Tag Archives: blues piano

Video – Terrific Solo Blues Piano – Mary Lou Williams

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This is a terrific example of stride piano blues. Mary Lou Williams plays a wonderful solo blues at age 70. Her accomplished style of combining strong right hand blues melodies and her legendary stride piano left hand are showcased in this recording.

Mary Lou Williams was born in Atlanta Georgia in 1910. She was a jazz and blues piano player, composer, and arranger. In her long career, she recorded and arranged hundreds of songs. She also wrote music and arranged for Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman. Some of her close friends included Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Tadd Dameron, Dizzy Gillespie and many more great musicians.

Although Mary Lou Williams never took piano lessons, she learned how to play all by herself. She was extremely gifted as a child and very motivated to learn. At the age of 6 she was already earning money playing the piano. By the time she reached 14 she was performing with Duke Ellington and became well known as a professional musician throughout Atlanta. Her remarkable skill at the keyboard, especially at such an early age, astounded most everyone she met, including Louis Armstrong. Her career lasted over seventy years, and she has left a huge repertoire of recordings as well as memories for the many people who got to hear her perform at music events and festivals. She was truly an inspiration to many upcoming artists.

Some Mary Lou Williams Recordings
From the Heart
Mary Lou’s Mass
Black Christ of the Andes
The First Lady of the Piano
The Zodiac Suite
Roll ‘Em

more on Mary Lou Williams

Video Jazz Piano – Abdullah Ibrahim Plays Cape Town Flower (1999)

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Here is a video of a beautiful and moving performance of “Cape Town Flower” recorded at the Lugano Jazz Festival in Switzerland in 1999. The trio playing here is one of Abdullah´s best ensembles ever. Abdullah Ibrahim is one of my favorite composers and pianists. His music is rich, innovative, and lovely to listen to. His style of playing includes many varied elements from Jazz and Blues Piano.

Abdullah Ibrahim was born in 1932 in Cape Town, South Africa. Ibrahim is a pianist and composer. His music reflects multicultural influences from his childhood. You can discern elements of Traditional African songs, Gospel, Church, Blues, Indian Ragas, and Contemporary Jazz. Some Jazz musicians influencing his music are Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington.

Abdullah Ibrahim first took piano lessons at age seven. He was an avid listener of American Jazz records, brought to Cape Town by sailors. He began playing piano professionally in 1949. In 1962 he moved to Europe. Ibrahim has recorded many albums and has made his mark in the global Jazz community. His contribution to the Jazz curriculum has been prolific.

Here in Portland, when my piano students ask me to suggest some Jazz musicians to listen to, Abdullah Ibrahim is on the short list. His playing transcends the traditional western style of Jazz, with a fresh and eclectic feel.

Discography (partial)
1960: Jazz Epistle Verse 1
1964: Duke Ellington presents The Dollar Brand Trio
1965: The Dream
1965: Anatomy of a South African Village (Black Lion Records)
1965: This is Dollar Brand (Black Lion)
1969: African Sketchbook
1969: African Piano
1973: Good News from Africa
1973: African Space Program

read more about Abdullah Ibrahim

Video – Nice Traditional Boogie Woogie Blues Piano – Silvan’s Night Train Trip

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Here is a nice video of the Silvan Zingg band playing “Silvan’s Night Train Trip”. Enzo Muci plays the Bass and Michel Denis plays drums. This is a great example of a classic Boogie Woogie style piece. Silvan Zingg is from Switzerland, and is well known for his this style of playing. He’s even been called the Boogie Woogie Ambassador. Zingg’s family was very musical and encouraged him early on. He started playing piano at a young age, even before starting school. He gave his first professional performance at the age of eighteen, has played all over the globe, and has performed with numerous legendary blues players.

Piano lessons are more fun if students are given a variety of things to learn. Here, at my studio in Portland, in addition to reading music, many of my students love studying Blues Piano. Students are given all the tools necessary to learn this very popular style of music. Anyone who plays piano can learn to play blues on a keyboard or the piano. The basics of a 12 bar blues is a simple left hand chord progression and melodies in the right hand improvised from the blues scale. The more students listen and study the recordings of other players, the faster they will grasp the concept.

Good blues draws the listener in with unique melodies and interesting rhythms. Most students find that they can become quite proficient in playing Blues Piano is a fraction of the time it takes to learn other styles of music. Blues is also a great introduction to Jazz Piano. There are a number of different styles of piano blues, such as Boogie Woogie, Swing, and New Orleans. It’s all great fun and a delight to learn.

Some popular blues pianists:
Booker T. Laury
Meade “Lux” Lewis
Professor Longhair
Willie Love
Jay McShann
Big Maceo Merriweather
Amos Milburn
Little Brother Montgomery
Pinetop Perkins
Henning Pertiet
Buster Pickens

read about Silvan Zingg

 

playing recording keyboard piano lessons

Videos

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From the very first day they start piano lessons, I consider all my students to be musicians. There are many ways to learn skills in musicianship. Learning to read music is a foundation to playing. A wide variety of pieces is available, in a number of music genres: popular, classical, new age, blues, jazz, folk.

Playing by ear is something that appeals to many students. Studying chords and melodies increases one’s ability to translate the sound we hear to playing the notes. In addition, blues improvisation and theory are a great addition to playing by ear. Playing duets and jamming is a blast. It’s fun making music together.

For some students, trying out arranging and composing lets you be in the world of the songwriter. Recording videos is always a great way to practice, and maybe hare what you’ve accomplished with family or friends near or far away.

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The Teacher

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Norm Zarr studied music in New York City. He started a software company that designed tools for professional musicians used in the recording studio. For years he was a sound designer, inventing sounds for synthesizers that musicians could use in television, film, and CD recordings.

For several decades, he has worked as a composer. He has composed and recorded in numerous music genres, including Jazz, Blues, Rock, New Age, World and Ethnic. His original music has been included in many television productions.

As a piano teacher, he has taught piano to people of all ages. Mr. Zarr has also performed piano professionally. He lives in Portland, Oregon continuing to teach piano and compose music.

Norm Zarr has Two Platinum Records Awards
His soundtracks have been featured in these shows

 


In preparing for a role in the movie Management, filmed in Portland, Steve Zahn’s producer contacted Norm Zarr to help Steve study piano. They worked on his skills for a scene where he needed to play keyboard. Jennifer Aniston was featured in the film.

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Piano Lessons & Keyboard Lessons
Portland, Oregon

503-771-4611