Here’s a great Blues piano solo improvisation by the gifted Luca Sestak, recorded live in Austria.
Luca Sestak was 17 at the time of this recording. Luca was born on January 10, 1995 in Celle, Germany. He began playing piano at the age of 9. After studying classical piano music, he discovered Jazz and taught himself both Blues and Boogie Woogie on the keyboard. In a short time he had achieved an extraordinary level of excellence. He published his first original music at the age of 11. He has toured extensively and played with many great artists such as Silvan Zingg and Vince Weber. He recorded his first CD in August 2010.
This video is of Randy Newman singing “You’ve Got A Friend In Me” and playing piano live at Jazz Open, Stuttgart, Germany. The song is from the movie ‘Toy Story’ and is about the friendship of the film’s characters Andy and Woody. Randy’s unique style of singing, keyboard playing, and lyric writing have made his performances easily recognizable.
Randy Newman spent his youth in Los Angeles, California. His family later moved to New Orleans. Newman began piano lessons when he was six.He began his successful and longstanding songwriting career at the when he was 17. He states that Ray Charles had the biggest influence in the development of his music style, and that you can easily hear in his singing.
Randy Newman has been in the music world his entire life, singing, songwriting, playing piano, and composing and arranging for film. He is best known for his work scoring such films as “Toy Story” and “James and the Giant Peach”. He has been recognized with two Academy Awards, and numerous other accolades, including an Oscar, 3 Emmy awards and 5 Grammy’s. With his enormous contribution to American music, Randy Newman is truly a national musical treasure.
Here is a video of a beautiful and moving performance of “Cape Town Flower” recorded at the Lugano Jazz Festival in Switzerland in 1999. The trio playing here is one of Abdullah´s best ensembles ever. Abdullah Ibrahim is one of my favorite composers and pianists. His music is rich, innovative, and lovely to listen to. His style of playing includes many varied elements from Jazz and Blues Piano.
Abdullah Ibrahim was born in 1932 in Cape Town, South Africa. Ibrahim is a pianist and composer. His music reflects multicultural influences from his childhood. You can discern elements of Traditional African songs, Gospel, Church, Blues, Indian Ragas, and Contemporary Jazz. Some Jazz musicians influencing his music are Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington.
Abdullah Ibrahim first took piano lessons at age seven. He was an avid listener of American Jazz records, brought to Cape Town by sailors. He began playing piano professionally in 1949. In 1962 he moved to Europe. Ibrahim has recorded many albums and has made his mark in the global Jazz community. His contribution to the Jazz curriculum has been prolific.
Here in Portland, when my piano students ask me to suggest some Jazz musicians to listen to, Abdullah Ibrahim is on the short list. His playing transcends the traditional western style of Jazz, with a fresh and eclectic feel.
Discography (partial)
1960: Jazz Epistle Verse 1
1964: Duke Ellington presents The Dollar Brand Trio
1965: The Dream
1965: Anatomy of a South African Village (Black Lion Records)
1965: This is Dollar Brand (Black Lion)
1969: African Sketchbook
1969: African Piano
1973: Good News from Africa
1973: African Space Program
Here is a nice video of the Silvan Zingg band playing “Silvan’s Night Train Trip”. Enzo Muci plays the Bass and Michel Denis plays drums. This is a great example of a classic Boogie Woogie style piece. Silvan Zingg is from Switzerland, and is well known for his this style of playing. He’s even been called the Boogie Woogie Ambassador. Zingg’s family was very musical and encouraged him early on. He started playing piano at a young age, even before starting school. He gave his first professional performance at the age of eighteen, has played all over the globe, and has performed with numerous legendary blues players.
Piano lessons are more fun if students are given a variety of things to learn. Here, at my studio in Portland, in addition to reading music, many of my students love studying Blues Piano. Students are given all the tools necessary to learn this very popular style of music. Anyone who plays piano can learn to play blues on a keyboard or the piano. The basics of a 12 bar blues is a simple left hand chord progression and melodies in the right hand improvised from the blues scale. The more students listen and study the recordings of other players, the faster they will grasp the concept.
Good blues draws the listener in with unique melodies and interesting rhythms. Most students find that they can become quite proficient in playing Blues Piano is a fraction of the time it takes to learn other styles of music. Blues is also a great introduction to Jazz Piano. There are a number of different styles of piano blues, such as Boogie Woogie, Swing, and New Orleans. It’s all great fun and a delight to learn.
Some popular blues pianists:
Booker T. Laury
Meade “Lux” Lewis
Professor Longhair
Willie Love
Jay McShann
Big Maceo Merriweather
Amos Milburn
Little Brother Montgomery
Pinetop Perkins
Henning Pertiet
Buster Pickens
Here is a wonderful video of Norah Jones and her band playing “Sunrise” live in Amsterdam in 2007
Norah Jones is one of the best selling artists of today. Possessing an unusually beautiful voice, her fabulous recordings have made her the top Jazz artist of the 2000-2009 decade, as named by Billboard magazine. Norah began her professional career in 2002, and immediately became a very popular artist.
Norah Jones began singing as a child, in church choirs and took piano lessons. In High School, Jones sang in the school choir and played in a band. At the University of North Texas (UNT), Jones majored in jazz piano and sang with the UNT Jazz Singers. She met Jesse Harris whom she began collaborating with. Shorty afterwards, she returned to New York City and started a band with Harris.
Some of the people that have influenced her music are Billie Holiday and Bill Evans. Jones, in addition to being singer, is also a songwriter, guitarist, and actress.
