Minor Leaps - Jonathan Kreisberg

Here's another one from Jonathan Kreisberg, this one off the album Unearth with Aaron Goldberg on keys. As the title suggests, the tune is based on Coltrane's "Giant Steps" but in a minor tonality. All of the maj7 chords are now minor chords. Another addition is a 16 bar interlude (Dmaj7 to Gb7) which begins the song and also is incorporated into the form - two cycles through the "Giant Steps" changes then interlude. So kind of an AAB form. The melody is full of lines outlining arpeggios and chromatic ideas for navigating the many changes. Very good for practicing some fast playing over lots of keys.

I'll Remember April - Marcus Printup

I'll Remember April Solo Mp3

This first chorus of Marcus Printup's version of the standard "I'll Remember April" comes from his 1994 album Song for the Beautiful Woman and features a young Reuben Rogers on bass. Structurally, "I'll Remember April" is in ABA form and each section is 12 bars long. The A sections begin with 4 bars of G major and then modulates to the parallel minor, G minor, for another 4. The final 8 bars use a couple ii V's to bring us back to G major. The bridge contains three non-related ii V's. The first 8 is two cycles through a ii V I in Bb. Then 4 bars of ii V I in G major, 4 bars of ii V I in E major and a final ii V in the eighth bar to bring us back to the tonic, G major. The final A is the same as the first.

Marcus takes a musically concise approach to his solo. Each phrase says exactly what needs to be said with no extraneous notes. His phrasing uses lots of space between ideas and each idea covers a precise harmonic area. It's also interesting to note how he begins his phrases, many of which start on the first beat of the measure or the fourth beat of the end of the preceding harmonic phrase. This solo is thematically all about phrasing. There are no fast lines or fancy theory and none is needed because his phrasing is so strong.

The Beatles - In My Life solo

So here's something a little different. This is the piano solo from "In My Life" by the Beatles from the album Rubber Soul. I was listening to this the other day got the solo stuck in my head. It's a very catchy and clever little solo that, according to Wikipedia, was actually played by producer George Martin at half speed and an octave lower and then sped up to match the tempo and pitch of the song. Pretty simple chords, all in the key of A with the exception of the A7 in bar 2 that tonicizes the D and the D minor in bar three which is a pretty standard device creating closer voice-leading to the A chord. Well there you have it.