What Time Is It?

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

Hey Improvisers, I hope you’ve had the opportunity to spend some time playing music this week. (And please remember that it’s called “playing music.” Not “stressing about music,” or “always feeling you’re not good enough.” It’s playing music, with a sense of joy and purpose.) But I digress… Have you ever tried to play “block … Read More

Hey Improvisers, When I was 15 years old and just getting into piano improvisation, a friend of mine played me Keith Jarrett’s Köln Concert album. Wow! I couldn’t believe that someone could improvise music like this, and my world was changed forever. It may be difficult to imagine a time when Keith Jarrett wasn’t playing … Read More

Hey Improvisers, Thanks for the warm response to last week’s post about my KeyboardImprov “creation story.” Your support and enthusiasm means a lot to me and I’m glad that so many of you are finding inspiration in what I shared in that post. I’m still working on my book, and I’ve started posting Real Book … Read More

Hey Improvisers, When was in college, working towards a degree in classical music composition, I wrote a vocal/piano piece based on a poem by Emily Dickinson. Here’s the poem: To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee, One clover, and a bee. And revery. The revery alone will do, If bees are … Read More