Is This The Worst Jazz Piano Album Of All Time?

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[@CharlesCornellStudios]

Go check out the album, it's brilliantly awful. What do you guys know of that was also awful, just maybe not brilliantly?? And if you ACTUALLY want to learn to play, get 30% off on the Intro to Piano course with code MUSICTHEORY30 cornellmusicacademy.com/

[@eezypredator3585]

Can you do the hyrule warriors OST

[@JaelSerrano-kg3nu]

Please do not do the hyrule warriors OST.

[@ShyGuyDood]

Please review tf2 soundtrack

[@hows_it_smoking]

Have u reviewed Brendan Kavanagh's Boogie Woogie? :)

[@graysonparks6696]

I'd love to see you talk about how Bob Marley's music is so feel-good and Yes's Fly From Here album

[@leothomason6546]

my band director on april fools showed us this piece and had us fully break it down without telling us what it was at first. It was hilarious.

[@robsonclark9678]

This is amazing :)

[@yazajag]

I would be crying laughing 😂

[@ErikBlomqvistSwe]

That is funny as hell!

[@Bobbias]

Absolutely brilliant

[@pigman6954]

that's hilarious :)

[@caleblarsen5490]

This just lends even more credence to the saying of, "A right note played at the wrong time is still a wrong note, but a wrong note played at the right time is an interpretation."

[@noobpianist8757]

Not all wrong notes .. some wrong notes even played @ the right time still sounds so extremely off

[@seanonel]

Wrong notes at the wrong time makes me suicidally vengeful...

[@dopaminecloud]

@@noobpianist8757 gotta be at least in the right range thats for sure

[@MixMastaCopyCat]

@@noobpianist8757 Depends on one's musical experience and what extremes of jazz they're used to

[@larrypanus2385]

Please update you auto Warranty or your body will be destroyed in a fire , full incinerating caused by lack of maintenance. Ugh. Call asscar now

[@lewser2]

The thing I’m not seeing anyone mention here is the fact that H. Jon Benjamin has openly said he’s “never liked jazz very much” which makes the idea he’d want to create this album so much funnier

[@kds58]

I saw an interview where he said the whole reason he decided to do it was "because I thought it would be funny". Which is the best reason to ever do anything.

[@Phantom0fTheRouter]

Nope. Just feels that much more racist than "just" trivializing the art.

[@MixMastaCopyCat]

@@Phantom0fTheRouter Hmmmm I get where you're coming from, as jazz has very deep black american roots... but I don't see any malice, he's just having a laugh. I think some people are used to thinking of parody/comedy as being an ATTACK on the legitimacy of something - which is definitely a context that it popularly exists in - but it's important to remember that, sometimes, people are just having fun. I'd be with you if there were lyrics making fun of specific aspects of black culture, beyond just being a jazz parody. Because then that would make it's scope much more specific, and much harder to interpret otherwise. But, where it stands... rest assured, jazz culture is not fragile - it will withstand H Jon Benjamin's silly album. lol

[@Alexandros11]

@@MixMastaCopyCat You shouldn't see where they are coming from at all. Jazz and its roots are not one and the same, somebody could make fun of jazz all day with literally zero racial implications. If somebody said they hated Greek salads and went on a tirade about how bad they tasted, not in a million years would I ever construe that as hatred towards the ethnic group of Greek people. This is another example of somebody dragging race into a field that has nothing to do with it, which is something I deeply despise - as unless we are talking about biology or geography, bringing up race in another field somehow implies that its important/worth talking about, which I find to be a very shallow opinion. People should be judged on merits and personality, their race should have absolutely nothing to do with it.

[@samuelecallegari6117]

​@@Phantom0fTheRouter So if I say that McDonald sucks am I being racist towards Americans?

[@willswanson1840]

Did you really think H. Jon Benjamin would have any difficulty with *phrasing*?

[@johngleeson7919]

I managed to make it through the entire album, and I agree with your take on it. He doesn't have a clue what he's doing, but you can hear flashes of innate rhythmic ability shining through. I also have to commend the band for being totally professional throughout, and not strangling him.

