LearnJazzPiano.com archives: Boogie transcription

D/F -- 03/08/2005, 02:57:32 -- #11757

In the 50s there was a Swedish boogie woogie piano player who made a boogie tune out of Edward Grieg's Anitra's Dance from Peer Gynt. I don't know if anyone has heard it but I thought I just might ask if anyone has seen any transcriptions of this tune. D/F

Mike -- 03/08/2005, 06:32:00 -- #11760

No,  but I wonder if you know that Duke Ellington also did an a Big Band arrangement of this piece and I also performed a swing version of it for about a year in clubs in the Boston area.

D/F -- 03/08/2005, 07:00:24 -- #11761

Hi Mike, no I didn't know that, although I suspected that this Swedish pianist, whose name is Charlie Norman (not a very Swedish name), didn't come up with the idea of using Anitra's dance all by himself. I know that there was almost an  uproar in the Norwegean Edward Grieg society (or whatever it was) when Charlie Norman released his recording. I think the recording gave their cultural nerves a chock ha ha! I kind of like the idea of making jazz or boogie woogie out  of classical pieces. Another Swedish jazz pianist, Bengt Hallberg, has made a great recording of the second movement of Beethoven's seventh symphony. That movement has a very steady rythm, which makes it an easy target for all kinds of syncopations and runs. D/F

7 -- 03/08/2005, 12:07:36 -- #11770

Doug McKenzie uploaded some Jazz treatments of Classical pieces over in the "Classical" room. Check 'em out. Other notables include Keith Emerson's "Nutrocker" and the ever popular "Bumble Boogie".

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