Author: Jason
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Carry On Regardless – er, no, Regardfully
I sometimes teach a bit of piano. It tends to be informal, and while I’ll certainly sometimes get waist-deep in technical or harmonic subtleties, it usually involves silly analogies with pint glasses and boxes of matches, sometimes even inventing a daft personality for your left foot – Tony the Tapper… Did a little impromptu one the other…
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The Silver Bullet
Adios then, Señor Blues. We did a couple of numbers as tributes to Horace Silver on the gig last Monday. Didn’t even know someone had written lyrics to Nica’s Dream. Cool though. Horace came up in the bebop era, but really hit his stride in the aftermath. Hard bop – the more accessible, downhome, bluesy,…
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Have You Listened to the Recordings?
Simple enough question. Have you? Or did you just learn Blue Bossa, All Blues, GDS, Canteloupe Island, Blues for Alice, ATUR and, um, all that jazz from courses? C’mon, be honest, I’m not going to set the dog on you… Jazz is as much a tradition as it is a means of personal expression. Or rather,…
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Lies, Damn Lies & Marketing, Part the Third – Putting a Sock in It
It’s so tempting isn’t it? You’ve got this great band, you want the world to know about a gig you’ve done or a fantastic new album you’re releasing. So you think about creating a sock puppet (an online pseudonym) and giving yourself a gushing five-star review on some website or another. Soooooo tempting… RELAX, DON’T…
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A Rose by Any Other Name…
…would smell as sweet. (That’s yer actual Shakespeare, folks.) But sometimes the rose isn’t what it seems. So when is a rose not a rose? When is a fifth a fourth (or eleventh) and a third not a third? Having possibly thoroughly confused you already, I’ll get to the point. This post is a response to someone…
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Marian Reforms
Marius “Butch” Nordal probably needs no introduction from me, but if you haven’t heard of him I strongly advise you to check him out. He’s got a lot of stuff on YouTube – his nom de toob is radiokid2, but the main website is here: http://mariusnordal.com. He’s my kind of musician and writer – tells…
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The Rhythm Changes of Doom
Someone who has been following my bebop stuff has asked for help in overcoming his fear of Rhythm changes. So I’ll give it a go. Getting a grip on Rhythm changes is a bit like crossing a high bridge (it is known as a bit of a “rite of passage”). When you’re on this side,…
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Lies, Damn Lies & Marketing 2.0
Don’t Mess With Mr Inbetween. For my cynical, sarcastic and often downright rude rundown of some of the cheap flimflam tricks musicians use to promote themselves, see here. Here though, are some further observations, and this time … it’s digital. Let’s say you’re an act or a venue and someone’s approached you offering to promote…
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Crunchy Chord Voicings
Here are some distinctive, three-note crunchy piano voicings for the left hand that you may not have considered. They’ve been used by pretty much everyone, and are a nice option when you want something in between the stark, macho bebop shells and the full, rich perfume of the four-note rootless jobs. They’re incredibly flexible, which…
Jason Lyon Music 