In Recital® with Jazz, Blues & Rags, Book 6: Late Intermediate Piano Book

Sophisticated and soulful. These pieces demand that you listen as much as you read, absorbing the swagger of blues changes, the syncopation of rags, and the intricate touch needed for jazz phrasing. The music swings with authentic character.

Late-intermediate pianists ready to engage with jazz vocabulary and the expressive demands of blues and ragtime. Teachers seeking repertoire that develops sophisticated rhythmic feel while building confidence in non-classical idioms.

• Let the recordings guide your interpretation during initial study, but work toward making the swing feel your own once you internalize the changes.
• Pay close attention to the rhythmic nuance in blues pieces; the shuffle and swing eighth notes require listening, not just reading.
• Balance comping with melody in arrangements where both hands share jazzy figures; clarity comes from understanding which voice leads the phrase.

Program individual arrangements in recitals where you want to showcase students' growing stylistic range and improvisational awareness. The collection also works beautifully as performance material for demonstration in jazz history units or as concert openers that catch audiences' attention immediately.

• Swing eighth notes and triplet-feel rhythms
• Blue note intonation and expressive bending
• Jazz chord voicings and reharmonization
• Syncopation and ragtime rhythmic precision
• Stylistic interpretation across three distinct genres