Jazz Festivals

All about jazz festivals
RSS

Eric Darius "Just Getting Started" Smooth Jazz Music CD Review

Posted by admin2 on August 30th, 2010 Comments Off



Talented young smooth jazz saxophonist Eric Darius has released his latest CD entitled Just Getting Started.

I’m very confident Eric Darius fans, and smooth jazz fans alike will be pleased with this one. With the release of Just Getting Started the young and extremely talented Darius’s artistic excellence is on full display as he has delivered a brilliant collection of tracks.

Just Getting Started is Darius’s second major label release in as many years, and is a very soulful CD that’s part funk, part smooth jazz, all nice, and balanced just right.

The CD launches with a great track, Steppin’ Up, that will definitely be heard on smooth jazz radio stations everywhere, and deservedly so. From there Darius proceeds to display why he is destined to be a top artist in the smooth jazz category. Displaying what is becoming his own signature, funky style throughout the CD.

Contributors on the project includes an amazing line up of smooth jazz and music industry heavy hitters. Names like Jeff Lorber on several tracks, Paul Brown, Euge Groove, and the incomparable Brian Culbertson. Plus a few other notables as well.

Overall Just Getting Started is an excellent contribution by the young and clearly very talented Darius and would be a great addition to your smooth jazz collection. It’s quite simply a very entertaining CD.

While this entire CD is outstanding the truly standout tunes and SmoothJazz247.com favorites are Lover’s Paradise [track 2], Right Here, Right Now [track 6], and It’s Alright With Me [track 9]. My SmoothLee Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 10, Can’t Let Go. Very nice!

Release Notes:

Eric Darius originally released Just Getting Started on March 7, 2006 on the Narada record label.

CD track list follows:

1. Steppin’ Up

2. Lover’s Paradise

3. Secret Soul

4. Groove On

5. Back At Cha

6. Right Here, Right Now

7. That’s What I’m Sayin’

8. If I Ain’t Got You

9. It’s Alright With Me

10. Can’t Let Go

11. Slick

By: Tom Milson

Posted in Jazz Festivals

Jazz Piano Lessons – Tips to Help You Learn to Play Jazz on the Piano Fast

Posted by admin2 on August 29th, 2010 Comments Off



In order to play Jazz piano you need to get a fundamental knowledge of piano theory. Some of this knowledge will consist of chord formation, rhythmic feel, and scales and modes.

All Jazz songs have a one of a kind chord progression in every piece. Your jazz piano lessons should focus on learning the different rhythms of a jazz piano.

Every jazz style is dependent on beat and has a unique rhythm. You should practice playing different rhythms in the bass line.

Your jazz piano lessons should emphasize weak beats which are also referred to as syncopating. You should know that in jazz music the second and fourth beats are emphasized by resting on the normally strong strong beats. In order to make a stronger syncopation you should rest on just the first half of the first and third beats.

Your lessons should also focus on a key element in the jazz feel and this is the swing rhythm. To accomplish this you need to play uneven eight notes.

Within a pair of eight notes you should play the first note longer than the second to make an uneven pattern. You shouldn’t hold all the notes for the exact same amount of time.

Your jazz piano lessons should practice jazz chord progressions. The basic progression is the twelve bar blues. The twelve bar blues includes progressions among the I, IV, and V chords.

In the key of C, the chords would be C (I), F (IV), and G (V). You should begin on the C and move between the C and F for various bars, adding a G chord until you get a pattern with twelve bars.

These are some of the things your jazz piano lessons should focus on. With the right lessons there is no reason you can’t learn how to play jazz piano songs.

By: Jenna Mae

Posted in Jazz Festivals

How to Use the Dorian Mode in Jazz Improvisation

Posted by admin2 on August 29th, 2010 Comments Off



The Dorian mode is very important in jazz and deserves attention. Let’s figure out how to make a Dorian scale. There are two ways to think about this: the first way is to remember that Dorian is the 2nd note of a major scale, so if we find out the first note then we know what key signature we are in. For example: I want a G Dorian scale. I know that G is the 2nd note of some major scale. Let’s go back and look at our major scale from the first part of the book. 12345678.

If I put the note G under the number 2 (remember that we are trying to find G Dorian, the 2nd mode) I can now find out who 1 is. You can think of this is algebra, solving for 1. I will go down a whole step from G and find myself on F. Remember that there is one whole step in between the 1st and 2nd notes of a major scale. I now know that F major is the key I’m using. F major has one flat. Now, I will start on G, and play from G to G using the Key of F maj. In other words, I am in the key of F.

The other way to form a Dorian scale is to compare the Dorian to a major scale. You can see that the difference is the 3rd and the 7th notes. In Dorian the B becomes B flat, and the F sharp becomes F natural. In both cases the 3rd and the 7th are lowered

Posted in Jazz Festivals
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Powered by WordPress | Log in | Entries (RSS) | Comments (RSS) | seo service