When I first started my piano journey of 2024, I thought I wanted to learn jazz theory and, by extension, jazz. I thought my big goal was to learn to develop jazz arrangements from lead sheets. I wanted to play blues as well, but, in my mind, “jazz” and “blues” were kind of the same thing. All I knew was that primarily wanted to play jazz standards in the style of Bill Evans. Or Thelonious Monk.
Since then, I’ve discovered a few things about myself that I didn’t know.
Jazz Isn't Really for Me
One is that I don’t love jazz. It’s not that I hate jazz, because I don’t. There are certain varieties of jazz that I love with a passion, but it’s the older versions (ragtime, stride, big band). But I’ve never liked the Frank Sinatra/Dean Martin style of “crooner jazz.” I don’t really care for bebop. Famous jazz pianists like Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk were geniuses, but I had to admit to myself that I always found their music "interesting" and "intriguing" rather than moving.
Cocktail Jazz Really Isn't for Me
I’ve also discovered that I really do kind of hate most cocktail jazz, with its tinkly arpeggios and its overdone rubato. And the jazz standards? There are some that I truly love (“Autumn Leaves,” “All the Things You Are,” “Body and Soul,” etc.). And the rest are fine—I like them well enough, but I don’t love them. I'm not passionate about them.
I Had No Clear Understanding of Blues
Another thing I discovered myself is that I have been wrongly conflating “jazz” with “blues” all my life. Or if I did differentiate between the two, it was to think:
1. “Jazz is sophisticated and complex and difficult” (a.k.a. "interesting" and "intriguing").
2. “Blues is (are?) simplistic and basic and easy.”
3. “I’m too white-bread (white-bred?) to play the blues.”
Wrong, wrong, and wrong!
I Wanted To Play Blues, Not Jazz
My biggest discovery was that it wasn't jazz I wanted to play; it was blues! So I’ve focused much of my piano year on learning to play the blues. I’ve also listened to countless hours of blues on Spotify, marveling at my late-in-life discovery that blues is, and has nearly always been, my favorite style of music.
But then I made another discovery. This one happened when I started the Slow Gospel Blues course. And I made the discovery this past weekend.
... Make that New Orleansy, Gospelly Blues
I love the blues, but it’s a certain variety of blues that I believe is my piano-style soulmate. That variety comprises a huge dose of Dr. John/Professor Longhair/New Orleans style, but there is also a strong gospel element. And my vehicle for this style is hymns. Old-style, theologically sound, musically simple hymns that are beautiful in their simplicity.
Hymns, to me, are moving. Soulful. I need them. They feed me.
Some Examples of This Style
Two examples of this style are below. First is Chuck Leavell’s “Higher Ground.”
And then we have Dr. John’s “Just a Closer Walk with Thee.”
Finally, on the Piano With Jonny site, in one of the final lessons of the advanced Slow Gospel Blues course, Jonny improvises to "Amazing Grace" for about two minutes. It’s not available on YouTube so I can't share it here, but when I listen to that that video, I think, “That is my soulmate style.”
I'm On My Way
And guess what. I’m getting there! I’m getting there. There is still so much work to do, but it’s good to have hope. Particularly when the rest of my life feels so hopeless.
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