What Time Is It?

Hey Improvisers, I hope you’ve been having a great week! It’s been pretty busy over here, but it’s all about good things. I addition to my piano teaching, I’ve been writing a book about piano improv. I’ve been working on it every day and I hope to publish it on April 1st for the Kindle … Read More

Hey Improvisers, It can be lot of fun to we discover that some of our favorite musicians are fans of one another. A good example of this is the relationship between Chick Corea and Stevie Wonder. Corea’s 1970’s jazz-fusion group, Return To Forever, inspired Wonder to compose this jazzy instrumental tune for his landmark album … Read More

Hey Improvisers, The actor/comedian Steve Martin once made a TV skit where he simply looked into the camera, perplexed, and said, “What the heck IS that?” Being the great comedian that he is, the skit somehow got funnier and funnier each time he repeated the question! Do you ever look at a jazz tune with … Read More

Do you ever feel “stuck in a rut” with your jazz piano playing? Do you get tired of playing the same licks over and over again? Do you ever feel like your playing lacks freshness? Well… one of the best (and easiest) ways to invigorate our jazz piano playing and keep it fresh is to … Read More

Hey Improvisers, Since the transition to a New Year is a natural time for renewal and rejuvenation, let’s take a moment to reflect on our individual musical goals and how to develop a 3-step plan for achieving them in the coming year. First, let’s reflect upon what we know doesn’t work, and how to tap … Read More

Every December (and sometimes as early as November!), I hear Mariah Carey’s ever-present song “All I Want For Christmas Is You” on the radio and think to myself, “This song would make a great jazz piano piece. Someday I’ll play it as a jazz standard.” Well, I’ve finally done it, and my hunch was correct: … Read More

Hey Improvisers, Have you ever wondered why some songs become timeless classics and others don’t? While a popular singer or a big marketing campaign can catapult a song to a place on the pop charts, why do some songs, like “Let It Be” and “Yellow Submarine,” endure for decades? What makes a song take its … Read More

Hey Improvisers, When I sat down to play the old chestnut “Limehouse Blues” this week, I was faced by a crushing thought: “I have Art Tatum’s version running through my head, and everything I can play seems really lame in comparison.” Have you ever felt this way when playing piano? Have you ever had your … Read More

Hey Improvisers! In the majority of musical education, whether in private lessons or in classes, there’s an implicit assumption that: 1. We are “down here,” and musicians like Beethoven, Charlie Parker, Paul McCartney, and Joni Mitchell are “way up there.” 2. Furthermore, there are about 10 steps in the ladder between us and them. 3. … Read More

Hey Improvisers, One ironic aspect of the current information-overload era of music instruction is that melody is usually overlooked. I’m always mystified by this because we all love melody and when we think of a particular song, isn’t it the melody we hear in our minds? Melody is one of the primary aspects of music … Read More