Segment 7: Master Class for Piano (21:05)

For use in Lesson #16.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To go to a specific chapter, slide the elapsed time indicator in the video screen to the timing point shown for that chapter below.

Chapters:

1. Clinician introductions: Cynthia Sayer, Mark Shane (0:00)

2. Piano or Keyboard? (0:44)

3. Piano Techniques (1:29)

4. Your Role (2:43)

5. How to Play a “Piano Intro” (3:16)

6. Ensemble Piano Playing: Classic New Orleans Style (5:15)

7. Ensemble Piano Playing: New Orleans Revival Style (6:09)

8. Ensemble Piano Playing: San Francisco Style (8:45)

9. Ensemble Piano Playing: Chicago/Swing Styles (9:46)

10. Ensemble Piano Playing: Mainstream Style (10:58)

11. Soloing: A Variety of Approaches (12:12)

12. How to Play “Stride” Piano (14:21)

13. Clinician Showcase (16:20)

14. A Message From Cynthia (18:19)

15. A Message From Mark (18:34)

16. Clip of Fats Waller (18:59)

17. Clip of Jess Stacy (19:44)

18. Clip of Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson (20:14)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A detailed description/transcription of this video segment follows for reference

Clinician Introductions: (left to right) Cynthia Sayer, Mark Shane

Cynthia: [plays “Yellow Dog Blues”] My name is Cynthia Sayer, and I’m playing a little bit of New Orleans jazz piano for you.

Mark: [plays “Rosetta”] Hello, my name is Mark Shane, and I’m going to be playing some traditional jazz piano for you.

Piano or Keyboard?

Cynthia: Traditional jazz is of course an acoustic kind of music. So if you’re the piano player in a band, and you have a gig somewhere, if they have a piano, of course that’s the best thing. But if it happens that you have a gig somewhere where there’s no piano available, or they have one as happens sometimes, and they say “Oh, we have a piano”, and you get there and the thing doesn’t work properly, well, it’s nice to have a keyboard available. And I recommend really strongly that you try to have a keyboard that imitates an acoustic piano as much as possible. As you know, there are all kinds out there on the market, so just find one that feels and sounds as much like a piano as you can find.

Piano Techniques

Mark: First of all, it’s important if you can span a tenth. [plays a tenth] Here’s a tenth in an F major chord, here, and here’s a tenth as an inversion with the third in the bass. [plays an inverted tenth] And that can be used in the beginning of the tune “Rosetta”. [plays a phrase ending on C7 chord] And here is a C-seventh with the fifth in the bass. Here’s a C-seventh with the root in the bass. [plays a C7 chord] And here’s how it sounds—you take the first four bars of “Rosetta” and you use all these inversions. [plays “Rosetta”] We used a bunch of inversions there. There’s all kinds of things that you can do with inner voices as well as inversions, and in the left hand, not only using tenths, but using sevenths. Sevenths and tenths should be the basis of your left hand repertoire, or your left hand arsenal, so to speak. In addition to the octaves.

Your Role

Cynthia: The role of the piano is to play the chords, and also to be a part of the rhythm section laying down the time. When playing traditional jazz, you tend to use very pure chords, without extensions; nothing fancy.

Mark: You’re providing a rhythmic underpinning for the rest of the soloists, and you’re working with the rhythm section to provide a cohesive type format for that.  Don’t solo behind the soloist!

How to Play a “Piano Intro”

Mark: “Give me an intro!” That’s what they sometimes tell me. They want an introduction. They want me to set up something, some mood so they can play and sound good. So I have to give them an introduction, a four-bar or an eight-bar introduction to the particular piece, in the key of that piece. Now I recommend, if you’re going to be giving introductions, that you memorize a few different chord patterns that are good to give introductions. Now I’m going to give you a couple. [plays a four-bar intro] And away they go. Here’s another one…8 bars.  [plays an 8-bar intro] Now for that one, you need to know your inversions. Bb7 over F; [begins playing chords] E diminished; Eb minor; Bb over D; C7 over G; F7; Bb. [plays an 8-bar intro, same pattern] Yet another technique that you can use for an introduction is to play the last eight bars, or the last four bars of the tune that you’re going to play. Let us say you’re playing “When You’re Smiling” in Bb. So let’s do the last eight bars. [plays an 8-bar intro] They’re ready to go.

Ensemble Piano Playing: Classic New Orleans Style

Cynthia: In a Classic New Orleans Style band, the pianist will play in a very simple and usually somewhat repetitive chordal and rhythmic pattern, and it works fabulous. It becomes a part of the heart of the pulse of the style. So for example: [plays 8 bars of quarter-note chords] Nothing fancy. Just laying down chords, laying down rhythm, and being very focused to get sort of to that bottom line of things without lots of fill, without lots of fancy noodling, none of that kind of stuff.

