Bob Griffin’s Jazz Piano Project

Well my summer isn’t starting off so well, but I don’t really want to get into the whole situation. It does mean though that I’ll have to be a bit creative for a while since I love this blog and want you to like it and return over and over again

Earlier I mentioned one of my favorites, Randy Weston. So with a bit of digging around, here’s a very short slice of bio about him compliments of Wikipedia.org:

Randy Weston has had a considerable career in jazz as a pianist, composer, and bandleader. He emerged in the mid-1950s, being voted New Star Pianist in Down Beat magazine’s International Critics’ Poll of 1955, the year after his recording debut as a leader, with the album Cole Porter In a Modern Mood. Several notable albums followed, including Little Niles near the end of that decade. His piano style owes much to Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk (he has paid direct tribute to both), but it is highly distinctive in its qualities: percussive, highly rhythmic, capable of producing a wide variety of moods.

And nothing rounds out info quite like a music video! I even found a flash movie for your enjoyment

And here’s the video movie, called Randy Weston Spirit! The Power of Music (in flash)

Just click here for the Movie!

School just let out this past Friday (the 13th!) - I’m a teacher - and so now it’s my goal to immerse myself in really developing this blog for all things “jazz!”

In the meantime, I did find this great article about the jazz piano style that I hope you’ll enjoy

When people think of piano music, they tend to think of classic pieces. Jazz piano is a style that is obviously unique, but also technically and soulfully superb.

The story of the jazz piano begins with a man named Jelly Roll Morton, a town called New Orleans, and a type of music called ragtime. Joseph Ferdinand La Menthe (Jelly Roll Morton) was known throughout New Orleans as a musician that could play just about any type of music. Jelly Roll enjoyed entertaining crowds with his ragtime, jazz, and blues combinations, and he often played to a roaring crowd throughout New Orlean’s Redlight District.

The song “Jelly Roll Blues” was the first jazz compilation every published (1915), and this catchy tune really put both Jelly Roll and the jazz piano on the musical map. There is no debating the fact that Morton was the original father of jazz piano, and he is entirely responsible for the jazz piano tunes that we know and love today. If you have heard this great musician play, you may be interested to know that a fantastic recording of his is currently at the Library of Congress. This recording was the last one that Morton ever did, and it is one of the best recordings in history.

When the 1920s rolled around, jazz music took a whole different turn, and the streets of Chicago and New York City were vibrating with the sound of a rolling piano. During this time, New York musicians were tapping the keys to a style called “Harlem Stride,” and many attribute this type of music to James P. Johnson (1891-1955). The story of jazz piano really started to crank up when Harlem grabbed a hold of the instrument, and though many have tried to duplicate this sound, jazz music has not been the same since.

If you enjoy listening to modern jazz, take the time to discover Jelly Roll and Johnson - you’ll be pleased that you did. Whether you want to play the piano, or whether you simply love to hear those sweet chords chime, those that were true piano pioneers are still the best the world has every heard.

There can be no history of the jazz piano without the mention of New Orleans, Harlem, Chicago, Jelly Roll Morton, and James P. Johnson - the men, the music, and the piano all combine throughout time to create a sound unlike any other. Stop for moment, listen to those old recordings, and then ask yourself whether or not you can hear that good old piano truly roll.

Aazdak Alisimo writes about piano and piano lessons for PianoLessonInstructors.com

Hi my name is Bob Griffin and I appreciate you taking the time to check out JazzPianoProject .

I am the type of person who when I get into something I really get into it. I don’t just skim the surface. I dive in deep and try and learn everything I can about something. I’m a musician and I’ve played piano all my life. My mom took me for piano lessons when I was 8 years old (thanks mom!) and along the way I’ve either taken lessons or figured out on my own how to play the: trumpet; saxophone, clarinet and flute. I actually was a flute major in college. I love jazz. I had a radio show on WPKN the station from the University of Bridgeport and there I was afforded the opportunity to interview jazz musicians. Some of the most memorable ones were Chick Corea and Jaco Pastorious (the greatest electric bass player ever and one of my heroes).

I also (being a child of 60’s -70’s) love rock n’ roll.

Somewhere along the line I saw a few gigs by Dr.John (aka Mac Rebbeneck ) one cool dude and who became a friend of mine. He taught me about New Orleans music and its piano style and made me hip to guys like Professor Longhair; James Booker Allen Toussaint and the Meters In 1995 I recorded a CD called ‘Piano, Bass and Drums’ (how’s that for truth in advertising).The experience of recording a record with your heroes is analogue to doing a joint venture with one a internet marketing guru. Kind of surreal.

The reason I mention it is because I find that sometimes I think I had less fear when I was younger. More on that some other time.

The only other thing that even comes close to music for me is Internet Marketing I love Internet Marketing and not just because of the potential to make big bucks. Actually It has a lot in common with music.

Both are difficult to master
Both require discipline.
Music interfaces with technology (synths, amplification)
IM wouldn’t exist without technology)
Both require creativity.
Both reward collaboration as well as the one-man-show.
Both reward genius.
Both in music and in Internet Marketing the cream always rises to the top - (ok usually rises to the top.).

It’s like Aaron Neville said to me in an interview I did with him “It’s not what you say but how you say it” Simple but kind of profound. In other words it’s all between the ears. That’s where it all happens. That’s where growth happens.

To me Robert Kyosaki, Tim Ferris, Terry Dean, Dan Lok, John Hostler, Terry Hansen, to name a few of my mentors in the IM arena are saying the same things to me that Dylan Charlie Parker, Miles, Sly, Springsteen and Duke Ellington said to me through music. That it’s all about how you carry yourself, we all need to celebrate in yourself what makes you stand apart, what makes you unique. People respond to people who aren’t afraid to be themselves. Who believe in learning and listening but in the end believing in your own voice? This is what a leader should be. Being strong, flexible, resilient and lean in the sense of not hanging on to a lot of baggage that life likes to throw at us. Streamlined.

I try and focus on these things everyday and most days I’m pretty far off the mark but they’re my goals,
my destinations.

I’ve always been entrepreneurial in spirit. All of my recordings have benefited from a famous musician endorsing me by writing liner notes for the CD. Allen Toussaint the legendary New Orleans producer and songwriter wrote liner notes to my first record ‘Stretch the Strike’. For ‘Cats Like Angel’s was blessed to have Dr.John (aka Mac Rebbenack “I want to funkasize your brain cells”) write something for the record.The point here is that these things are akin to a joint venture in the IM world. The cache and respect these guys carry among other musicians lends instant credibility. In exactly the same way it would if someone like Mike Falsaime decided to put out ‘Butterfly Marketing’ with my name on it too.

So the idea to remember here is ‘perceived value’. Musicians at that level just like marketing superstars treasure their reputations as much as the bottom line so these guys won’t do things that might diminish their ‘perceived value’. Therefore by endorsing a record by writing liner notes or sending out a JV email to their list accomplishes the same thing–A little of their magic rubs off and you gain instant credibility and increased sales because of their ‘perceived value.

It’s powerful and it helped me sell a lot of CDs.

In 2007 I built a bog called MyMusicReview Blog I look at it as a warm up to JazzPianoProject.

Ok, I’m starting to get out there. Is there a way for you guys to communicate the gesture “cut” over the internet?

If I start to levitate try and stop me.

Anyway that’s some of the stuff that rumbles through this cranium.

Thanks for stopping in. Feel free to join in the conversation. Add to it . Agree, Disagree. It’s all cool. It’s the point of why were all here. I’ll be posting regularly to JazzPianoProject. See Ya.

Bob