[@Bobbias]

Yeah, it's clear that while he can't play, he on some level understands enough music to not make things as bad as they could have been :)

[@itamarbar9580]

I want to imagine the band wouldn't strangle him, they'd be aware of the joke and will try stopping themselves from laughing in the studio

[@troublewithweebles]

Got a belly laugh out of that last line. Thank you 🍻

[@Martin-xd4jl]

I really love this album as HJB clearly knows what Jazz piano is supposed to sound like in a very general, high level sense, but without any of the specific technical knowledge on how to make it happen. It's fascinating.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

It’s like general intentionality without any specific intentionality-the latter requiring technical skill to execute. I don’t think I have ever thought of General Intentionality vs Specific Intentionality before. However, I’ve heard Free Jazz before. I don’t hate it, but I’m not a fan either. I draw the line somewhere around (or within) Eric Dolphy. I think it’s fair to say that some of his wilder Bebop work anticipates Free Jazz if not wholly partakes of the genre. I’ve listened to a selection of Cecil Taylor’s Free Jazz recordings (to “round out my education”), and based on my limited exposure to that, I think HJB was heavily influenced by Cecil. 😂 I think to be truly terrible, you’d need to be unfamiliar with music and try to play, or at least unfamiliar with Jazz. This album is not evidence that “even my five year old can produce what passes for art”. If anything, it’s an ultimate expression of Free Jazz (just not the only ultimate expression).

[@adamkozakiewicz6766]

"but without any (...)" - NO! He understands that higher notes are on the right and that you play by pressing the keys. Sounds like "duh", but it is knowledge and it explains the end effect. He understands the music itself well enough for an amateur. And he knows those two things. What can he do? Not knowing how to play the piano but knowing the sound comes from pressing keys, and is louder if you strike harder is absolutely enough to convey any rythmic and dynamic ideas. Guess what - he's doing it on a somewhat-competent level. He can also follow the direction of the melody - and he does that as well, not as reliably, but he does. So, while it seems trivial, technically speaking he does have SOME technical knowledge on "how to make it happen", and he's using this tiny piece of knowledge pretty well. But of course there is a lot more to it and he's missing all of that, so the actual notes are garbage and the end result is bad.

[@weffjebster3900]

I'm not playing the wrong notes, I'm "unintentionally harmonizing in an odd way"

[@Badministrator]

I wonder how many takes he did and if the players actually gave him advice on rhythm between tries.

[@blahpunk1]

I heard an interview with him. The other players were a little peaved. They didn't know at first.

[@pursuitofsound3120]

Considering how tight the band is behind him, I'm going to guess that the accomplished players recorded on their own and the piano came later. Maybe there might be things that have been said to contradict that, but I'm skeptical.

[@PANDORAZTOYBOKZ]

@@pursuitofsound3120 Nah H. Jon talks about it in an interview. They did it pretty much classic style, and they all walked in not knowing he couldn't play piano. The musicians were, as he described it, not particularly thrilled when they got to his first solo. He wanted it to be pretty much down to the letter exactly how it would go if he COULD play, but minus the actual ability.

[@pursuitofsound3120]

@@PANDORAZTOYBOKZ Then they are clearly pros.

[@Martin-xd4jl]

@@PANDORAZTOYBOKZ I really love his dedication for such a stupid joke. It wouldn't have worked even half as well if the backing band hadn't been genuinely great.

[@laypse9456]

Loving the left hand comping F+-*7b$13#11 chord at 9:13. Can't wait for Charles' percussive piano album to drop.

[@rome8180]

It sounds to me like he's listened to a fair amount of jazz and is sincerely doing his best impression. Yes, it's a joke. But he decided to play it straight as possible by trying to make it good. I think that was a great choice.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

I think it was an honest choice, too. And that makes the joke better.

[@thedevinmccarthy]

I love this album! Not for the musicality but it's so hilarious to me. My wife works for a college of music in Washington and we have shared this with so many of her colleagues. My favorite story from the album is that the amazing studio musicians didn't know he couldn't play until he started playing which I think makes it extra hilarious.

