What Time Is It?

One of the unexpected effects of everyone staying inside their homes over the past few weeks is that pianists have been spending a lot of time playing their instruments. I hear the lady who lives upstairs from me playing her Bach and Schumann pieces for hours daily, and I hear about it via email from … Read More

During my college days at The University of Connecticut, I was fortunate to study composition and jazz piano with a wonderful musician and human being named Hale Smith. Hale was “the real deal,” and was well-known in both the classical and jazz worlds. In his youth he had won the very first BMI Composer’s Award, … Read More

Have you ever heard Wayne Shorter’s album Juju? If not, check it out – you’re in for a treat! The whole album is great, and one tune that stands out is “House Of Jade.” It a ballad, and the tempo is just fast enough that a walking bass line can sustain the groove. Not many … Read More

I once attended a workshop for teachers, and the instructor said something I had never thought about before: “If you want to get to a new level, you have to come to a new way of thinking.” Over the years, it’s gradually dawned on me that this is exactly what the greatest musicians do. They’ve … Read More

Have you ever noticed how in the jazz world, we tend to play each tune like the most famous player who’s associated with that tune? So, if you play a Duke Ellington tune, you tend to play it like Duke Ellington, or a Parker tune, you tend to play it just like Charlie Parker. In … Read More

The 1953 jazz standard “Hot Toddy” is a wonderful piece to play, but it’s not a typical jam session tune. Composed by Ralph Flanagan, the tune became popular in part because of its repetitive, riff-like melody, and as such it can be viewed historically as a predecessor of Rock and Roll. “Hot Toddy” can be … Read More

  Hey everyone, I hope you’re staying safe and sane during this time. One interesting aspect of this I’ve been seeing is that a lot of you are playing tons of piano lately. Many people are using their time at home to sit down and tap into their desire to become better pianists. We’re also … Read More

Pachelbel’s Canon is perhaps the most widely-beloved piece of classical music in the world. I’ve often asked myself why this is so, because there are many pieces of classical music that are as beautiful as the Pachelbel, but aren’t as popular. I’ve come up with two reasons why I think the Pachelbel is so beloved: … Read More

Hey everyone, I remember one night about 10 years ago, when I was playing piano in a restaurant. It was my friend Marc’s steady gig, and he had asked me to fill in for him because he was out of town playing a concert that evening. The restaurant was packed, and the waiters and waitresses … Read More

After spending Monday teaching piano lessons all day via Skype and Zoom, I woke up Tuesday morning to see an email from one of those students. He said how great it was to be able, during crazy times, to “forget about all that and just focus on music.” His email reminded me about a big … Read More