Jazz+ Posted December 6, 2020 Share Posted December 6, 2020 [video:youtube] Quote Find 660 of my jazz piano arrangements of standards for educational purposes and tutorials at www.Patreon.com/HarryLikas Harry was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adan Posted December 7, 2020 Share Posted December 7, 2020 Jazz+, you've been holding out on us. This Alexander Monty guy is pretty good! But seriously, as an obsessive student of solo jazz piano styles, I found this whole album very interesting. Monty has his own approach to the solo mode, especially his left hand carribean pseudo-stride (I'm sure there's another name for it) and it works quite well to my ear. In general, he's a little too fancy/flourishy for my taste. For that reason, it's difficult for me to love him. But the album is a very worthwhile study in how to tackle the solo piano. Quote Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro Home: Vintage Vibe 64 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz+ Posted December 8, 2020 Author Share Posted December 8, 2020 I think you are asking about the "tresillo" rhythm pattern, see wikipedia for details. It is played by the left hand and it works for many styles such as Latin, jazz swing, blues, syncopated stride, single note bass, pop, etc. The tresillo rhythm pattern can be done in your left hand accompaniment as a pretty and gentle legato with pedal (Hiromi's left hand on "Wake Up And Dream" solo improv section) or as detached hot groove without pedal (like Monty). It's a very practical beat for the left hand. I use it fair amount of the time in my solo piano playing. I play about 7 various left hand styles for solo piano and I like to switch back and forth between them every 4, 8 or 16 bars during a tune. LIke on a 12 bar blues for example, I often push myself to change up the left hand pattern style every 4 bars so I don't get lazy and keep it static. It changes the mood / drama frequently and I love that in playing piano. Monty got me into that sort of thing. Quote Find 660 of my jazz piano arrangements of standards for educational purposes and tutorials at www.Patreon.com/HarryLikas Harry was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz+ Posted December 8, 2020 Author Share Posted December 8, 2020 Please fasten your seat belts, the "Work Song" [video:youtube] Quote Find 660 of my jazz piano arrangements of standards for educational purposes and tutorials at www.Patreon.com/HarryLikas Harry was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz+ Posted December 8, 2020 Author Share Posted December 8, 2020 He's a beautiful ballad player too. "The River" by Monty Alexander. Chart availed upon request. Quote Find 660 of my jazz piano arrangements of standards for educational purposes and tutorials at www.Patreon.com/HarryLikas Harry was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adan Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 I like to switch back and forth between them every 4, 8 or 16 bars during a tune. LIke on a 12 bar blues for example, I often push myself to change up the left hand pattern style every 4 bars so I don't get lazy and keep it static. It changes the mood / drama frequently and I love that in playing piano. Monty got me into that sort of thing. This is a great approach to solo piano, absolutely. Generally speaking, you can't do this in a group setting. Playing solo allows you to be completely whimsical in your choice of styles from moment to moment. I do the same thing, just not as well as you. (That's why you're on some of the best pianos in San Francisco and I'm on some of the worst, but at least it gets me out of the house). I think you'd agree it isn't just for your own stimulation, it's to keep the listeners ears as well. It keeps them interested in what you're doing, and they may not even realize why, but subconsciously their brain is tuned in to what you'll do in the next 16 bars. And yes, Monty does this extremely well, that's something I really like about his solo piano approach and this whole album. Quote Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro Home: Vintage Vibe 64 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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