I'm always wondering how to play a busy bebop tune and add chords.

I also don't think we have to play a lot of chords with a busy melody as busy melodies usually have a lot of information in them.

So I tried here to simply add only notes for the function of making sure the harmony was clear. I personally like this sound a lot.

Try to play it and see what you think.

Playing ballads is always a challenge; phrasing and tempo are crucial for expressing a song's essence. Fortunately, we can draw upon the way vocalists confront this for guidance. Billie Holiday, one of my favorites, recorded and performed a Duke Ellington classic, "Solitude", throughout her career. Here's my take on it.

Michael

An Oldie But Goodie - "Mack The Knife"

"Moon River" - Solo version from a hang with Joe Locke and Gustavo Agatiello. We’ve had quite a few of these weekend sessions and for me they have been so much fun, informative and inspirational. We can spend at least eight hours a day in the studio, come up for lunch and dinner, and then go back down to the laboratory, as Joe calls it, to play and talk about music. Lots of laughs along the way too.

Very simple but gets you improvising in minutes. And it's kind of fun!

A must watch.

This is an arrangement of Have You Met Miss Jones? I have been working on for the upcoming Pop Up Class. I'm hoping to play it a little faster and work it through the keys of F, Db, and A. Feedback welcome!

Took a short break, but I just uploaded 7 and 9! I swear, I've been trying to record #20 for like a month but it never comes out how I want it. Maybe next week.