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Gospel Piano recordings

does anybody have any recommendations of good gospel piano recordings (piano only)?

looking at amazon, i seemed to find mainly straight non-jazzy performances or else smooth jazz type performances. i am looking for something that is jazzy, but thoroughly rooted in traditional gospel playing. any recommendations?

by marksdg on 05/29/2007, 15:04

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monty alexander did a great spiritual recording full of traditional gospel done his way. i can't recall the name of it, but i think the first song is "stand up for jesus" or something of that nature.

the easiest way to find recordings like that is to search for a tune, some old gospel tune, and then see what comes up.

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by Scot Ranney on 05/29/2007, 15:11

scot,

thanks for the tip. it's called 'the river'. it seems to be a bit closer to jazz than gospel, but nonetheless i found some good ideas just by listening to the samples. thanks.

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by marksdg on 05/29/2007, 15:45

gene harris- "in his hands"

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by flapjack on 05/29/2007, 17:54

hank jones - "it's me oh lord"

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by jmkarns on 05/29/2007, 20:30

check out "the hymn fake book" at www.halleonard.com
one of my favorites is "shall we gather at the river".

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by jmkarns on 05/29/2007, 20:36

yeah, jm...........that hank jones track is killin. it's on tiptoe tapdance(one of the best solo piano albums ever) and steal away, the duet album with charlie haden. i liked the stuff on steal away so much, i actually wrote a gospel tune and played it with a bass player on my graduate recital. that stuff is so much fun. marksdg, the steal away album does have bass, but it consists entirely of gospel tunes, so it is a good one to check out. hank jones is the man.

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by on 05/30/2007, 05:01

thanks everyone for the advice. i will get the gene harris and hank jones cds. i have started playing piano at church, and thought gospel tunes would work well for recessionals (after the last hymn). i know enough already to play something fairly gospel sounding, but i just wanted that extra help with some fresh ideas.

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by marksdg on 05/30/2007, 06:01

i too love monty's 'the river', hank jones' 'steal away' album, and most of gene harris' stuff.

however, i think you should be searching nearer the source! try henry butler's 'blues & more vol 1' solo piano album - a fantastic mix of gospel, jazz and blues with a strong new orleans flavour and a mccoy tyner influence thrown in! recorded in 1992, it is now sadly deleted and has become a bit of a collector's item. if you can find a secondhand copy i guarantee you won't be disappointed!

also check out richard tee's recordings - another jazz/funk/blues player with a gospel background. he recorded in the 1970s with a band called stuff, and i believe he also made a tuition video.

cyrus chestnut is another more recent example of a gospel-influenced pianist, like eric reed. james cleveland might be another name worth checking out - although not a jazz pianist (his entire career was spent playing gospel music).

how come no one's mentioned ray charles and aretha franklin yet? they probably did more than anyone to help gospel music cross over to jazz and r'n'b. their early (1960s) albums on atlantic are full of brilliant gospel piano stylings.

finally, my book improvising blues piano (reviewed by scot on this site) contains my arrangement of 'just a closer walk with thee' in 6/4 gospel style. i also have a gospel piece published in the uk by rockschool in the 'popular piano' series (grade 4), entitled 'raised on the gospel'.

tim

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by DrJazz on 06/04/2007, 08:51

thanks dr. jazz,

listening to some of the vocal recordings, like james cleveland, actually gives me some better ideas of what to do for a solo piano performance with a gospel sound. i want to try to achieve a sound that sounds very vocal (right-hand chords) rather than pianistic (fast runs).

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by marksdg on 06/04/2007, 13:48

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Gospel Piano recordings

There are 9 comments, leave a comment.

by Scot Ranney on 05/29/2007, 15:11

by marksdg on 05/29/2007, 15:45

by flapjack on 05/29/2007, 17:54

by jmkarns on 05/29/2007, 20:30

by jmkarns on 05/29/2007, 20:36

by on 05/30/2007, 05:01

by marksdg on 05/30/2007, 06:01

by DrJazz on 06/04/2007, 08:51

by marksdg on 06/04/2007, 13:48

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Gospel Piano recordings

There are 9 comments, leave a comment.

by Scot Ranney on 05/29/2007, 15:11

by marksdg on 05/29/2007, 15:45

by flapjack on 05/29/2007, 17:54

by jmkarns on 05/29/2007, 20:30

by jmkarns on 05/29/2007, 20:36

by on 05/30/2007, 05:01

by marksdg on 05/30/2007, 06:01

by DrJazz on 06/04/2007, 08:51

by marksdg on 06/04/2007, 13:48

Reply to Thread

Jazz Piano Notebook Series

"Latinesque"

LJP Jazz Piano Blogs

Most Recent Discussions

Articles

Top Sheetmusic Picks

Jazz piano education is cool.

Rock on. Follow your passion.

Sign In