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Founder & Director: Arthur Houle
BEST DEMONSTRATION OF SPONTANEITY AND/OR IMPROVISATION IN A JAZZ, POP, GOSPEL OR RAG STYLE WORK
The great classical pianist Vladimir Horowitz admired jazz pianist Art Tatum. Ravel and Bartók revered George Gershwin. In his last interview Leonard Bernstein expressed high admiration for the Beatles. Yet the artificial divisions between “serious” and “popular” music persist. Music of any style - classical, jazz, pop, gospel, rag, etc. - can vie for most of the festival prize categories.
This prize, however, is exclusively for the Best Demonstrations of spontaneity or improvisation in a jazz, pop, or rag style. At the discretion of the judges, gospel style may also qualify. Performances need not demonstrate literal improvisation. At the least, however, performances should sound spontaneous, as if improvised on the spot. Playing from “fake charts” (also called “lead sheets,” wherein only the right hand melody is notated, along with chord symbols) is encouraged, but music fully notated is also acceptable, as long as it sounds free and improvisatory.
Is music by George Gershwin “classical” or “jazz?” He’s “classical” in the sense that compositions are fully notated, but he certainly comes off as jazzy, so we would be fine with anything by Gershwin. Keep in mind, however, that Gershwin never played his own pieces the same way twice. No edition should really be regarded as the “one and only definitive authentic” edition, no matter how excellent or well researched! It is fascinating to hear Gershwin’s improvisatory style in piano rolls and radio performances -- don’t expect to hear the same notes on these as what you see published as music! For an example of this, ask your local librarian to locate (or get a copy by interlibrary loan):
“I Got Rhythm -- the music as performed by George Gershwin on radio, February 19, 1934, transcribed by Dick Hyman,” Keyboard Classics, Jan/Feb 1984, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 24-25 (quite different from the published version!)
or check this out:
“The Man I Love -- the music as performed by George Gershwin on radio, February 19, 1934, transcribed by Artis Wodehouse,” Piano & Keyboard, Jan/Feb 1993, No. 160, pp. 24-32 (also different from the published version!)
Lastly, for the ultimate in “alternative” improvisatory Gershwin, get your hands on this book of transcriptions* of his piano roll performances (prepare to be shocked if you compare the tunes with the “standard” published versions!):
“Gershwin’s Improvisations for Solo Piano Transcribed from the 1926 & 1928 Disc Recordings by Artis Wodehouse,” Warner Bros. Publications, ISBN 0-7692-0891-6
*Important note: performances of Gershwin transcriptions would also qualify for the “BEST PERFORMANCE OF A TASTEFUL TRANSCRIPTION OR ARRANGEMENT (IN ANY STYLE) FOR PIANO SOLO” category!
You can order Gershwin’s music from any music store.
Our music sponsors have a wide variety of jazz/pop/rag music and method books. For teachers and students who need an easy to understand, step by step method series for how to read jazz/pop fake charts, here’s a highly recommended 5-book series for beginner to intermediate level students:
“Easy Keyboard Harmony: Teaching Improvising from Standard Chord Symbols (Provides Opportunities for Ear Training and Music Writing),” by Wesley Schaum, in five books, Schaum Publications.
Three of the most important and highly recommended "how to" jazz improvisation books for more advanced students are listed below:
- The Jazz Piano Book by Mark Levine (Sher Music Co.)
- The Jazz Theory Book by Mark Levine (Sher Music Co.)
- Jazz/Rock Voicings for the Contemporary Keyboard Player by Dan Hearle (Studio P/R, Inc.)
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John Salmon has recorded a CD of Brubeck's solo piano works on the Phoenix label. Salmon's Brubeck CD is available by visiting the following web site: or by contacting:
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Here's an easy-to-read introductory book on improvisation, blues, jazz, rock, and pop styles: http://www.edly.com/eptib.html |
Click here for tips on Improvisation by Houle.
See also improvisation tips by Marjorie Burgess in her "A Piano is for Playing."
Teachers and students should check out the online FJH Pedagogy Newsletter for great ideas on creativity and improvisation.
For fledgling composers and improvisers, we also recommend the Pattern Play Series.
Below is an abstract of a paper that articulates beautifully the challenge
of finding a good balance between rules and freedom in improvisation.
As Burrows points out, creativity and originality must be tempered with
tradition and discipline. The complete paper (and others on improvisation)
can be found at: http://www.geocities.com/thirdrailmusic/academic.html
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Confucian Philosophy and the Jazz
Improvisor: In the process of institutionalizing the teaching of improvisation, we have often reduced it to a series of courses, or textbooks, a set of skills to be acquired in sequence and the student wrongly assumes that after completing the sequence, she will be a competent improviser. The cultural and artistic guidelines that guided the great improvisers in the past are not clear to the neophyte improviser today who often has no sense of tradition or requirements for personal effort. She see rules and tradition, often rigidly codified as "course requirements", as somehow in the way of personal expression. Confucian ideas of naturalness and balance, and his teachings concerning the Path and the Mean have great relevance in addressing these problems. These ancient teachings provide a practical philosophical solution to the apparent paradoxes between rules and freedom, tradition and innovation which are central to jazz improvisation. The Confucian concepts of naturalness and the development of a "second nature" through education can help us to teach improvisors more intelligently and effectively by deepening our understanding of how musicians learn to improvise. |
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Please note: All terms of this festival are contingent on fund-raising and subject to change.
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