Israel: Journey Through The Real Book

Рет қаралды 4,070

Күн бұрын

A jazz piano lesson to help you learn John Carisi’s jazz standard “Israel,” which was part of Miles Davis’ “Birth Of The Cool” sessions and also recorded by Bill Evans.
Take your LH playing to the next level with my free ebook: Jazz Piano Left Hand Techniques: keyboardimprov.com/jazz-left-...
You'll find my book, The Inner World of Piano Improvisation, on Amazon.
Learning John Carisi’s “Israel,” a jazz blues 0:00
Starting by playing one chord at a time 0:18
Relating each chord to the underlying 12-bar blues form 0:49
The Birth of the Cool - The Miles Davis Nonet 1:28
Miles Davis and the bebop scene 1:50
Miles Davis, Gil Evans, and Gerry Mulligan 2:31
Birth of the Cool based on the sound of Claude Thornhill’s big band 3:44
Harmonic analysis of John Carisi’s “Israel” 5:53
Beginning with the melody 9:30
A little more rhythmic during the melody’s repeat 9:54
2-part jazz counterpoint 10:17
Referring to the tune’s melody 10:29
Bill Evans-style phrasing and chord voicings 10:37
Developing a motif 10:40
Digging into the groove 11:05
Letting the music “breathe” 11:20
Improvising over a walking bass line 11:52
Using block chords12:42
Arpeggiating a minor 11th chord 13:07
Expanding the quarter-note triplet feel 13:23
Returning to the original groove 13:40
Reprising the main melody 14:16
A tritone substitution 14:22
Adding a “tag” 15:01
Ending with a Dm6/9 chord
Letting our improvisations “breathe” 15:22
The benefits of listening and trusting the groove 15:50
Here are some more Free Jazz Piano Lessons for you at the KeyboardImprov website: keyboardimprov.com/free-begin...
Thanks for joining me on this musical adventure, and please LIKE, COMMENT and SHARE this video with your musical friends.
If you'd like to start my full video course, you'll find it here: keyboardimprov.com/get-starte...
For Zoom and Skype lessons, please email me at rondrotos@keyboardimprov.com.
Enjoy the journey, and "let the music flow!"
Ron

Пікірлер: 60

@edawgisawesome 2 жыл бұрын

What a gem of a KZfaq channel

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Doge! I'm glad you're enjoying these videos - have fun with your music :)

@BartolomeoIrnerio 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the comprehensive lesson! The chapters/timestamps are also greatly appreciated. That way we really get the structure of the lesson.

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the feedback about the timestamps. They're fun to make!

@benmilstein5654 2 жыл бұрын

this was a helpful and enlightening video. thanks!

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Ben, I'm glad you liked this and it helped with your music. I'm learning a lot from making these videos!

@ninjapolitician6994 3 жыл бұрын

I've always loved the Bill Evans Trio version of this song from their album Explorations. It's one of the few versions that manages to not get weighed down in the dense harmonies in my opinion, thanks to LaFaro and Motian's otherworldly playing. Hearing the history of the tune also really helps to give me a new appreciation for the tune. I had never heard of Claude Thornhill before watching this video, so I paused in the middle and went and listened to some of his work, and you're right that it's absolutely gorgeous. It's a new band that I'm excited to spend some time with, so thank you for sharing the history and introducing myself and anyone else to them. And as always, your analysis, examples, and playing have helped open new avenues for me to take into my own playing. Keep up the good work, big man. It means a lot from one musician to another.

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 3 жыл бұрын

Very much appreciated, and I'm glad you're enjoying the Thornhill Band. They're a gem!!!

@brendaboykin3281 3 жыл бұрын

Thanx, Maestro. Almost halfway to your end goal of 400. THAT must be celebrated when you hit 200. Lovely song, beautiful presentation. Your Journey is very inspiring. Thanks for sharing the backstory of each song. 🌹🌹🌹😎

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 3 жыл бұрын

Yes, almost halfway!!!!

@gpwaltz 3 жыл бұрын

absolutely brutal timing with this one 😓 👏👏

@rickrocketts183 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for another great video Ron. Those timestamps you added are super helpful too. I was just enjoying the tune and then found them and it really helped me go back and get what you were doing.

@rondrotos8347 4 ай бұрын

I'm glad you're finding these videos helpful, Rick. This one is especially meaningful for me, since it's from the Birth of the Cool sessions and I was Gerry Mulligan's assistant from 1987-88. Wonderful music!

@rickrocketts183 4 ай бұрын

That’s awesome. What a learning experience that must have been.

@rondrotos8347 4 ай бұрын

@@rickrocketts183 It was incredible! I went to Europe 3 times with him when he performed at all the jazz festivals, and I got to meet so many great musicians, like Dizzy Gillespie. Also, hearing Gerry play all the time was like being back in the 40s-50s when you could hear the jazz greats on a daily basis.

@rickrocketts183 4 ай бұрын

That’s amazing. Thanks for sharing.

@geoffmontgomery4838 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Ron.Very inspiring.

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Geoff - great tune to play!

@ImpulseGenerator Жыл бұрын

Love this, well-played. I am practicing my bass lines with your playing on here!

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 Жыл бұрын

I'd enjoy hearing you play along with this!

@ImpulseGenerator Жыл бұрын

@@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 Exciting! If I record something I will let you know and post it on my creator KZfaq channel.

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 Жыл бұрын

@@ImpulseGenerator Please let me know if you do!