[@amgdotlondon]

Thelonius Monk: "There are no wrong notes; some are just more right than others." Miles Davis: "There are no wrong notes in jazz: only notes in the wrong places." Miles Davis: "It's not the note you play that's the wrong note - it's the note you play afterwards that makes it right or wrong."

[@Lloyd_Meadhbh]

H Jon Benjamin: Hold my beer.

[@TornaitSuperBird]

@@Lloyd_Meadhbh They can't, they're dead.

[@Dungeon47]

As someone who has primarily developed and appreciation for jazz later in my life, I can tell you that to most people this is indistinguishable from real jazz. They just don't even know what to look for to tell the difference.

[@homevalueglass3809]

Yeah, I wouldn't have known the difference to be honest, all sounds the same to me. And I play clarinet and guitar.

[@CynHicks]

I've been into it since I was a young teen learning guitar (metal.) My wife however hates it. Anytime I'm being goofy and playing random nonsense my wife thinks I'm playing jazz. 😂 You are so correct here.

[@MrAllen1049]

looks like a duck sounds like a duck its probably a duck.

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@MrAllen1049 but sometimes it’s a moorhen and the person just has a fuzzy idea of what ducks are

[@GizzyDillespee]

It's like pointillism - from a distance, all seems right in the world, but when you get up close, the illusion falls apart. You can do that in music too, and even make it impressionistic. It sounds pretty normal, but as soon as you notice the details, it's lol time, like WTH?! But if you listen casually, it's fine.

[@kdc0079]

There’s a whole story behind the album, the lore is really funny, but it comes down to the pianist not knowing how to play but asking the devil to make him the best pianist ever in exchange for his soul. The devil declines because he doesnt already know how to play piano. Then the album starts.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

That’s really messed up on the Devil’s part, after the poor guy lugged a piano all the way down to the crossroads.

[@arothmanmusic]

H. Jon Benjamin’s jazz piano sounds very much like what a person who’s totally unfamiliar with jazz hears when they listen to anyone’s jazz piano.

[@Michelle_Wellbeck]

I love sax-bass-drum trios all by themselves, If the trio is playing together well, having someone who can't play piano at all isn't actually impacting the band a whole lot. The sax can play with the bass to anchor the changes. It would be much worse if the bassist or drummer couldn't play jazz at all. In jazz these days the piano can be played outside and still be interesting - just listen to Paul Bley or Cecil Taylor

[@MrTableDesk]

This album showed up on a playlist Spotify made for me. There was like 30 seconds, where I was like "wait is this piano player drunk, or is he just using some weird voicing beyond my comprehension?". Then I stopped the playback, looked up the album, and as soon as I saw H Jon Benjamin, I knew what was up. I love it

[@futuresmiles5797]

the piano has been drinking, not me

[@groofay]

I actually kinda liked the piano playing. I once took a music composition class in high school, and we had keyboards hooked up to the notation software, and sometimes I would just bang random chords out and see what happens (I'm not a pianist), and this has some of the same energy. Except H Jon Benjamin doesn't have an annoyed and over-serious teacher chewing him out.

[@elithayer8926]

What I love about this album is that if he just treated it as a joke, it would get old after the first track or so. But you can tell he’s really trying, and over the course of the record his playing gets noticeably better. It’s incredible

[@TheFanatic33]

I noticed this too, on my most recent listen to this album, he legitimately does improve from start to finish. I feel like I can almost unironically listen to I Can’t Play Piano Pt. 4 cause by that point he kinda knows the groove. It’s crazy lol

[@vixaxe4262]

he's figured out how to tell jokes with music, the absurdity of it is just plain funny

[@robsonclark9678]

Not as directly, but I've seen music heavily incorporated by british comedian Bill Bailey. He had a stand up speical where he used a full live orchestra as part of his jokes. (Good clips on youtube!) And also Fred Armisen has a Netflix Stand up speical called "jokes for drummer" literally with him playing a drum kit for basically every joke, about relatable drummer experiences. Both are a good time :).

[@cooldebt]

@@robsonclark9678 Perhaps also PDQ Bach and Tim Minchin's F Sharp song?

