Thanks to Jazz Video Guy on YT for finding this rare documentary footage of Bill Evans preparing for a TV taping in Denmark. There’s a lot to take away, but I’ll just zero in one aspect – this is a…
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The Set Menu
Here is an episode of a ’60s BBC TV series called Jazz 625 (yeah, our TVs had 625 scan lines at the time and the Beeboid techies came up with that really imaginative name). It’s Bill Evans with his second…
Tagged with: Bill Evans, jazz, jazz 625, Monty Python, Nardis, set lists
Posted in c) Musicianship, e) Rants & Ramblings
Posted in c) Musicianship, e) Rants & Ramblings
The Jaws of a Dilemma
I was involved in a discussion over on one of the REAPER forums recently with someone who seems to have been hung up on the production intricacies of one song for months. It’s probably my journalist background – the deadline’s…
Camels and Robots
Or putting rhythm sections out of business… Nah, of course, I’d never do such a thing. There’s no substitute for the real deal. But then practising isn’t the real deal either and I was asked a while ago about how…
Tagged with: Band in a Box, camels, Caravan, jazz, piano
Posted in a) Soloing Scales & Modes, c) Musicianship, e) Rants & Ramblings
Posted in a) Soloing Scales & Modes, c) Musicianship, e) Rants & Ramblings
All About That Bass, Bout That Bass (No Trouble)
I’ve had a question about comping bass solos. Wow. Well, how long have we got… I’ll start by mentioning that I play some “journeyman” bass. I can do a reasonable job as long the tempos are gentle, the changes aren’t…
Tagged with: bass, comping, jazz
Posted in b) Harmony & Comping, c) Musicianship, e) Rants & Ramblings
Posted in b) Harmony & Comping, c) Musicianship, e) Rants & Ramblings
Faking It
I don’t just mean “faking” harmony in the jazz sense, but rather more generally. Got involved in a little discussion recently about how to play complex cross-rhythms over at Adam Neely’s YT channel. When presented with something like 3s on…
Playing Flat
A quick one for pianists – in particular, pianists who are fortunate enough to play on grands. Though not all grands are made equal… Okay, let’s admit it, we all read sometimes. Whether detailed arrangements, originals, things we “kinda know” or…
Crystal Metheny
The point of this week’s post isn’t confined to Metheny tunes – it’s just that there are a couple we’ve happened to play recently that illustrate it nicely. The two tunes I’ll reference are Song for Bilbao and Question &…
Tagged with: modal jazz, Pat Metheny, Question & Answer, Song for Bilbao
Posted in a) Soloing Scales & Modes, c) Musicianship, e) Rants & Ramblings
Posted in a) Soloing Scales & Modes, c) Musicianship, e) Rants & Ramblings
Booker’s Blues
All of us are always learning (well, hopefully most of us are…), but it’s not big-headed to take pride in what you do. Here’s a little parable (with apologies to Jorge Luis Borges). Imagine you’re walking down an enormous corridor in a…
...appetising young books for sale...
Pents book is recommended reading on Gary Burton's Berklee course.
Jason Lyon on Music 