Rediscovered Ellington: Piano Book

These seventy previously unavailable pieces reveal the depth of Ellington's creative output beyond his most famous works, offering advanced pianists direct access to his original voice without arrangement intermediaries. The collection expands the piano jazz repertoire with authentic material that demonstrates why Ellington's harmonic language and melodic invention remain relevant for serious study and performance.

These pieces embody the sophisticated glamour and blues-rooted melancholy that defined Ellington's artistic vision, blending stride-influenced figures with unexpected harmonic twists and the conversational ease of his best writing. Each piece carries the mark of a composer working at the height of his powers, balancing technical brilliance with emotional directness.

Advanced pianists seeking authentic Ellington material beyond standard jazz repertoire and classical pianists interested in expanding their understanding of American composition. This collection serves pianists ready to engage with sophisticated harmonic language and the rhythmic flexibility that jazz idiom requires.

• Honor the jazz vernacular embedded in Ellington's writing; these pieces demand swing phrasing and intuitive harmonic interpretation, not strictly metronomic execution.
• Explore Ellington's harmonic substitutions and passing chords as compositional statements rather than decorative flourishes; they define the piece's character.
• Use the pedal to sustain and blend voicings across registers, particularly in passages with dense chord clusters that benefit from sonorous depth.
• Balance sophistication with accessibility in your tempo choices; Ellington's melodies sing most effectively when phrasing breathes naturally rather than rushing.

Feature individual pieces as recital selections that showcase your pianist's command of jazz language and twentieth-century American idiom; alternatively, group several pieces thematically to create a concert celebrating a rediscovered archive. These works pair naturally with classical contemporary repertoire, offering pianists and audiences alike a bridge between concert tradition and jazz sophistication.

• Swing phrasing and rhythmic flexibility in jazz idiom
• Reading and executing Ellington's sophisticated harmonic language and chromatic voice-leading
• Pedal control for blending dense chord voicings across registers
• Interpreting rubato and expressive timing in jazz-influenced melodic lines
• Understanding chord substitution and passing harmonies as compositional tools