Thursday, May 11, 2017

Bach's Partita No.3 in E Major for Violin

Bach's Partita No. 3 for Violin in E Major
Originally written for solo violin.
Exquisite, well-balanced and calming.
Six movements.
Three movements transcribed for piano by Rachmaninoff:
Prelude, Gavotte, Gigue.
Very skilfully transcribed.
Interesting voicing and harmonic structure.
Maintains the essence and character of the original composition.
Wiki entry here.



Saturday, April 29, 2017

Le Pas Espagnol

Le Pas Espagnol

 Last movement of the Dolly Suite by Gabriel Fauré.
Energetic and catchy.
Originally written for four hands on piano.
Wiki entry here.




Arthur and Lucas Jussen - Piano Duet (2010)



Thursday, April 27, 2017

Spectrasonics Keyscape

Spectrasonics Keyscape



Demo by various artistes (2016)
including
 Cory Henry  -  1:10   5:50   19:42
Greg Phillinganes  -  3:57   11:42
Zac Rae   -    8:37




Transcriptions of Cory Henry's playing above
by Nathan Ford




Transcriptions of Greg Phillanges' playing above
by Nathan Ford


Monday, April 24, 2017

Pure Imagination

Pure Imagination

From the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971).
Composed by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley.
A catchy confectionery reverie.
II-V-I structure with interesting chromatic moves in melody line. 

Wiki entry here.


ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK
Gene Wilder - Vocals (1971)
From the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
The classic.




Sunday, April 2, 2017

NAMM

NAMM
Annual Trade Show of the National Association of Music Merchants
Wiki entry here.

 Some very impressive jam sessions on keyboards.
Featuring clips by the immensely talented Cory Henry of Snarky Puppy.





Highlight

Cory Henry and Nick Semrad - NORD (NAMM 2016)
I Don't Feel No Ways Tired
Cory Henry on Nord C2D Organ, Nick Semrad on Nord 3 Piano
Amazing two-keyboard combination.
Tight chordwork by Nick.
Exhilarating riffs by Cory.
Look out for interesting structural shifts from 3:06.



Monday, March 27, 2017

Have You Met Miss Jones?

Have You Met Miss Jones? 

Jazz standard, published in 1937.
Originally written for a musical comedy.
Music written by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Lorenz Hart
Many interesting chord changes. 
A favourite piece for jazz improvisations.
Wiki entry here.


Thursday, March 9, 2017

Chorinho

Chorinho

By American jazz pianist Lyle Mays.
Catchy moto perpetuo riffs
with energetic Brazilian rhythm.
Interesting chord changes.
Lots of tricky syncopation.





Lyle Mays - Piano/Jazz Quartet
By the composer himself.
Amazing technique and mastery of touch.
Very creative improvisation of riffs.