Tag Archives: jazz

Video – Terrific Solo Blues Piano – Mary Lou Williams

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

norah jones playing piano

Video – Norah Jones Playing Piano on Sunrise (Live in Amsterdam)

Here is a wonderful video of Norah Jones and her band playing “Sunrise” live in Amsterdam in 2007

Norah Jones is one of the best selling artists of today. Possessing an unusually beautiful voice, her fabulous recordings have made her the top Jazz artist of the 2000-2009 decade, as named by Billboard magazine. Norah began her professional career in 2002, and immediately became a very popular artist.

Norah Jones began singing as a child, in church choirs and took piano lessons. In High School, Jones sang in the school choir and played in a band. At the University of North Texas (UNT), Jones majored in jazz piano and sang with the UNT Jazz Singers. She met Jesse Harris whom she began collaborating with. Shorty afterwards, she returned to New York City and started a band with Harris.

Some of the people that have influenced her music are Billie Holiday and Bill Evans. Jones, in addition to being singer, is also a songwriter, guitarist, and actress.

Some of most popular songs include:

“The Nearness of You”

“I Think It’s Going to Rain Today”

“Don’t Miss You at All”

“Seven Years”

“Sinkin’ Soon”

“Humble Me”

 

more on Norah Jones

 

Video – Keith Jarrett – Somewhere Over the Rainbow Piano Solo Tokyo 1984

Here is a wonderful piano solo of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow “ by Keith Jarrett. Known for his blisteringly fast and beautifully emotional harmonies, Jarrett is considered by many as the best jazz pianist in the world.

Keith Jarrett is an American pianist and composer. Jarrett began piano lessons before his third birthday. At the age of five he appeared on a TV talent program, and continued to display prodigious talent as a young child. Jarrett gave his first formal piano recital at age seven, playing Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, and two of his own piano compositions.

Jarrett has performed and recorded with numerous famous artists worldwide. His enormously successful career, performing jazz and classical music, spans decades. He is best known for his jazz standards, original jazz solo performances, jazz trio work, and classical renditions. His legendary and stunning virtuoso live piano solos are known for their complexity and originality. Jarrett’s improvisations draw from traditional jazz, blues, gospel, and folk music. His modern and artistic way of engaging the keyboard is unique. There is simply no other pianist that possesses the remarkable skills he has. Keith Jarrett has received countless awards and recognition for his piano playing and compositions, and is an icon of American jazz.

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Video, Chick Corea Akoustic Band Piano Solo “Spain”, Montreal Jazz Festival 2004

This is a fabulous live piano solo of Chick Corea playing “Spain”, his classic tune, at the Montreal Jazz Festival 2004. Chick Corea’s music has a very distinctive percussive style, and is often accented by unison playing. His legendary playing is also noted for his fresh melodies and ethnic influences.

Chick Corea is an American jazz pianist, and composer. Corea began piano lessons at the age of eight and also began composing early in his career. His influences include bebop artists Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, and Horace Silver. He has recorded both on acoustic piano, electric piano, and electronic keyboards. Many of his songs are now considered jazz standard and have been performed by numerous musicians. Chick Corea is considered a jazz luminary, along with Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner and Keith Jarrett. His is one of the most influential jazz composers of the last 40 years. During his career he has been nominated for 51 Grammy Awards and has won 15.

more on Chick Corea

Blues Piano

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blues piano keyboard lessons portland


“Having A Blast. Love Doing Blues Improv”

“The Pieces Are Coming Together And I Now Understand How To Play Blues”

“Playing My Own Music Is The Best”

 


blues piano lessons keyboardWhy Learn To Play Blues Piano?
Learning to play Blues Piano is a fabulous way to improve your piano playing skills. It will help you learn to play by ear, understand how music is constructed, and enable you to fly over the keys. Students who learn Blues Piano acquire a sense of freedom to play piano and keyboards effortlessly. Playing Blues on piano or keyboards is just a lot of fun. It’s creative, full of energy and emotion. Blues Piano is very cool.

Students who already read music will learn a new way of approaching the keyboard. Blues Piano can revitalize and enliven your playing. Jamming Blues Piano with friends makes a great music connection. It’s the fastest way of learning to play music with others. Complete beginners, after spending a few months learning to read music, can begin Blues Piano, learn new techniques and expand their proficiency.

While learning blues, we’ll work on some extra music theory, to round out your understanding of how things fit together. If interested, you can also learn to arrange music, and write original pieces. If you are a singer, we can look at chord styles to accompanying your voice. Adults have a great curiosity about Blues. Kids also naturally love to improvise on piano. Blues is an excellent way for anyone to use their imagination to paint musical pictures on the keyboard.

blues piano lessons player

What Is Blues Piano?
Blues is an original American music. The beauty of Blues Piano is its simplicity and creative energy. Blues is improvisational, with each repetition a playful expansion of what came before. Usually played as a twelve bar progression, there is a distinct chord and melody structure which gives it such a unique sound. Blues Piano is often played solo, and is a lot faster and more innovative than Blues generally played on guitar. In it’s more complicated versions, it sounds a lot like Jazz. Playing Blues is a whole world of music in itself. It’s artistic, and is full of soul. Learning to play Blues Piano is great way to be introduced to Jazz improvisation.

Since the 1800’s Blues has been greatly influenced all types of American music, Classical, Folk, Rock n’ Roll, Jazz, and more. Blues music can be found everywhere and is loved and appreciated throughout the world. Constantly evolving, Blues Piano music continues to excite, delight and captivate people.

Some well known Blues piano players from different time periods are: Otis Spann, Albert Ammons, Meade Lux Lewis, Oscar Peterson, Randy Newman, Professor Longhair, Keith Jarrett, Michel Petrucciani.


play blues lessons piano

Blues Piano – Getting Started
You’ll see lots of ‘How To Play Blues Piano’ books. Learning to play Blues from a book is very hard. The material is hard to make sense of and students end up confused and frustrated. Learning to play Blues is best done as a one-on-one hand’s on experience. It’s the way to go. I have taught hundreds of people to play Blues Piano with confidence and ease. Beginners, after learning to read music a bit, will find Blues to be well suited for them. If you already play piano and want to learn this great American piano style, then you can begin right away. Playing Blues Piano helps students acquire a nice fluid playing style and improve all areas of their playing.

blues piano lessons improvisation

The Blues Piano Lessons
The way I teach Blues Piano is unique; developed over years of teaching, it’s easy to follow and understand. Learning to play twelve bar Blues begins with the left hand chord progression and right hand Blues Scale. You’ll learn all the necessary steps to begin improvising some really nice, fun Blues. Everything you need to know to master the basic styles of Blues will be presented in an easy to understand progression.

Playing Blues Piano is a wonderful introduction to improvisation and playing by ear. There is a special feeling of freedom and accomplishment to being able to play without music. Blues Piano will give you new energy and expressiveness in your playing. Lessons are presented to each student at a comfortable pace and according to their own personal interests.

Examples of Blues



  Some things you will learn:
Left Hand Blues Chord Progressions
Right Hand Blues Scale
Swing and Other Rhythms
Walking Bass
Rhythm Variations
Alternative Twelve Bar Progressions
Jazz Style Blues Chords & Scales
1930-1950 & Contemporary Styles of Blues


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