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Hi all,

I'm a classically trained pianist of 8 years - I've taken all the grades and am now at University studying music with Piano as my first instrument. I have recently realised that though I've always played 'classical' music, particularly 'romantic' pieces, I've got the mentality of a Jazz pianist and have found it quite easy to change my focus from classical to jazz.

It'd be really great if you guys could suggest any Jazz piano classics for me to try - I'm particularly enjoying swing, boogie-woogie and 'lounge' jazz at the minute, as well as New Orleans style blues.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated, and if you can put me onto some sheet music that'd be even better!

Thanks,

D.

I'm afraid that jazz - largely an improvisational form - and sheet music don't usually go together. You could certainly find some boogie-woogie sheet music - not necessarily jazz. Gershwin wrote a number of arrangements of his own pieces - those are available. You can find transcriptions of solos - in magazines and online, but without accompaniment. Can anyone contradict me? Are there "jazz" arrangements of any sophistication out there?

The question is, do you want to play jazzy-sounding pieces, or do you really want to play jazz? If you want to play written out pieces that have a jazzy flavor to them, I'm sure they are available, but I'm not a great source on that. If you really want to play jazz (which includes improvisation), buy one of the Real Books (I favor the New Real Book) which are filled with jazz standards of all kinds. The Real Books are the standard source for tunes in the jazz repertoire. Of course, you have to know how to play from a lead sheet, but that is how jazz is done.

Thanks for the responses so far guys!

Should have been more specific... the New Real Jazz books look like the sort of thing I'm after, something to help me practice chord progressions and give room for improvisation too!!

Keep 'em coming!

D.

Moving from classical training to playing jazz is a sweeping change, involving modifying some pretty rudimentary basics, like the duration and emphasis of the written notes. You do not mention if you are familiar with the construction of simple extended chords, like the various flavors of sixths, sevenths, and ninths. Those will be important in working with lead sheets (Real Books, for instance.) An additional aspect that will help your transition to jazz will be listening to the interpretation and inflection of various players from many eras of jazz.

You are entering a different world, with a different musical language.
Ed

I suggest you take a look at a transcription book of Bill Evans.
http://www.amazon.com/Bill-Evans-Trio-1959-1961-Transcriptions/dp/0634051792/
It'll give you insight into a player, that also came from the classical world.

ps: get the recordings as well, to listen and to read the transcriptions is a great study.

pss: have you checked out Kapustin? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn9fTO7zp5Q

There are some approaches that might serve you as a bridge between both languages. For instance, Mehldau ("Schloss Elmau", "Don't be sad", "Airport sadness", "My favourite things", among so many other tunes), Jarret, Hanna (his long introduction to "A child is born", Tigran Hamasyan (search "Spinners" it's a good example) and an album from Marsalis/Calderazzo called "Songs of myrth and melancholy". Search "La vals Kendall" or "Hope" and see what can be done, and then look for the live version of that vals they made in Carthago jazz fest. (uncomplete cell recording but very interesting) to see how they develope their ideas.This particular tune is quite "romantic", so fits your needs.
It's all in youtube.
Please let me know it this helped.

+1 for Kapustin and this specific piece. I'ts definitely not a standard but a good example for jazz based "classical" music. He also has a collection of jazz preludes, I believe.