Born nearly blind, Art Tatum was a pianistic and improvising genius. He played impossibly rapid lines - and was, harmonically, decades ahead of his time. Even today, all pianists have to deal with Tatum's innovations in order to be taken seriously.

George Gershwin, along with his brother Ira, has given the world some of the most memorable songs and music. Most of their works were, and are, part of the repertoires of leading jazz musicians.



Bud Powell is generally considered to be the most important pianist in jazz. His performances went to the extreme and were called superhuman. His 'A Night in Tunisia' is electric. Check out 'Tempus Fugit' too.

Scott Joplin is the most successful African-American composer of serious music that ever lived. He, however didn't live to know that. His music was 'discovered' a century after his death when the Academy Award winning film 'The Sting' featured his rags, notably 'The Entertainer'.

Oscar Peterson had phenomenal technique.
His speed and dexterity was amazing. It was said that he could put 100 meaningful notes into a phrase where others could only manage 10!



Cole Porter wrote both words and music for a vast repertoire of songs. His contribution to music theatre and film is legendary. His hits, among many others, include 'Night And Day', 'I Get A Kick Out of You', 'I've Got You Under My Skin' and 'Begin The Beguine'.



Jerome Kern wrote around 700 songs including 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes', and 'Ol' Man River' which are featured here. Many of Kern's melodies have been adopted by jazz musicians and have become standards.

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Antonio Carlos Jobim (1927-1994) was a founder of the Bossa Nova movement. His best known song must be Garota de Ipanema (Girl from Ipanema). Throughout his career Jobim wrote many wonderful compositions and classic songs.

JAZZ PIANO

The sequences below are mainly piano-centric, but I have also included instruments like guitar, jazz organ, accoustic bass and percussion to enliven some of the pieces.


Nice Work If You Can Get It George Gershwin
Honeysuckle Rose Thomas "Fats" Waller
Count On Him (To Count Basie) Claude Bolling
Dark Eyes Traditional
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes Jerome Kern
The Man I Love George Gershwin
My Silent Love (Version 2) Dana Suesse
(This has piano/bass/drums.
Quite different from the one below.)
My Silent Love Dana Suesse
(Another version (piano only) George Shearing style.)
Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words) Bart Howard
The Shadow Of Your Smile Johnny Mandel
Carnival Luiz Bonfa / Antonio Mariz
(aka: Black Orpheus and Manha de Carnaval)
Stompin' At The Savoy Benny Goodman / Chick Webb / Edgar Sampson
Tempus Fugit Earl (Bud) Powell
Bye Bye Blackbird M.Dixon / R. Henderson
In A Mellow Tone Duke Ellington
Ophelia R. Robertson
Should I Arthur Freed / Nacio Herb Brown
East Of The Sun Brooks Bowman
Sunny Bobby Hebb
Lazy River Hoagy Carmichael / Sidney Arodin
Fever John Davenport / Eddie Cooley
Somebody Loves Me George Gershwin / B.G.DeSylva / Ballard Macdonald
On Green Dolphin Street Bronislau Kaper
(Piano solo as by Andy LaVerne)
Don't Get Around Much Anymore Duke Ellington
(Improvisation as by Art Tatum)
It's De-Lovely Cole Porter
One Note Samba Antonio Carlos Jobim
Manteca Dizzy Gillespie / Gil Fuller
Route 66 Bobby Troup
The Entertainer Scott Joplin
Maple Leaf Rag Scott Joplin
A Tennessee Tantalizer Charles Hunter
Agitation Rag Robert Hampton
Cum Bac Chas F. Johnson
Pleasant Moments (Ragtime Waltz) Scott Joplin
Reindeer (Ragtime Twostep) Joseph F. Lamb
Blue Moon Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
Blue Rap Adapted from George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue
The Wang Wang Blues Guss Mueller / Buster Johnson / Henry Busse
Ol' Man River Jerome Kern
The Girl From Ipanema Antonio Carlos Jobim
Desafinado Antonio Carlos Jobim
I've Got You Under My Skin Cole Porter
Moonglow (A la Art Tatum) Will Hudson / Eddie de Lange / Irving Mills
Night And Day Cole Porter
Yardbird Suite Charlie Parker
A Night In Tunisia Frank Paparelli / John 'Dizzy' Gillespie (Bud Powell's Improvisation )
You Look Good To Me Oscar Peterson
Sweet And Low-Down George & Ira Gershwin
Ain't Misbehavin' Thomas Waller / Harry Brooks
Swanee George Gershwin
Drifting Along With The Tide George Gershwin
An American In Paris George Gershwin
Blues of the Prairies Oscar Peterson
In The Mood Joe Garland

Copyright 2008 © Jeanne Coello, Goa, India