PIECES FOR SOLO PIANO

Hottentots  46KB           (tune only)

Easy to play

Goodbye Trevor   36KB       (tune only)

Dedicated to the late Trevor Kay, an alto player you can hear on these tunes on the Collections page
- Under the Sun, Hajnalka and Succotash.  Needs time to fathom out the chords.

Strangers Again    48KB       (tune only)

Take your time over this one

Doreen's Party Piece   159KB            (tune only)

Dedicated to my dear departed friend, Doreen and written for her 70th birthday.  A slow waltz

I should have known    56KB           (tune only)

3/4 and 4/4 sections to keep you awake (and to confuse you if playing along with a metronome)

Reflections    43KB        (tune only)

5/4 but relatively easy to play. To find out how to play in 5/4, click here !!!

Hangover Street    61KB        (tune only)

Bluesy feel, taken from the big band arrangement

Fireball       55KB          (tune only)

I found this difficult to play, but I'm a lousy pianist

Feta Crumbly       42KB          (tune only)

Needs time to work out the notes

Interlude       48KB          (tune only)

This is not much of a tune but it is a good work out for the left-hand, forcing you to use fingers you forgot you had.
This is what it sounds like on strings and woodwind   

Fudge   49KB          (tune only)

Easy to play. There is no separate solo piano soundbite as the piano part closely resembles the band arrangement.

Refugee       72KB          (tune only)

Not a jazz piece, but good practice for the right hand. Can be played along with the recording or by a synth for backing
with solo piano/synth, accordian or bass clarinet or cello or some sort of folk instrument.

The Dawning       45KB          (tune only)

A slow quiet number which is unexpectedly hard to play (for me!).

Sofa, So Good      130KB    FREE     

This is Version 2 of Sofa, So Good, for a trio.
(See "The Origin of Pieces" on Tutorial page.) It doesn't really work as a solo piano number.

La fille qui aime danser    81KB           (tune only)

A little French waltz.   Here is the string version   

Kadriya   (Кадия)    111KB         

A jazz/classical solo piano version of this tune. You can play your own solo on it if you don't want to play
what is written. A good exercise for using the pedal and for legato phrasing.

What might have been    57KB       (tune only)

A refective number which is quite demanding for the left hand. This is what it would sound like when orchestrated
and used for a TV/film theme  

Uprising    118KB     

A piece in different sections. Very hard to play, I found.   For those of you who like that sort of thing here is the opening
passage with the addition of special effects. Will frighten the hell out your cat, not to mention your mother-in-law! 
And here it is as as piano trio after the introduction.  Bass and drum parts are provided.

Ben    147KB   FREE     

Dedicated to a dog, this is a difficult number to play, but is excellent practice for your left hand, or should that be paw.
This is a canine version of the tune:

INAUgazaRATION DAY    136KB       

The title refers to the juxtaposition of 2 events in January 2009. (See Gaza section in the Blurb page.)
Very tricky number to play.

Alina's Song    99KB     

This has a modern feel to it - a band version is now available..

Eau de Toilette    99KB     

This tune was prompted by the sound of the water in the cistern in the Gents toilet in the Grand Hotel.
(The Cistern Chapel, perhaps.) It is not too difficult to play, for a change. The longer extract, heard by
clicking on the arrows, gets as far as a few bars into the solo sequence. The extract heard by clicking
on the title is much shorter and is a smaller file.

Сласибо / Spaseba (thanks)    36KB       

The piece is not too difficult to play. I must have had on off-day.

Rejection...Dejection   167KB       (tune only)

Relatively easy to play, but there are a few tricky bits. Good exercise for the right hand. Bass and drum parts supplied if played by a trio.

Impulse    200KB       (tune only)

This starts in 7/4 and then goes into 4/4 and 6/4, but hopefully doesn't sound like it. A bass and drum part are included if you want to play it with a trio.

Pantalones de Ancianos /Old Men's Trousers    63KB      

This is taken from a midi file recorded straight from computer. The style and title refer to a bar I went to about 40 years ago in the back-streets of Cancun in Mexico. From different seats, groups of people started playing instruments - as soon as one stopped another group stood up and started playing - fantastic music. The toilets were located in a hole in the wall, and men did up their trousers as they re-entered the room.

Triste Storia    78KB       (tune only)

Not difficult one. It reminds me a bit of Italian music, hence the title which means Sad Song.  Here is an orchestral version of it   

Rebecca    200KB       (tune only)

A slow waltz

Attente...(Waiting...)    55KB       (tune only)

Easy tune, but playing a solo over the left-hand figures is quite tricky. Good practice though.

The Wife of Reilly    55KB       (tune only)

A mock Irish tune, but you can have fun soloing on the simple chord sequence.

Kristina    38.2KB       (tune only)  This is how it sounds like orchestrated:

I wrote this for a Latvian lady, but I'm afraid it's turned out rather Russian.

Marine, Marine, the Vineyard Queen    80KB       (tune only)  This is how it sounds like played by a band:

This is for a very French sommeliére.  

La Belle de La Rochelle    40.7KB       (tune only)  This is how it sounds like orchestrated:

Another tune for Marine

Tara's theme    32.7KB       (tune only)

Another attempt at my writing a (sad) Irish song. This one is for Tara.

The international jazz piano competition JAZZ IMPROVIZACIJA 2011 will take place on September 30th - October 1st in Vilnius, Lithuania. The competition is open for pianists from any country under 30 years of age. This year there is not only a chance towin cash prizes, but also an invitation to take part in Vilnius Mama Jazz - a great international jazz festival. (Every year it presents the programs of sunch performers as Five Peace Band, Christian McBride, Chris Potter or Dee Dee Bridgewater to name just a few.) This year the winner of piano jazz competition "Jazz improvizacija" will go back to Vilnius in November to give a serious concert with any project in Vilnius Mama Jazz! Click here for the guidelines and registration form.

There is an excellent article on how to interpret piano parts for big band on the website www.pdfjazzmusic.com, as well as being an excellent resource for written music.