Transcriptions #1: Someday My Prince Will Come John Coltrane Solo

This rendition of “Someday My Prince Will Come” was performed by Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb. The solo by John Coltrane starts around 5:52 and my transcription ends around 6:12. “Someday My Prince Will Come” is one of my favorite tunes. someday-my-prince-will-come-john-coltrane.pdf I really like th... Read more 28 May 2020 - 1 minute read

Why I Play Jazz

Jazz, as we tend to look at it, is a style, but I feel that jazz is not so much a style as a process of making music. It’s the process of making music—making one minute’s music in one minute’s time… in an absolute sense, jazz is more of a certain creative process of spontanaeity than a style. – Bill Evans Jazz is a means for creative exp... Read more 27 May 2020 - 3 minute read

Elements of Jazz

There are certain building blocks of music that you use to create a piece of jazz music. Actually these building blocks apply not only to jazz but to all music in general. Knowing what these building blocks are is important to help you figure out what to practice, what to think about when you’re soloing, how to play over a standard, and how to c... Read more 27 May 2020 - 8 minute read

Left Hand 3-Note Voicings

Left hand 3-note voicings are one of the essential building blocks for solo jazz piano. They can be used to comp for yourself while you’re playing a standard or soloing. They can also be used as the base upon which you build thicker, two-handed voicings. They are colorful voicings that are easier to think about than 4-note voicings. Familiarity ... Read more 26 May 2020 - 2 minute read

Finding Two-Handed Jazz Voicings Based on the Melody Note

When we start learning jazz chords we are taught how to play block chords. Block chords are great, but I wanted a way to find better voicings on the fly according to the top melody note. It’s overwhelming trying to figure out a good two-handed voicing, as there are so many possible ways to voice a single chord. This is a system I use for creatin... Read more 25 May 2020 - 6 minute read