Test Your Piano Knowledge with this Quiz
Mon, 05/14/2018 - 5:02pm
Christie Peery, George Whitty, and Hugh Sung are some of the most accomplished piano players in the world -- and they know a thing or two about playing the keys.
Notes from a giant
Mon, 02/26/2018 - 1:39pm
I have always really loved this interview, with Andre Previn interviewing Oscar Peterson. When I was about 15, Oscar came through Oregon to play, but he was playing in Portland, 220 miles from my home town. And my folks weren't up to driving all the way up there for it, so I organized it as a school field trip for my high school swing choir. And it's still one of the best concerts I ever saw, Oscar, Joe Pass, Ella Fitzgerald, and the Basie band (who totally blew me away) all at once. And like a lot of musicians, Oscar was sort of an enigma; what could he possibly have been like as a person? Well, here he is! Herbie Hancock told me once, during a conversation about Herbie's technophilia (he always has the latest and greatest; he probably already has the iPhone 13) that Oscar put him to shame with his love of things technical. There are some YouTubes of Oscar in his home studio playing synths, which are fun. But in this interview, Andre Previn (who's also a scary jazz pianist himself, though best known as a classical conductor) interviews Oscar in a very playful way, and the insights are priceless. It's like a master class, and Oscar is at the peak of his powers. And toward the end, the two of them play together, and THAT is also really cool! Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIW24bySbT4
New Section: Electric Piano & Keyboard Concepts
Fri, 09/22/2017 - 4:57pm
This is a new section added to the learning section where George is going to cover some key concepts when playing jazz piano in a digital setting such as a keyboard or electric piano.
In this first lesson on Funk Soloing, George lays out some ideas to help you effectively solo with taste and an understanding of the different mechanics of using this style of sound in a band setting.
The Fender Rhodes electric piano sound is the focus of this lesson. How to effectively paint your ideas in this style tone and how to best fit it into the context of a band. As with the last lesson, this one has backing tracks in all 12 keys to help you practice improvising the techniques demonstrated.
The familar sound of the Hammond B3 organ is deconstructed in this lesson. George will share his ideas and demonstrate the best and most tasteful use of organ sounds in jazz improv. This lesson also features a footpedal overlay so you can see how the volume and use of vibrato and/or the Leslie is integrated to bring the sound to life.
Working with a couple musical geniuses...
Sun, 09/17/2017 - 3:45pm
Or is it Geniii? Hey everybody: a few notes on some things I have coming up, and one in progress! Just finished five days in Portland, OR, working with Gino Vannelli on his new CD, and am again reminded what an incredible musician the guy is. We did a CD 20 years ago called “Slow Love”, and I was really struck by the depth of his writing, producing, singing, mixing, you name it. That one took a LONG TIME, as we did almost the entire record in Logic on the computer, programming drums, bass, keys, guitars, horns, strings…I even took a nice little “harmonica” solo on a sound we built out of our own samples in a Kurzweil K2000. Great record, and 20 years later we picked up right where we left off, but older and wiser.
Gino’s writing has as much really cool harmony in it as anybody can fit into a contemporary song; this CD is a kind of “Americana” one, with a small band featuring slide guitar, piano, percussion, pedal steel, harmonica, and some string sections. But it’s as sophisticated as it gets, yet incredibly friendly to the ear.
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