Brilliant Jazz: What does it take?

[mahmudfasihulazam]

Think Oscar Peterson.

What does it take to play like that? What is the process?

What kind of practice is necessary? What kind of material should one practice?

I don't know a lot of things but I think it is not just talent or an early start that gets you there- a certain process of learning/practice is necessary. I hope to find out what that process is.

Any thoughts? Or, advise?

If I were to ask specific questions I would start by asking the following:

Do I practice lots of exercises, scales, arpeggios, chords, progressions, etc.? Or just focus on repertoire? Because the greats seem to have a great deal of everything- not just a massive repertoire but also a great deal of "exercise", "scale technique" and all that invested into their playing. My limited observation says: Lots of time spent on both repertoire and "exercises".

Do I need to play lots of classical music as well or is only playing jazz sufficient? Specificity principle? (Not that I don't want to play classical music. I am just curious.)

[mjames]

"How can I learn to improvise?"

By improvising.

"How do I learn how to improvise in jazz style"

Play jazz works. Learn from them. Improvise.

[michael_c]

There are many ways to that goal. Peterson himself had a classical training, complete with scales and exercises. Others, like Art Tatum or Erroll Garner, learnt to play by ear, developing their own personal techniques.

An essential thing is develop your harmonic ear. Listen to jazz recordings, see if you can reproduce the chord sequences on the piano.

[dcstudio]

hearing the words "just improvise" doesn't help much does it---but it's true.   If you have a heavy classical foundation---it gives you great chops--but it can also prevent you from realizing what jazz is.  It kinda flies in the face of what you've been taught classically wise.   

It is important to understand theory--both traditional and jazz.  It is also important to basically know every chord, inversion, extension,  there is and be able to play it immediately--which is not nearly as hard as it sounds.  Jazz has it's standard chord progressions, too.

Ear training is essential.

Most of all--improv--for me, anyway--comes from the part of my brain that made up songs as a kid.   The part that wasn't afraid to play what I heard in my head.

Really there is no sheet music that can teach you how to improvise.   Scales, arpeggios, riffs--yes practice them--in different rhythms and keys.

the process... just start doing it.   You will feel afraid at first.  You may hate every note you play--ignore it and push on.   Pay more attention to rhythmic accuracy than to tonal accuracy.  Listen, listen, listen to jazz.   Since you like Oscar--start with Night Train...great tune--and not very difficult. 

You will eventually realize that it is not nearly as hard as you thought it was--then one day you will wake up and you will be able to play a little bit--- then things will start to make sense.  It's a long process.

There are books like the Jazz Language by Dan Haerle,  Effortless Mastery by Kenny Werner, or How to Practice Jazz--Leslie Coker--

I liked them and learned quite a bit from them.   Actually, Dan Haerle was my teacher at UNT so I am a bit biased to that one.  Good luck

[pianoplunker]

Think Oscar Peterson.

What does it take to play like that? What is the process?

Whenever I want play like Oscar Peterson, I just dream :-)  Seriously though when you say "jazz" you can be talking about a whole slew of different music and arrangements even for the same songs.  If you can listen to different artists from different generations playing the same song, you might get an idea of how the chords and scales can be substituted. Oscar Petersen often played pieces that were not even considered jazz, but he could substitute in his arrangement by using chord and scale substitutes. Likewise one can play a jazz standard with very basic chords. You might want to get some transcribed Cocktail piano music standards to try for your self, then listen to how others do it.  Anything good takes time

[dcstudio]

Whenever I want play like Oscar Peterson, I just dream :-) 

me too!     

[cuberdrift]

Who would be the greater technician, Oscar Peterson or Gyorgy Cziffra?

Both improvised. Both were born in the 1920's. Both could play fast.

But let me also introduce to you Mr. Bobby Enriquez, a not-so-well-known jazz pianist from the Philippines of considerable virtuosity and great tone:

[stevensk]

"Both could play fast".

The important question is who could play loudest.


(im little bit tired of  "who is the fastest" questions)