite of =a44 musicians and sin#ers, is performed here in a "ery relaed, solo stridemanner. The first chorus emulates the style of (at ole, whereas the second and third choruses are

more in the /rrol Garner tradition 6> to the bar left hand chords8. This tune has been performed in alldifferent styles of =a44, from 9iieland to modern and has had many Bebop heads or melodies based onit3s chan#es. !t is usually performed 5uite up$tempo but here the treatment is relaed and +swin#in +. eyof Ab. -erformed by iles Blac'. -icture of (at ole.

@0>7 Tea for Two, was written by Eoumans and aesar. Here is a solo, swin# treatment of this well'nown standard 6which is also often performed as a ha ha8. !t is played in a stride style with pianisticelements of Art Tatum, Fats aller, 9u'e /llin#ton and 9ic' ellstood. ellstood, one of best li"in#eponents of stride, points out that the essence of stride is the left hand. +That3s where the pulse is.ith stride you play tensions off your left hand.+ This is definitely happenin# in this "ersion. Also, chec'out Thelonius on'3s solo "ersion of this tune which has some "ery hip reharmoni4ation. ey of Bb.-erformed by iles Blac'. -icture of Fats aller.

@0> They ant Ta'e That Away From e, was written by Geor#e and !ra Gershwin. Here is arelaed "ersion played in the solo style of Tommy Flana#an, Han' ;ones or 9ic' Hyman. (otice that themelodic +holes+ are filled by the bass motion. The endin# re$capitulates the initial melodic phrase. eyof /b. -erformed by :on ;ohnston. -icture of Tommy Flana#an.

@0>% This an3t Be


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@0>D Eou3d Be *o (ice To ome Home To, was written in 1?>2 by ole -orter for the Broadway show+*omethin# to *hout About+. coy Tyner3s style dominates this "ersion of a tune that always been afa"orite of =a44 instrumentalists and "ocalists. (otice in the intro some of the trademar's of coy3sstyle, the powerful left hand pedals with chord "oicin#s in fourths mo"in# in a parallel and polytonalmode. !n #eneral, this is a #ood demonstration of +outside+ and +inside+ playin#. ey of m. -erformedby iles Blac'. -icture of coy Tyner.

@0>? Eou Go to y Head, was written by Gillespie and Goots. This #reat tune is presented here in thesolo style of Bill /"ans or Han' ;ones. This is beautiful =a44 playin# with lush "oicin#s, solid harmonyand #ood root motion. (otice the decepti"e cadence at the "ery end, and Fm11 rather than an Fma=? isplayed. ne of the most sensual recordin#s of this ballad was by the #reat Billie Holiday. ey of F.-erformed by :on ;ohnston. -icture of Bill /"ans.

@070 hen ! Fall !n Eoun# and Foolish, was written by Arnold B. Horwitt and Albert Ha#ue in 1?7>. -erformed herein the solo style of Bill /"ans or Tommy Flana#an, this rendition be#ins with the out of tempo "ersewhich starts in the 'ey of /b and modulates to a few different tonal centers, before endin# with a 9b?which leads into the tune in the 'ey of . (otice the use of reharmoni4ation 6e.#. in the 2nd bar, #oin#to Ab? before the G%8. any of these chordal tric's were pioneered by the #reat pianistic inno"ator Bill/"ans. Tony Bennett had the bi# hit on this one. ey of . -erformed by :on ;ohnston. -icture ofBill /"ans.

@077 9anny Boy, the traditional !rish ballad is performed in a beautiful and sensiti"e solo Bill /"ansstyle. The first chorus is played out of tempo. (otice the e5uisite "oicin#s, reharmoni4ation and "oiceleadin#, also the choice of bass notes and where they lead. ey of /b. -erformed by :on ;ohnston.-icture of Bill /"ans.

@07 Blues for 9r. ;ohn, was written by iles Blac'. This is a solo bar$room boo#ie blues played in thestyle of 9r. ;ohn, hampion ;ac' 9upree and others. !t incorporates many of the de"ices and tric'swhich ha"e been in"ented and passed down o"er the years. (otice the "ariation at bar >&. ey of 6ofcourseI8. -erformed by iles Blac'. -icture of iles Blac'.

@07% Boo#ie Blues, was written by iles Blac'. This euberant solo blues is played in :ay Bryant or9r. ;ohn style. The left hand lays down the bass and the rhythm in a simple and repetiti"e #roo"e. Allthe "ariation comes from the ri#ht hand. All the #reat blues piano players had somethin# uni5ue to


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contribute to the art form. This performance encapsulates many of these pianistic de"ices. ey of .-erformed by iles Blac'. -icture of iles Blac'.

@07D y Funny alentine, was written by :od#ers and Hart in 1?&%. Here is a sensiti"e renderin# ofone of the most lo"ed and often performed ballads in the =a44 repertoire. A solo "ersion played out oftime, it incorporates many of the stylistic elements of Herbie Hancoc'. (otice the modulation to thesecond chorus. eys of m and Fm. -erformed by :enee :osnes. -icture of Herbie Hancoc'.@07? :ay3s ood, was written by iles Blac'. This is a #ospel piece in the style of :ay harles.Althou#h it is not a blues, this tune has a #ospel$blues feel throu#hout. *ome of the pianistic de"icesplayed here were pioneered by the #reat /arl +Fatha+ Hines. (otice the use of triads with +blues$ified+approaches in the ri#ht hand and the laid$bac' rhythmic feel. ey of G. -erformed by iles Blac'.-icture of /arl Hines.

@00 Eou ade e 8, 6>8, Bb 6&8, F 628, Turnarounds. !n the second chorus of the bluesin , notice this often played "ariation of the usual chord pro#ression)6...Bm%6b78./%.Am%.Ab?.Gm%.%.F? etc...8. This lesson is ideal for those who wish to #et theirwal'in#$bass chops to#ether. The "oicin#s #et more comple with each chorus. -erformed by ilesBlac'. -icture of iles Blac'.


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PG Music - Jazz Pianist