[@robsonclark9678]

@@cooldebt oh nice! I have seen some Tim Minchin funny stuff, ill have to look those both up. Thanks! :)

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@robsonclark9678 whenever I think about that I want to ask Bailey why he thinks Jean Michel Jarre is a fraud. But he’d probably have a joke answer which makes me laugh in the moment and then later I’d realise it raised more questions than it answered. Which is for the best really.

[@paulmuaddib451]

That section where you demonstrate neat rhythmic ideas vs endless noodling is exemplary.

[@curlybrace01]

There are two important things in comedic improv that carry over into the musical variety - listening and timing. H. Jon Benjamin is a very skilled comedian and I think he took those skills and applied them to this project to fantastic effect.

[@purple-flowers]

That dude who does the "Rhythm of comedy" that really shows how rythymic comedy is

[@Foodgeek]

Hahahaha... At 9:33 you can just see that he has a phrase that he wants to play there :D

[@elbraymundo]

What this album demonstrates is the power of improv and comedic timing and how the skills you build doing that can transfer. I learned how to play jazz trombone before I did improv but I definitely felt that the mentality I developed soloing helped me do improv, and both helped me when I learned lindy hop and other dance styles.

[@lawrencetaylor4101]

I just started playing piano after my retirement. My first concert was doing Happy Birthday for my ex as my daughters sang. They inherited my voice. I loved singing in church since I had 3 brothers who would laugh hysterically and get in trouble. The problem was that I learned a melody, but doing a left hand bass is like really hard. I blamed the pause on the page turner not doing their job.

[@Ottomagne]

I'll say it: I think this album is unironically a great album. I would legitimately put it in my top 10 albums of all time. It acts as a deconstruction of the genre in a lot of ways, and actually forces the listener to interrogate what aspects of music they enjoy arbitrarily (ie, we're used to "jazz" being certain forms or harmonies or notes or levels of "correctness"). The juxtaposition between a phenomenal trio playing well executed jazz music and a person who explicitly doesn't know what he's doing really shines a spotlight on the grey area between these aspects, and the fact that people can recognize that there are genuinely good moments where actual communication between band members and musical intention reinforces the questions that it's trying to ask - can someone who doesn't know how to play music create good music? It is _actually_ an unsung, postmodern, avant garde masterpiece. There's tons of arguments to be made as far as whether or not it classifies as "good music", but I think it should unequivocally be recognized as "good art". Is this the most pretentious thing every said about this album? Probably, but I genuinely believe it.

[@Harrison_801]

Ok

[@douglaspantz]

I agree that it has a quite a bit of artistic value. It’s subversive, and has a dynamic never before seen in music history. Albums like this also confirm my belief that “artistic value” is pointless.

[@KittSpiken]

Have you only listened to nine other albums?

[@tombrennan3458]

I can see this becoming a copypasta lmao

[@DefenestrateYourself]

How about address some of op’s points instead of being uselessly flippant

[@absolutely_not_abby]

i absolutely love this album, especially because it's not even that hard to make jazz piano sound listenable. one note is enough sometimes 😂

[@PuppetThanksScott]

Charles: "... the worst Jazz Piano Album..." Me: Well, that's how *I* play it, okay? XD

[@FishyAshB]

At first I thought this would be something along the lines of The Shaggs' album Philosophy of the World (another album recorded by people who didn't know how to play their instruments). This album seems much better than that one, especially as it's intentional rather than due to a deranged father forcing his daughters into making an album because a fortune teller told him to!

[@yazajag]

😳 wow i never knew that story about the Shaggs, that's interesting 🤔 also messed up, thanks for this comment 👍🏽

[@lifeontheledgerlines8394]

> a deranged father forcing his daughters into making an album because a fortune teller told him to I- what??

