hello all you jazz cats !

i found this site a few weeks ago and have found some of the articles and discussions really helpful. i have played piano for many years, started with classical, ran a jazz-rock group at college and played in a few pop/club bands. i've always experimented with jazzy playing, composition and improv but purely from ear.

this year i went to a jazz summer school to learn a bit more theory etc.
it was quite interesting and sort of opened up new directions and ways of thinking. i thought however that the "educators" could have organised it better. i also found some of the advanced players were in some way arrogant. this kind of seems to be a trait in the jazz community.

finding the right kind of teacher is difficult. my classical teacher couldn't recommend anyone and thought that i should be teaching it myself! maybe i will soon. i think that i've probably got enough at the moment to study a load of techniques and improve my listening skills. i am using the jazz theory book by m.levine and the sher real book + other internet stuff. i am also using the miles black multi-media course. its all helping.

i now work systematically doing exercises in all 12 keys. its hard to start with. i always have tended to sight read, rather than memorise.
now having done 2-5-1s and basic progressions, its starting to make it easier to remember song structures. i can now do fly me to the moon in all 12 keys. i can also remember quite a few standards now. but how you guys can remember all that stuff ?

i found some free ear training tools on the internet and have been using them during lunch hour at work. it's tricky at first, but its amazing how quickly the brain can learn unconsciously. i am hoping this pays off soon. my aim is to be able to listen to a record and work bits out in my head without a keyboard.

i'm in the process of starting a trio or quartet for fun. i'm based in scotland u.k. anyone want to be a buddy ?
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Jazz Piano Notebook Series
Scot Ranney's Jazz Piano Notebook, Volume 1 - jazz piano tricks of the trade

Volume 1 of this educational jazz piano book contains 15 jazz piano exercises, tricks, and other interesting jazz piano techniques, voicings, grooves, and ideas Scot Ranney has picked up over decades of playing on stage.

Being a pro jazz pianist requires good ears, experience, and a bag of tricks that create the kinds of sounds people expect to hear from a jazz pianist. The entries in this book will give you some of those tricks.

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Scot Ranney's Jazz Piano Notebook, Volume 2 - jazz piano tricks of the trade you can use today
"Latinesque"

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Tim Richards' Jazz Piano Notebook - jazz piano tricks of the trade

Volume 3 contains 12 jazz piano exercises and explorations by the acclaimed jazz piano educator, pianist, author, and recording artist Tim Richards.

Tim wrote the well known "Exploring Jazz Piano" and "Improvising Blues Piano" books and has several others to his name.

Tim has a new book out Beginning Jazz Piano (Pts 1 and 2)

Many of Tim's books now come with free access to interactive sheet music ONLINE, which permits slowing down of the backing and performance tracks, as well as the option to loop passages for practice purposes.

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Jeff Brent's Jazz Piano Notebook - jazz piano tricks of the trade

Volume 4 is by Jeff Brent, a jazz pianist, composer, teacher, and author of "Modalogy" and other acclaimed jazz theory and education books. In this book Jeff shares detailed analysis of transcriptions of live performances. He covers everything from the shape of the songs to the tricks and licks he uses in improvised lines to the ideas behind his lush chord voicings.

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