Monthly Livestream #28!

Here's the recording from yesterday's livestream!

I started off with a few tunes - "The Star-Crossed Lovers", by Billy Strayhorn, and then "Woody 'n You" by Dizzy Gillespie.

Then moved into the Q&A, which began with a question about preparation and improvisation - in other words, when we sit down to play a tune, how much is prepared in advance and how much is improvised "right in the moment". A very interesting question and a very important one for jazz pianists, and generally I find that more is prepared than you might think.

Then we got into some pretty detailed discussions about harmony. First was a question about playing minor ii-V's, which was a follow up from last month's discussion of minor ii-V's, and was basically about different ways of using Barry Harris's scales to interpret minor ii-V's. Then into another question about "extensions" - what they are, how to learn them, and how to use them. And ultimately this led to a discussion of really knowing every scale for every chord you're playing, and the freedom that can afford you.

And finally with a question about time feel, and how to practice it - a tough question! And definitely doesn't have only one answer. But this led to a discussion of how to use subdivisions to get ahead or behind the beat for expressive purposes.