[@Peppershaker]

@@lifeontheledgerlines8394 look into shaggs lore, its some goofy shit

[@kevinwells9751]

@@lifeontheledgerlines8394 yep, the way he tells the story a fortune teller told him that he would get married, have three blond daughters, and they they would grow up to be successful rockstars. Once he got married and did in fact have three blond daughters he decided to give the rockstar thing a try, so he bought them instruments and had them record an album with no training or instruction It's a wild album, often quite painful to listen to, but really interesting to me since you get to see what it's like when people have to create music with absolutely no musical knowledge or ability

[@lifeontheledgerlines8394]

@@kevinwells9751 That's a story for sure. I'll see how much of it I can get through loll

[@Swishy_Blue]

I wanna play this at my next get together, and just play it off as "extra strength jazz".

[@kaitlyn__L]

Cask strength jazz ;D

[@TomasIlluminato]

I wish I had the time and energy to screen capture this video and edit it to have Charles say "... But first I'm gonna solo over it like I would normally do" and then proceed to mash the sh*t out of the wrong notes rhythmically

[@FUTABA-kg]

I'm battling everyday against my inner devil who is telling me to introduce this album to my friend as "a new found Thelonius Monk lost tape".

[@Octobomb12]

thats definitely your inner angel speaking, do it

[@apothecurio]

That’s what I mean, it’s almost monk.

[@VenSensei]

9:07 - Oh this is working? 9:21 - Now he's just intentionally making it worse. 9:31 - Wait... did that work?!

[@TheHengeProphet]

I am so tempted to see if I can get this on vinyl and put it on as background music at a party

[@KattKirsch]

I have an old Jandek gig flyer from the early 90s framed in my studio to remind me that desperation is more important than skill.

[@neatchee_prime]

Completely unrelated, Charles, but I'd also love to hear you break down some stuff by Polkadot Stingray. There's so much cool, jazz-influenced music coming out of Japan right now and Polkadot Stingray is definitely leading the charge in rock/pop with heavy jazz and funk influences

[@HextorDarko]

Funny how this made me remember that, technically, the piano is a percussion instrument first and a string instrument second.

[@hepphepps8356]

No. You can’t use the word IS in that sentence. You can substitute «can be described as» and arguably be correct.

[@monophone903]

@@hepphepps8356 🤓

[@justcallmenoah5743]

@@hepphepps8356 🤓

[@magicdude38]

This sort of reminds me of when I was much younger and would randomly spam the keyboard in guitar tab software. It was almost always terrible but occasionally things would line up and create something cool or pretty, even if just for a moment

[@martythebassplayer7006]

3 albums come to mind; Pat Metheny's 'Zero Tolerance For Silence', John Zorn's 'Classic Guide To Strategy', and Mike Patton's 'Adult Themes For Voice'. All are about as listenable as Ornette Coleman's 'Free Jazz'.

[@MomLAU]

I gotta agree with you about the first one. I like most of Pat Metheny's stuff that I've heard, but I found a copy of "Zero Tolerance for Silence" and I don't think I even got thru the whole thing before I tossed it in a box of stuff to give away to the thrift store.

[@BifMcAwesome]

Metheny's Song X also. There's a fine line between music and cacophonous noise and these albums crossed that line.

[@martythebassplayer7006]

@@BifMcAwesome It's all noise. No line.

[@kartmaneric5392]

Hey charles, love the channel. I'd love for you to make a video on Captain Beefheart's 'Trout Mask Replica'. Its something that sways from so bad that its unlistenable to being so genius that it's taught in music schools. Would love to hear your take on it.

[@happycadaver]

I was running sound at a venue in philly when this came out and H. Jon came to do a release event...it was amazing. We played a bunch of tracks for the audience, Jon did some standup, and then he did some Q&A with the audience. He was so humble and hilarious. I will never forget that experience, and it was awesome to see you actually try to approach it with an open mind lol. What a legend

[@bcgrote]

It's like using "Blue Moon" as the melody in the solo of "Sunshine of Your Love"!

[@BensRightBrain]

Omg I think I’m gonna start recording piano this way, just banging on keys rhythmically then shaping them into chords in the piano roll after the fact

[@jenserjenson4407]

Charles thanks for covering this! Might be a good idea to check out the phrasing of woodwinds or brass solos where you have to actually take a breath, because they are close to speaking or singing, then apply this attitude to other instruments like the piano or guitar. Jim Hall (gt) for example tried to get a tenor sax style when he was soloing. As a guitarist I know the problem of playing too much or too long phrased without leaving space. And space or pausing is just as important or even more important than playing, at least that’s what I learned. I always have to remind myself of that.

