Bessie's Blues: Journey Through The Real Book #28 (Jazz Piano Lesson)

Jazz piano solo and musical/historical discussion of John Coltrane’s jazz/blues composition “Bessie’s Blues.”

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Finding different ways to play the same jazz tune 0:00
John Coltrane’s return to blues basics with “Bessie’s Blues” 0:24
Coltrane’s use of the traditional V/IV on “Bessie’s Blues” instead of the more jazz-oriented ii/V progression 0:34
The “back to blues roots” movement in late 1950s jazz as related to early Rock and Roll 0:55
John Coltrane, Ray Charles, and Chuck Berry as using similar blues chord progressions 1:01
One difference between Bebop and Post-Bop styles 1:12
“Bessie’s Blues as played at a medium swing tempo 1:25
Letting your jazz interpretations shift over time 1:37
Bringing a traditional blues approach to jazz standards 1:44
Slow blues piano with harmonica-like tremolos2:03
Parallel voicings 2:35
Interpreting “Bessie’s Blues” as a “down-home slow blues 2:47
Imitating a slide guitar on piano 3:26
Playing the melody up an octave, with embellishments 3:31
Parallel 6ths 2:42
Improvising chords in 3 linear voices, in the style of composer/pianist Clare Fischer 3:50
Gradually easing into a relaxed blues groove 4:10
Chromatic parallel tritones 4:38
Improvising with 3-part voicings 5:04
Single-note blues soloing over a quarter-note left hand accompaniment 5:47
“Old-time” blues tremolos 5:54
Soloing with the left hand under a right hand blues accompaniment texture 6:37
Lyrical blues playing 7:12
Increasing the intensity of the arrangement 7:34
Playing left hand stride on the blues7:47
Using a fast Blues Scale pattern 7:52
A solo break 7:56
Reprising the main melody, in the style of Thelonious Monk 8:07
A quarter-note chordal accompaniment under the melody 8:37
Playing the melody of “Bessie’s Blues” with tremolos 8:43
A repeating I-IV ending 9:30


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Enjoy the journey, and "let the music flow!"
Ron