What Time Is It?

Hey Improvisers, Have you ever tried to play a full band arrangement on piano, as a solo? If you have, then you know the types of challenges that present themselves in this scenario. I recently had this experience while playing Weather Report’s “Man In The Green Shirt,” and I’d like to share some methods you … Read More

Hey Improvisers, Have you ever heard that “you always have to keep a steady tempo while sight-reading?” This is good advice at times, since when you’re sight-reading in a rehearsal with other musicians, or even during a public performance, you can’t slow down, right? That would mess everybody up. So it makes sense to practice … Read More

Hey Improvisers, Have you ever played Francis Lai’s tune “A Man And A Woman?” While it’s not a common jazz jam session tune, it gives us improvisers a lot to work with if we meet it halfway, and not try to force it into a typical jazz mold. “A Man And A Woman” is one … Read More

Hey Improvisers, Even though it’s always fun to discover new tunes that we haven’t played before, it’s great to revisit old chestnuts and explore fresh ways to play them. Better yet, we can use these familiar tunes as a way to further develop our own personal approach to playing piano. Our Journey Through The Real … Read More

Hey Improvisers, Contrary to what we often hear these days, 3rd-7th voicings aren’t always the best way for beginning jazz pianists to learn harmony and play jazz standards fluently. In fact, they often prevent many beginning jazz pianists from playing with any sense of flow and ease. Here’s a video I’ve made to show you … Read More

Hey Improvisers, While I was in college during the 1980s, I used to drive from Connecticut into Manhattan a few times per year to take jazz piano lessons with Harold Danko. Harold, besides being a really nice guy, had played with Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, and The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra and was a genuine … Read More

Hey Improvisers, Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life” is one of the all-time great jazz ballads. And while the chords in the most popular fake books are good, they aren’t quite what Strayhorn himself played. Here’s a video I’ve made to show you Strayhorn’s original harmonies in some key places, most notably in the final measure of … Read More

Hey Improvisers, Every month, I receive at least one or two emails asking me if it’s OK to look at your hands on the keys when you play piano. The people asking me are usually adult “piano re-starters” who remember their childhood piano teachers telling them to never look down at their hands while playing. … Read More

Hey Improvisers! Keith Jarrett’s tune “The Magician In You” is one of his greatest. It features a fun rock groove and it takes us on a harmonic path full of delightful twists and turns. One aspect of the tune which intrigues me is that it features a short introductory vamp, which briefly returns at the … Read More

Hey Improvisers! I’ve been spending the past few weeks working hard to finish my book on piano improvisation, which I hope to release on either July 1st or 15th. Last December, when I began going through my 10 years of blog posts and newsletters, I imagined that it would take about 2 months to organize … Read More