[@justintounsi]

8:52 that kinda was the licc

[@SlambosCarofIdiots]

That sounds like an absolutely delightful record that I must add to my collection. I just ordered his second album, "The Soundtrack Collection" based on this video; I am so looking forward to the discordant audio torture that is the Jazz Daredevil.

[@anythingspossible1]

Would love if you did a reaction/analysis of the Jonathan and Darlene Edwards Greatest hits. Never fails to give me a good laugh, one of my jazz professors in college would always play it every quarter after our concerts. Highly recommend their version of A-Train and Stayin alive.

[@HantaleMedia]

Having listened to the first song over a dozen times in the car. I genuinely started to really dig it. I knew where all the off keys were, bobbed along to the awkward notes and ended up just laughing every time. It's a great album.

[@matt_pick]

What you said about cramming notes I find is especially important with drummers. Even some professional drummers do it and it just doesn't sound good. I pride myself on my space (but maybe bc I can't play fast). This is why I love Joe Morello in take 5

[@DrumsetManiac91]

Yes! I was hoping you'd cover this album eventually.

[@jacksonbigelow5572]

Would you be able to do a video analyzing or looking over Ryo Fukui's (福居良) album Scenery (シーナリィ)? Some of the rhythmic phrases in this video reminded me of a few of the pieces from it, specifically, It Could Happen To You. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on it.

[@georgebutler3477]

I'd love to see charles take a look at the live at emmet's place series, especially vol 39 and 53, because the way Patrick Bartley and Giveton Gelin (vol 39)/Bruce Harris (vol 53) bouce off the rhythm section when they play is incredible.

[@matthewevans7703]

YES!!! I recently found Emmet’s Place on KZbin and it’s just such great playing all around and they bring in all those different great musicians.

[@charliecampbell6851]

^ would love more content from Charles that's actually about jazz, and about good jazz.

[@cooldebt]

The piano 'line' in it had to be you reminds me of that out-of-tune recorder playing the Titanic theme 😂

[@Alex-js5lg]

I came to this video *primed* to challenge your shitty jazz album with: "Oh yeah? Have your *heard* H Jon Benjamin's Jazz Daredevil?" I am pleased.

[@KittSpiken]

A man who denies thumbnails I see.

[@hamsandwichson]

I LOVE that you are giving this a spotlight! Some of this album is pretty good and utterly hilarious throughout. The rap bonus track is great too.

[@TinyMaths]

Some 'not too bad comping here'... 2:15 ... here too 5:36 And some of his phrasing, for a complete beginner (who hasn't even begun) isn't all that bad either. A lot of fun to listen to because of the coincidences of 'sounding ok' sometimes.

[@jravell]

8:22 Just play with your elbows. But seriously, I once heard a quote attributed to Pablo Picasso: “As a child I tried to create like an adult. But I’ve spent my whole adult life as an artist trying to create like a child.”

[@specialperson335]

Could you please analyse Prokofievs third piano concerto? My favorite musical piece of all time and it has some incredible and unique harmonies and feel to it. Would absolutely love it and im sure that the video would do well since it would be introduced to people who haven't heard it and wouldn't be the same after hearing it.

[@slowloris4346]

Listen to Fredric Chui's complete performance of Prokofiev's works for solo piano. Everything he wrote for the piano is just incredible. And the violin concertos and other piano concertos of course! Rick Beato often talks about Prok 3 btw.

[@specialperson335]

@@slowloris4346 yeah i've listened to the complete piano works, both the violin concertos, the cello sonata and sinfonia concertante. Even though i am a cello player i think that his best work is in his piano works because he is able to create a harmonic world which is completely unique.

[@AaronIsLoud]

I love this album, though, because there are moments… moments… you cannot tell.

