Erroll Garner, the steady beat.

Hey, this is the Garner style. Tempo is good. I hear a little Bud Powell, don't you? His left hand sure amazes me every time I hear. But Garner wasn't my favorite. If you listen to the second tune, In a mellow Tone, you'll realize why he couldn't be mu favorite. He could fake the melody line but never be the excellent improvisation performer, I'd say.




But well, I like his intonation. That appears his third tune, Don't worry 'bout me. His ballad play is kind of boring and easily gets into the category of cocktail piano. He cannot be a player who can go along with drummer of bassist, I assume. You feel thrill with driving piano but never with the accompanist, right?

He's gone in 1977, at his age of 55. It's a long time ago. According to the WikiPedia, he's been active till 1974.I see interesting comment on him in the wiki, saying "Short in stature (5 foot 2 inches) Garner performed sitting on multiple telephone directories, except when playing NY, where Manhattan phone book was sufficient." Mmmmm...

Thelonious Monk, ballad: Don't blame me

Every body knows the quire playing style of Monk, right? I like his play as well as Oscar Peterson. The timing is themselves. But it get bored if you keep listening all the time. For that matter I'd say same thing to Bill Evans.

Monk is astonishingly technical sometime. If you check "Straight no chaser", you'll see it. But I love his poetic ballad playing. And this is one of them. See the left hand? And the way he kicks? That's Monk.



I tried him once. Everybody thought that I was just lazy and lousy player. It's a memory of my high teen years. Blue Monk is rather easy to perform his way. No legato, no dragging left hand chord. You play chopping melody line and improvisation line. That makes you Monk.

This is nice tutorial to support a singing.

It is not that easy to go along with singing. My first experience was total disaster. I was playing solo at a bar located near a train station. There were some beauties who might sit next to you to have a little chat with customers. No, that was not a bar where you would find hookers but rather a decent place.

That was third or fourth year since I started playing jazz piano. To tell you the truth, that was my first experience to play background of professional singer.



My first mistake was to try going along with her, the singer. I send chord as she sings. Which means that I listen to her phrasing and try to go along with it. So, if she stretch a bar, I follow it. Y'know something? If I do that, she'd lose the bar completely.

It took me three tunes to learn the lesson. During those three tunes, I did not feel I was playing at all. I got sweat so badly and had felt irritating eyeball due to the sweat into my eye.

Now you are lucky. Because you can learn the lesson through internet. And I find this tune pretty cute. The voice of this singer is great and the piano player has nice timing sense to back her up. Enjoy.

Check with my jazz piano lesson for the late starters. If you are over 40, there's nothing to worry. You sing along with piano and that is you improvisation.