Ensemble Piano Playing: New Orleans Revival Style

Cynthia: Now, I also am privileged to work with the Woody Allen Jazz Band—actually our proper name is Woody Allen’s New Orleans Jazz Band, and we do more of a Revival Style in that band, based on the music of George Lewis and Bunk Johnson, and it’s a little bit looser for something like that. So for example, I might play this Classic New Orleans Style mixed in with some stride, mixed in with whatever comes to my mind. But I’ll still avoid a lot of note-y, intricate playing. It just doesn’t feel right with the music to do that. It’s a different kind of more rooted sound that I like to use. [plays “Hindustan” accompaniment] One of the things that we do in traditional jazz—in New Orleans jazz in particular—is, instead of having the usual thing where you have a soloist playing, and then the rhythm section is all very smooth and quiet behind them, and one-by-one each person takes a solo, hopefully in different orders, not the same order every time, what’s really nice is if sometimes you have one person taking a solo and another person noodling around a little behind them; and then maybe for the next chorus they’ll switch. The thing about—it’s a wonderful characteristic of New Orleans jazz that you’ll have layers of soloing. It’s very much ensemble work. Maybe the trumpet’s playing a big solo, and the clarinet’s noodling around, and then on top of that maybe the piano is adding little bits of melody, or little bits of fill or something. You have to be very very careful of the line between keeping a balance with all this, and not interfering with other people. But somehow it all works out, as long as you keep listening to the other solos, and not just focus in on yourself.

Ensemble Piano Playing: San Francisco Style

Mark: Let’s try the same tune in San Francisco Style. We’re going to play “Hindustan” again, but this time, more of a 2-beat kind of style. My left hand will be approaching it from that 2-beat situation. Now if you think that you hear elements of ragtime in this, you’re absolutely right. [plays “Hindustan” accompaniment]

Ensemble Piano Playing: Chicago/Swing Styles

Mark: Going to take that same tune, once more, “Hindustan”; play it in a Chicago/Swing Style. This is a very different kind of style where we’re not articulating that rhythm so much with our left hand, but we’re doing a chordal type of support. And we’re playing chordal kind of patterns, rhythmic patterns to support the soloist. Again, we’re not soloing with our right hand. [plays “Hindustan” accompaniment]

Ensemble Piano Playing: Mainstream Style

Mark: We’re going to try a little bit more modern approach to the classic Chicago/Swing approach. We sometimes use a term called Mainstream, which is basically an extension of the Chicago classic style, Swing Style; we’re going to try to broaden our harmony out a little bit more here, and give the soloist something else to think about. Same tune, “Hindustan”. [plays “Hindustan” accompaniment]

Soloing: A Variety of Approaches

Mark plays “I Ain’t Going to Give Nobody None of This Jelly Roll” (ragtime approach)

Mark plays a blues

Mark plays “Rosetta” (swing approach)

Mark plays a boogie-woogie

Mark plays “Jingles” (stride approach)

How to Play “Stride” Piano

Mark: Okay, we are going to do stride piano now. We’re going to play some real Harlem two-handed stride piano. Left hand, right hand. Here’s what a left hand would do in a stride piano style. Single note, chord; single note, chord; or tenth, chord, tenth, chord. [demonstrates left hand] Tenth, tenth, tenth. Tenth…single notes…single notes…tenth. [continues demonstration]  So you want to know what the right hand’s doing? [demonstrates right hand] Breaking up the chord. [improvises on “I Got Rhythm” with both hands] Listen to that left hand… The right hand answers… Walk those tenths! [finishes]

Clinician Showcase

Mark plays “Don’t Blame Me”

Mark plays “Singin’ the Blues”

Mark plays “Tiger Rag”

A Message From Cynthia

Cynthia: Playing traditional jazz is a wonderful release, and even if you’re into different kinds of musical styles, I really suggest that you give this a try.

A Message From Mark

Mark: The importance of traditional jazz to me is immense. It gives me the opportunity to express feelings that I have inside myself, and to acquaint myself with a great tradition of really outstanding players. I urge you to become a part of this great traditional jazz.

Clip of Fats Waller

Mark: When you’re talking stride piano, you’re talking about Fats Waller.

Fats Waller plays “I’ve Got My Fingers Crossed” with his group

Clip of Jess Stacy

Cynthia: Now listen to the great swing pianist Jess Stacy, playing here with the Bob Cats.

Jess Stacy plays “March of the Bobcats” with the Bob Cats

Clip of Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson

Mark: Here’s two giants of boogie-woogie, Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson.

Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson play “Boogie Woogie Dream”

 

Performance Clip Details

Ch. 16: Fats Waller and his Rhythm, “I’ve Got My Fingers Crossed”, 1935: Herman Autrey? trumpet, Gene Sedric? alto saxophone, unknown trombone, Fats Waller piano, Al Casey? guitar, Charles Turner? bass, Yank Porter? drums

Ch. 17: The Bob Cats, “March of the Bob Cats”, 1952: Billy Butterfield trumpet, Matty Matlock clarinet, Eddie Miller tenor saxophone, Warren Smith trombone, Jess Stacy piano, Nappy Lamare guitar, Bob Haggart bass, Ray Bauduc drums

Ch. 18: Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson, “Boogie Woogie Dream”, 1941: Albert Ammons piano, Pete Johnson piano

Music heard under the “A Message From…” chapters is performed by the Capital Focus Jazz Band youth group of Washington, DC.