[@irvinghu8746]

Hey Charles, check out Adam Niewood Quartet's 6/02/22 Smalls gig. During the very end of their second set, some random person who doesn't know how to play the piano sit-in without the band's permission. It created a pretty similar effect as Jon Benjamin's album (but only without the sense of humor). I had never seen this kind of thing happening on stage😱

[@kyle-silver]

I actually really like your “I have no idea what I’m doing” solo

[@michaellasfetto5810]

I LOVE your analysis of this album. I wish that more people would take this kind of thing as both a serious endeavor while being in on the joke, because I feel like I do this all the time as a music teacher. I think that if more people did this kind of analysis, more people would realize that we're all innately musical.

[@szymonsniegocki528]

You should get into Cristobal Tapie De Veer and his sound soundtrack for Utopia Season 1 and also The White Lotus. Those musical structures are outstanding

[@lastnamefirstname8655]

interesting to hear about an awful jazz piano album, and one that's supposedly bad in a good bad way. nice.

[@basedbrent]

As someone who has some experience with piano but has given up on learning jazz even after taking some jazz piano lessons, the whole idea of strictly approaching improv sections by means of simply rhythm, with total disregard of playing correct notes... actually made sense to me. I gave up learning jazz altogether because I approached it from such a structured mentality to the point where I was incapable of improvising, and it was incredibly disheartening. For me, the very idea of playing for the sake of rhythm and not paying attention to the notes seems like one of the best starting points in approaching improvisation.

[@ericm1373]

I think the "note barrage stand" is a technique that works like salt and pepper in cooking. They add spice and flavour, but if you just throw a bunch on the food, it will ruin the taste. In needs to be sprinkled in.

[@ethanmoralesmusic]

Oh my god I was just thinking of this yesterday and here it is!

[@deanevangelista6359]

As Frank Zappa said, “Jazz isn’t dead, it just smells funny.”

[@lilyfm7152]

Hey Charles, I'm an intermediate player and I'd really love to be able to play jazz like you do. Can you recommend any online courses that could help give me the tools necessary? Thanks

[@woodworker489]

This album made me feel a lot less worried about making mistakes because it sounds pretty alright despite the obvious

[@stevie_zucchini]

Great analysis of a hilarious piece! I remember hearing this record a few years back and feeling like there was a nugget of goodness in there but not being able to figure out what it was- The rhythmic choices and phrasing you dissected are totally it. One thing I believe is that it really doesn’t matter if your playing is “good” or “bad” as long as you’re making choices that serve the music and lead the listener’s ear in some way. I found your fake-bad playing to be very interesting to listen to because it led me to feel rhythms or melodic ideas even if they weren’t technically “correct.” Even though I know what to listen for in the context of jazz, you can make me believe something that strays from my expectation if you find a way to lead me there. I think this power is something that all musicians should try to utilize in their own way.

[@AlessandroSistiMusic]

If you haven't heard the NPR interview with H. Jon Benjamin about this album, it's wonderful comedy! The interviewer Robert Siegel, who typically sounds so suave and sophisticated, just can't keep it together while he's talking to Benjamin about this. The headline is "Comedian Jon Benjamin's Jazz Album Is Full Of 'Real, Untapped Un-Talent' "

[@jontedeakin1986]

Nobody mentioning how he tried to sell his soul to the devil to be good at piano but the devil was like "nah"

[@bcgrote]

How close was the documentary portion of this to Evel Knievel's documentaries? That "self reflection before a big event" style, with all the attendant build up.

[@yougotmail3741]

Been waiting for this video

[@jayourgames9944]

Hey man idk if you’ve done a video on stuff like Ryo Fukui or Jiro Inagaki but I’ve been really into their music lately and would love to hear your take on their style of playing. Hopefully you see this and I love your stuff my guy.

[@smacksalad]

Tbh, this is how I write keyboard parts quite often, but recording it via MIDI, then editing the parts into actual chords and motifs or proper melodies. There is a Zygmont track on my channel that shows this off I think? Track called Maximal Gladness, fake jazzy stuff :) Anyway, great video, thanks for showing this! I like H. Jon and didnt know about this album :) Subbed.

