Category: jazz piano

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Ways To Play “A Time For Love”

The gorgeous Johnny Mandel composition A Time For Love may be played in a variety of ways. The day I heard Emmet Cohen’s exquisite performance of this tune I became transfixed, not only with transcribing his dynamic cadenza/coda, but also took a deep dive into what he and other artists did with this tune, eventually combining ideas into my own version of A Time For Love. Let’s go down the rabbit hole to explore some favorite harmonic options!

The next step of this  journey led to finding a chart in a collection of tunes called, The Standards Real Book (Sher Publications). The tune is printed in the key of F Major -same key played by the Emmet Cohen Trio – although this standard is often performed by other musicians in the key of Bb. While the Sher book is a terrific resource for tunes, chords, and lyrics, just about every jazz pianist (myself included), likes to add their own harmony and personalize their arrangements, at least a little. So I set out to change up a few chords and create some flowing bass lines in a few places, and gave the ballad a solo piano approach, instead of the book’s suggested Double X Samba treatment!

Watch this tutorial to explore several options. Worksheets are printable under the “Downloads” column on this website. I’ve written out solo piano voicings for a few tricky areas which differ from Sher’s lead sheet suggestions:

Take a listen to my version complete with improvised intro & solo section, with a coda/cadenza inspired by Emmet Cohen Trio Live in Warsaw April 2023 performance. Note: If I get enough positive reacations and requests I just might share my transcription of EC’s hauntingly beautiful ending…;-)

Check out the links below my video to hear musicians who each did amazing performances of this timeless love song, and enjoy!

Key of F: Pianist Emmet Cohen, bassist Philip Norris, and drummer Kyle Poole:    • Emmet Cohen Trio | “A Time For Love” … (Emmet Cohen Trio Live Warsaw Second Set April 2023)  

Barry Harris: Key of Bb:                                                                                                                 • Barry Harris Trio (Live At Dug) – A T…   (Barry Harris Live at Dug 1995)   

Roy Hargrove Key of Bb: (Opening uses the note F in the bass)                                • ROY HARGROVE  –  A Time For Love   (Roy Hargrove Quintet Live At The New Morning July 2007)  

Bill Evans begins in Key of D, then transitions to Bb:                                                      • Transcripción: A time for love por Bi…   (Bill Evans Transcription Nacho Stoppani 2016)   

Tony Bennett sings in Key of Bb: It’s wise to hear the lyrics if a tune has them. Hear how Tony Bennett emotes the poetic lyrics by Paul Francis Webster        • A Time For Love   (Tony Bennett Sony with orchestra 1966)

 

 

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Art Of A Beautiful Ballad: Emmet Cohen Plays “Where Is Love?”

Amazing jazz pianist Emmet Cohen knows how to make the piano sing during  the tune “Where Is Love?” from Oliver! Let’s compare his 6 live performances of this beautiful ballad, to see what makes his takes so lovely.

Here’s my simpler chart of “Where Is Love” with lyrics (this may be important to help a ballad’s interpretation) in Emmet’s chosen key of A Major:    Continue reading “Art Of A Beautiful Ballad: Emmet Cohen Plays “Where Is Love?””

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Block Chords (Locked Hands Style) vs Spread Chords: How Pianists Create Them

There are certain types of rich chord techniques the jazz pianist ought to have under their fingers in a piano/bass/drums or larger group setting. Both Block and Spread Chords may be used for a full sounding effect during the melody of certain tunes. Additionally, these styles may be used to build intensity during a piano solo, or culminating in impressive spread chords at the solo’s highpoint. Continue reading “Block Chords (Locked Hands Style) vs Spread Chords: How Pianists Create Them”

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In A Sentimental Mood: Ways To Harmonize

Fun Fact: The gorgeous Duke Ellington composition In A Sentimental Mood begins with an ascending melody formed from a pentatonic scale. These same pickup notes (F,  G,  A,  C,  D,  F,  G) could also lead into the Gershwin classic Someone To Watch Over Me, but would land on another starting chord and go into a whole different tune altogether. (See Idea #29 “Chromatic Pickups”, notated on page 44 of my book Amazing Phrasing-Keyboard, found here): https://www.amazon.com/author/debbiedenkemusic Continue reading “In A Sentimental Mood: Ways To Harmonize”

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Music Game #1: “Tip Jar” (Playtime For Teacher & Piano Student)

Feeling slightly “under the weather” but still wanting to teach, I asked 2 adult jazz piano students to meet online for lessons. Educators know that teaching over the internet requires extra energy to communicate, and I was a bit short of breath. What valuable lessons could I give my inquisitive students that would keep their fingers busy while I listened, hydrated,  and encouraged them, with minimal talking on my part? I took a couple hits off my inhaler and came up with a “game plan” (modeled after real life situations I’ve had as a performer), and tested it out on my students. Together we had a good deal of fun playing these online socially safe music games. Continue reading “Music Game #1: “Tip Jar” (Playtime For Teacher & Piano Student)”

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Big Ideas For Small Hands: How To Write a Full Sounding Piano Arrangement

Let’s take the lovely ballad Skylark (by Johnny Mercer/Hoagy Carmichael), and learn how to enhance a ballad’s melody with beautiful chords and a foundational bass line. In this video observe how I took a chart from an old fakebook and updated some chords more to my liking, a process called reharmonization:


Continue reading “Big Ideas For Small Hands: How To Write a Full Sounding Piano Arrangement”

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Add Jazz Pizazz To Holiday Hits: Play by Ear & Improvise Piano Tutorials

December is the perfect time of year to develop one’s ear training skills. We’ve been by saturated listening to Christmas & Holiday tunes playing all over the place since Halloween, and know those familiar jingles a jing-jing-jingling quite well by now, so well in fact we can’t seem to get them out of our heads! So you may as well face the music and do something creative with these tunes as long as you are hearing them over and over, right? Continue reading “Add Jazz Pizazz To Holiday Hits: Play by Ear & Improvise Piano Tutorials”

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Got The Blues? Tips on How To Play a Slow Blues in G

It’s over 100º outside, we are all getting a bit bored with “socially distancing”, and let’s face it – today is a great day to learn to play a very slow, hot, blues.

This tutorial came together after giving several of my online piano students tips on the basic 12 bar blues, common blues endings/turnarounds, typical jazz blues substitutions – plus my “covid bubble hubby” music partner and I had just performed a live Zoom concert from our home studio to friends’ living rooms across the country in their own “covid bubbles.” Continue reading “Got The Blues? Tips on How To Play a Slow Blues in G”

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