Saturday, December 15, 2007

I, say your name, am an Effortless Master.


Although it would be easy to focus on the transcendent tenor playing on the part of Joe Lovano (in Kanye West shades?), take a moment to check out what each of the musicians in this band is actually doing. Here are a few things you might notice...
>they aren't staring at sheet music, they are comfortable with the song ("A Portrait of Jenny") and it's chord changes
>they appear to be creatively feeding off of one another when soloing
>their playing is rhythmically interesting, and not often melodically predictable
>they are not particularly worried about their notes outlining the chord changes
>they each have a unique sound/voice on their instruments
>they are fearless in their virtuosity
Effortless Mastery is a book by Kenny Werner, the pianist you see here in the video. His book might change your playing. His book might change your life. It is a short read, available on the Aebersold site, why not check it out?
Click HERE for a synopsis of the book. Click HERE to learn how to swing a guitar around yourself.