[@detlefmolt2112]

So glad you broke this down! I found this both hilarious and interesting, and think the album is genius for the execution of concept. Looking forward to future vids. Excellent as always Charles! 👍

[@Remour]

I’d argue even some of the “harmonization” the guy does on the piano sounds PRETTY good at some points unironically, at least imo

[@cofftps67yago94]

9:21 this is exactly what I feel like when i trying to transcribe piano chords. Cool rhythm but still can’t understand what chords are because of shortness and wide voicings

[@IgorRibeiroRSCS]

Hey Charles! Could you possibly react to some songs from Arch Echo? I recently started listening to them again and their new tunes sound amazing. Perfect mix of prog rock, heavy guitars and a few jazz cliches.

[@MagiciteHeart]

Such a coincidence, I just listened to this album a few days before you posted this while on a long drive. I unironically love it and find it extremely entertaining, and not just a novelty sort of way. Our wars expect certain things and it bucks those at every turn, but the incredibly solid rhythm section keeps everything together. I have definitely heard more elite and pretentious jazz albums that were much less pleasant to listen to. This album is pure gold tbh.

[@benjaminelkin1122]

Where do you get your backing tracks from?

[@bigdude627]

Could you break down/react to some stuff by The Bad Plus? I'm particularly fond of their Gaston arrangement

[@rwspeight]

The "Rhythmic Ideas" section reminds me of a Victor Wooten video where he massively overplays while in -key and then grooves totally out-of-key as a demonstration that feel and groove are the more important elements.

[@DavideBevilacqua]

9:06 great solo!

[@rhabdob3895]

See, I heard him on an NPR show talking about this. What makes me not a jazz fan is that I think this is pretty good jazz. Victor Bourge. His whole bit was playing as a drunk concert pianist. Killed it.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

You might appreciate and enjoy some of the Chico and Harpo Marx piano routines. Chico by himself is funny, but best when it’s the two of them.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

Also: *Borge

[@ainatramaux838]

what is the song at 2:43 ?

[@dananskidolf]

When I saw H Jon Benjamin's announcement video for this album I never thought I'd see it reviewed :D But it's true that rhythm and structure really go a long way. Another thing in this album's favour is recording quality - I have some old jazz records that are musically brilliant, but the sound will grate your ears off.

[@adamjeziorski5959]

From 9:09 that's exactly how i play on my keyboard.... Im too lazy to learn stuff 😆😆 i just love the sound of it 😝

[@fatback2]

I'd love to hear your thought/breakdown on Cecil Taylor after this.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

Right? Although the band is pretty standard Bebop-ish.

[@joecoenraad6309]

Hey Charles, could you do a video on Hans Groiner. Pick it apart, and tell us why it’s so funny. I have some musical theory background, but not enough to really get it, so I’d love to see an analysis and your take on it.

[@toster387]

this is what jazz sounds like to people who've never heard jazz before

[@MarcosElMalo2]

And also to people that have heard lots of jazz.

[@zackperkins6107]

I want a vinyl of this.

[@modernmusicofthedarkages296]

2:45 what tune is Charles talking about here? Sounds pretty neat

[@martinpaddle]

It's a "rhythm changes" tune, as he mentions before he starts playing. That's the name given to the chord progression from Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm", quite a common progression in Jazz. Check out Rick Beato's video "The Picasso of Sound" on Miles Davis playing Oleo, also a rhythm changes tune.

[@modernmusicofthedarkages296]

@@martinpaddle ah thanks!

[@martinpaddle]

@@modernmusicofthedarkages296 great channel, by the way

[@modernmusicofthedarkages296]

@@martinpaddle well thank you!

[@notimportant7682]

I stopped thinking in terms of good and bad when I found peter brotzmann's machine gun, it was one of those things that I pretended to like ironically, but after a few honest listens I heard past the atonality and rhythmic chaos into the heart of the performance. I've never been the same since

[@fivestringsamurai]

Hey Charles, can you do a (short, prob) video breaking down Rhythm changes? Like, I know what it is, but I don't KNOW what it is...

[@DaneBryantFrazier]

8:50 I HEARD THAT

[@Lloyd_Meadhbh]

Me at 8:58 - *Now* Charles is really cookin'.