@bramvanderhoeven Жыл бұрын

Hey Ron, I improvised some upright bass over your version of Israel. It was more difficult than I thought because of the fluctuating tempo, but I hope you enjoy it nevertheless. I am a jazz bass beginner so extra curious about your thoughts. Here's the vid: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/np1ldcuDrrTSeZs.html&ab_channel=BramvanderHoeven

@AFSoar01 3 жыл бұрын

Love the songs! Love the stories!

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks John! Give it try!

@nickcollis4954 3 жыл бұрын

Awesome playing as usual Ron....great tune and thanks for the heads up about it being a minor blues !

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Nick! Yeah - the blues form is kind of disguised!

@Karsten_Kramer Жыл бұрын

Great lesson! Gave me some inspiration for my gig on Saturday, where I have to play this tune. Thanks! 🙂

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 Жыл бұрын

Have a great gig, Karsten!

@debbiewarwick2036 2 жыл бұрын

Awe inspiring! P.S. Thanks for putting in the Chapter Headings/Breaks. They help explain your thought process while listening to you play.

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Debbie! I'm glad you're enjoying these!

@diamondfuller9385 Жыл бұрын

Yeah man

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 Жыл бұрын

Hey Diamond!

@jeffreydelisle7337 3 жыл бұрын

I love this song. Outstanding analysis and a great history lesson. I was transfixed by your left hand treatment!

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Jeffrey - it's such a fascinating combination of minor and major blues! Lots of LH possibilities.

@golighrunes7984 3 жыл бұрын

This was great, I hadn't attempted playing this before. Your walk through and breakdown was really helpful.

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks, and I'm glad this helped you get into the tune!

@marshacarm 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the history/context. I love the openness of the walking bass section of your improv, too. As a technician, you want the ability to extrude as long a line as possible, but technique and musicianship should not be confused. Too much mindless Bird worship, perhaps.

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 3 жыл бұрын

Agreed, Marsha! The key word you used is "mindless," sing Bird himself played relatively short phrases. His longer phrases are often several short phrases strung together.

@arthursantiago100 2 жыл бұрын

Great job Ron. I’ve always been intrigued by this tune. Love the idea of taking a breather during the improv. Do you know what inspired this tune ? What was this about ( other than the obvious ). Thanks. You’re a real renaissance man.

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Arthur! I don't know the exact history of this tune, other that it was recorded for the Birth of the Cool sessions, a few years after World War II.

@TheRealSandleford 3 жыл бұрын

Cool. I was taking a look into quartal harmony I see if you just remove the 5th and replace with fourth in seventh chord you now have all quartal!

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 3 жыл бұрын

Yes - remove the 3rd too.

@TheRealSandleford 3 жыл бұрын

@@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 I see they arent all 4ths after all unless they are root inversion. What you said, I see that the 5 chord with lowered 5th is the same chord as the 1 chord with a raised 3rd

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 3 жыл бұрын

@@TheRealSandleford Yeah, quartal harmony lessons the feeling of the functional harmony.

@TheRealSandleford 3 жыл бұрын

@@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 I have heard that said before. I think the guy that got me started playing music. Then my teacher was saying that quartal was like Tyner and thirds are Evans. Anyway supposedly a more modern type of sound. My teacher studied with Chuck Wayne, a guitarist who did a lot with Shearing. Stopped lessons when he got parkinsons. But now so many wonderful teachers online, have been trying to keep it going!

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 3 жыл бұрын

@@TheRealSandleford Yep, although Evans played the famous So What voicings on Kind of Blue which are mostly 4ths. I met Chuck Wayne one evening in the 1980s. Very nice guy!

@rbtubin 3 жыл бұрын

Hi Ron I love what you are doing. The knowledge and stories you are passing on to everyone is amazing! Q. When you learn a song do you learn the words? Like Mulligan did (eg. Have you met Miss Jones)

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks!!! I've played with so many vocalists over the years that I have at least a general idea of the lyrics to most songs I play. Also by listening to Ella, etc, and playing in Broadway situations. If I don't know the lyric, ten yes, sometimes I'll sing it a bit. It changes how we play these songs.

@rbtubin 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for getting back to me. Imo, I find some songs I can learn the words almost instantly and never forget them and other songs it takes years for them to stick. Eg. Lullaby of Birdland doesn't want to stick but Masquerade I learned in no time. Learning the words helps me to learn the phrasing and where to breath. Q. Do you think it's true... "if you don't know the meaning of a word, you shouldn't use it"? Is that the same for a words to a jazz song?

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 3 жыл бұрын

@@rbtubin I wouldn't spend too much time on the lyrics to Lullaby of Birdland. It was originally an instrumental and I think the lyrics were added after. In any case, they're just a little "fluff." I know the lyrics to some songs but only a few key phrases and the general "gist" for other.

@paulmidi9207 3 жыл бұрын

Ron what do you set the metronome on?

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 3 жыл бұрын

The heartbeat.

@spacemanbose Жыл бұрын

Amazing work. You should have millions of views for your work, unfortunately in depth videos like this can rech a minor range of people. Like bill Evans said, the majority of people Is satisfied with what they can grasp on the surface. But there will always be a maybe 10% who wants to explore deeper

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 Жыл бұрын

Thanks! Actually this is my goal - to only reach those, like you and me, who truly want to go deep into these tunes and this music. Much appreciated :)

@spacemanbose Жыл бұрын

@@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 thank to you sir. In my opinion you are one of the finest jazz channels on yt. Best wishes from Venice

@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 Жыл бұрын

@@spacemanbose Thank you! I spent a great day in Venice in 1987 when I was Gerry Mulligan's assistant. His band was touring jazz festivals in northern Italy (Perugia, etc.) and some of us took the train to Venice on a day off.