Playing Jazz Piano: Keyboard/Piano Book

Name: Playing Jazz Piano: Keyboard/Piano Book
Brand: Alfred Music
SKU: 00-29827
Price: 10.95 USD
Availability: InStock

By Bob Mintzer

Item: 00-29827

$10.95

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For an aspiring jazz instrumentalist, playing piano is one of the most important skills for developing a jazz vocabulary. Bob Mintzer is a renowned jazz composer, arranger, saxophonist, pianist, bandleader, educator and member of the group, the Yellowjackets. His piano book is designed for the instrumentalist who is not an accomplished piano player but wants to acquire basic jazz piano skills and jazz vocabulary. The book includes etudes that make players aware of the sound, texture, cause, effect and function of jazz chords and harmony. The 22 piano etudes feature a variety of styles, tempos, chord progressions and a the book also includes a chord voicing glossary. Mintzer offers a practical guide with a realistic approach.

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Publisher: Alfred Music

Page Count: 44

ISBN10: 0-7390-5402-3

ISBN13: 978-0-7390-5402-4

UPC: 038081331904

SKU: 00-29827

More about this title

About the Author: Bob Mintzer

Bob Mintzer is a saxophonist, pianist, composer, and arranger who has shaped modern jazz for decades. As a founding member of the Yellowjackets and a prolific recording artist in his own right, Mintzer brings decades of professional bandleading and touring experience to his educational work. His compositions and arrangements are performed worldwide, and his approach to teaching reflects the real demands of working jazz musicians.

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Why we love this

Mintzer writes as a working musician who understands that non-pianists need to hear and feel chord quality before they can voice it skillfully. The etudes isolate essential jazz sounds (not just theory) and move through varied styles and tempos, so players build practical vocabulary they can actually use in improvisation and comping. The chord voicing glossary turns the book into a reference resource that students will return to long after they finish the etudes.

What to expect

The etudes capture the textures and colors of working jazz: warm minor sevenths, bright major chord stacks, the pull of altered dominants, the openness of sparse voicings. Each short piece is designed to live in your fingers and ears, building familiarity with how jazz chords actually sound and move in real time, not as abstract theory.

Who it's for

This book serves instrumentalists (saxophonists, trumpet players, guitarists, bassists) who want to deepen their jazz vocabulary but don't have strong piano technique. It's equally valuable for self-taught jazz pianists who need a structured approach to understanding chord voicings and harmonic function. Private jazz instructors and jazz ensemble directors will find it a reliable supplementary resource for students preparing to comp or solo.

How to get the most out of it

Play each etude slowly enough to hear the chord quality and its harmonic function, not just to get through the notes. Speed comes after the sound is in your ear.
Use the chord voicing glossary to understand why each voicing sounds the way it does before moving to the next etude. Understanding cause and effect matters more than repertoire coverage.
Record yourself playing the etudes and listen back. Your ear is the final judge of whether the harmony sounds authentic.
Practice the etudes with a metronome to internalize the rhythmic feel specific to each style, then try them without it to develop true swing and pocket awareness.

How to use it

Assign these etudes to jazz ensemble members who need to strengthen their harmonic literacy independent of their primary instrument, or integrate them into private jazz lessons as a complement to improvisation study. The 22 etudes work well as a semester's worth of focused listening and playing, one per week, with the chord glossary supporting ensemble rehearsals when voicing questions arise.