What are the top ten jazz standards i should learn/ know if I want to learn how to be a better at jazz piano?
i'm just starting to study jazz, deeply, and im a freshman playing for my high schools jazz band, they are always talking about songs and good groups...
i’m just starting to study jazz, deeply, and im a freshman playing for my high schools jazz band, they are always talking about songs and good groups, can i have some hints of some of the basic standards i should know/ learn to play, and some of the best groups out there?
Related posts:
The first answer was very good. I will give you a tune that is and has been recorded for many years by a wide variety of Jazz musicians from Ella Fitzgerald to Herb Alpert. The harmony attracts Jazz musicians very strongly to the great song All The Things You Are. The greatest version for me is the one by the great Jazz pianist Art Tatum and the tenor sax of Ben Webster. The extraordinary interplay of Art Tatum and Ben Webster is fantastic,and it is the most romantic version of All The Things You Are.
Other songs which you should explore: Sophisticated Lady by Duke Ellington
All Blues by Miles Davis
St. Louis Blues by W C Handy
Song For My Father by Horace Silver
Mood Indigo by Duke Ellington
Lush Life by Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington
Take Five by Dave Brubeck
All of Me by Lester Young
A Night In Tunisia by Dizzy Gillespie
Now’s The Time by Charlie Parker
Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday. These are a few songs ,but many artists have played these songs many times and there are many Cd versions available.
The best thing you can do is go hard on it. You’ll want to start bathing your ears in jazz sounds now because there will never be a point when you’ve heard enough. So start now. A good place to start is Miles Davis. Look up his 60s quintet with Herbie, Ron, Tony, and Wayne. They’ve got a bunch of amazing albums (I’m not exactly sure how many), and this stuff is packed full of useful language. Also get in the habit of reading the liner notes. You’ll want to get to know other material by each of the players on each disc you hear.
At the same time as you do this, you need to work on basic chops/technique. Make sure you know all your scales (major, melodic minor, harmonic minor, diminished and whole tone are your basic ones). Learn the modes of the major scales and practice patterns through all of them. things like going up the scale in thirds, diatonic triads, diatonic 7ths etc. as well as any patterns that you may make up.
You should isolate some common chord progressions. Find left hand chord voicings that work well and learn the progression in 12 keys using those voicings. Then apply the patterns in your right hand over top of the voicings playing the progressions.
This should keep you busy for about 5 years! lol. Also you would benefit from a good teacher. where are you from? It’s hard to know a good teacher when your at your stage of the game, so maybe you should find someone you admire and ask them who a good teacher would be. You can also read my blog at http://www.jasonbernsteinmusic.com and try perusing the database at http://www.jazzrepertoiredb.com
oh ya…youtube is the best thing to happen to jazz since….well it’s great. There are many great channels on there. one of my facorites is called thejazzvideoguy also you can check out mine at http://www.youtube.com/jasonmusic99 I mostly just add my own stuff and favorite a lot of great vids. It’s the favorites that I suggest you check out, there are a lot of real good ones that I’ve been able to find.
I hope this helps.
satin doll
misty
body and soul
tenderly
maiden voyage
my foolish heart
fly me to the moon
all the things you are
meditation
nearness of you
days of wine and roses
listen to;
bill evans
oscar peterson
stan getz
wes montgomery