The African Flower: Journey Through The Real Book #1 (Jazz Piano Lesson)

[@superdi1506]

I love the way you played this tune. I wish I could just listen to it and duplicate it.

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Thanks for listening, and keep going with your music :)

[@RichieDoesStuff]

Thank you for this series! I’ve learned a lot of the songs from this book but it’s nice to go back and actually listen to the history of each song and refresh my mind on some of them

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

I'm finding the same thing, while making these videos. Good luck with your music :)

[@Dagrond]

LOL I just started going through the 6th ed. page by page - listening to youtube songs. Its gonna be a lot easier to listen to your playlists. Plus, the anecdotal info will help me explore this thing you call jazz. Thanks.

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Have fun!

[@SimonWojcik1]

Hi, Ron. I'm so glad I discovered your "Journey through the Real Book" series. I recently began studying the jazz tunes in the real book in alphabetical order. This will be a great resource for me and my classmates. Thank you for providing your insights on these tunes.

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Hi Simon - congrats for taking on this project of studying all the tunes, and I'm glad my videos are helping with this. Good luck and have fun!

[@louisparry-mills9132]

excited to watch these videos, a great idea for a series

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Welcome aboard, Louis! I've been having a great time making these videos, and I hope they give you some ideas for your music. Good luck :)

[@UNKN0WN_B0T]

I'm looking forward to going through your series! It's great to see that you're still making new videos. This will be a resource for many self-learners forever.

[@bass-ec4954]

Beautiful, also, thank you for the history of this song. I really enjoyed it. You’re a beautiful player.

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Thanks, and I hope this inspires you with your own music!

[@brucerobbins6528]

Gary Burton and his group do a terrific rendition of this Duke Ellington son. Also, the Duke has his own piano rendition on KZbin. Nobody but the Duke could have composed such a Beautiful, unusual work of immortal music.

[@retailhutch9108]

Just great, so happy to have found this series. I've had the Real Book for 30 years or so, but there are a bunch of songs I haven't explored - this was one. Great song! And great rendition/explanation - I'll take the exploration further.

[@rondrotos5285]

Yeah, there are a lot of gems in there that we tend to overlook. Have fun learning new tunes :)

[@davidwilson2492]

I've really been enjoying these. Very helpful and straightforward. Thank you.

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Thanks, David - that's very gratifying!

[@destiny0796]

Amazing)

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Thanks!

[@njhendritrini3234]

The way the dissonance resolves in this song is Beautiful

[@bezuglich]

Instructive fun playing bass along with this. This version reminds me of "Maiden Voyage" for some reason. What a great project; hope the over-the-shoulder camera comes soon - how else can I steal yer licks?

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

I love that you're playing bass along with this! It may remind you of Maiden Voyage because of the similar tempo and straight 8th note feel, and that they can both be approached modally. I switched to the overhead camera starting with Blue In Green. Btw- I hope you're learning some of Mingus's licks from the original!

[@serginidelriofuentes]

That improvisation was absolutely breathtaking Ron. Lately , I've been discovering your work and you are a great inspiration for sure!

[@Gradanza7]

Sounds like a fun journey, thanks for inviting us to join you, Ron! Always enjoy hearing you play.

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Thanks Barb. Always great to hear from you :)

[@PedroBerkowPeter]

What a beautiful, ambitious project. I was hooked with program one. It's very interesting to see how the project has evolved, now that you are half-way through. The performances, by themselves, are a remarkable achievement. It will be fun to have a CD of all 400 performances when you finish. The storytelling before each song is remarkable and compelling. Bravo !

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Thanks Peter - I'm enjoying this journey too!

[@marklaser6293]

Beautiful, and inspiring! Thank you for your videos -- I look forward to more tunes from the Real Book!

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Thanks Mark, glad you liked it! I'll be posting a new Real Book video every Friday.

[@Bekstou]

Thanks a lot. Your videos really help me and i appreciate it you share your knowledge! Greetings from the netherlands

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Hi Bekstau, and thanks for listening! Good luck with your jazz playing :)

[@raymondvandevorst9913]

Day one of my Journey......Greetz, and so far so good, really nice rendition

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Welcome aboard, Raymond!

[@raymondvandevorst9913]

@@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 and im really liking your website with your tons of lessons and ours and hours of vids, such a wealth

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

@@raymondvandevorst9913 I'm glad you're enjoying my lessons, Raymond!

[@brucekuehn4031]

I used to see a flower on the plains of Africa standing alone and vulnerable. But an orchid in the shadows of the forest is maybe more appropriate. It is so beautiful that it is sad.

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

I love that image too, Bruce! I think they're both appropriate to this tune.

[@jeremyhatch1338]

Nice. I just recorded this for my own KZbin channel, which is what brought me here. I love the way you push the dissonances to the limit here. Great stuff!

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Thanks so much,. Jeremy! I watched your video as well and you play it beautifully.

[@jeremyhatch1338]

@@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453 thank you!

[@zzzaaazzz55]

thank you for making these!

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Thanks for your support :)

[@yujinkim_music]

Hi ron 👋🏻 I'm going to take the aution with african flower to berklee !! And your play is really inspired me Thank you for your play ;) Good luck to me !!

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

That's excellent! Good luck and please let me know how how it goes :)

[@jazzerson7087]

Great idea Ron, I'll definitely be checking out your series on this! I have the first four volumes of the Real Book, and while there are very important tunes gradually added in the others (even the 6th volume only just added As Time Goes By for example) the first volume does contain a good bulk of the top tunes to learn.

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Thanks, James! I have 2 volumes of the "old" series, and the 1st in the new, "official" series. I'm finding it really interesting to go through the book in order. I've learned some new tunes, and enjoyed some that I wouldn't otherwise have played, like Arise Her Eyes and Beauty and the Beast.

[@jazzerson7087]

Yeah some of the Wayne Shorter type tunes (there's a lot in that book) and Airegin etc in which you're used to sax or trumpet players playing the melody etc certainly interesting hearing on piano. I'm more a guitarist but I'm classically trained on piano. As I've developed a good understanding of jazz harmony I find it easier now to work things out on the piano at a basic level anyway like in the book. In turn I find it helps me with the guitar because it gives me a stronger grounding of the melody over the chord changes, which of course you can't really do all at once on guitar. That's the good thing about jazz I think is that it is very much a language which applies to all instruments. It'll take me a while to catch up with some of the ones you've done to date but your videos only inspire me to learn more tunes. Cheers Ron, I'll subscribe to your channel.

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

I played guitar when I was in middle school and still dabble a little. It's not a natural instrument for me but I'm fascinated by how thing I know on piano relate to the guitar strings. Sometimes I'll play a guitar chord and then figure out the voicing on piano. It usually gives me a fresh way of seeing the keyboard. My only real regret musically is that I didn't become an accomplished classical guitarist!

[@horacio_llegolamiel3758]

Loved it, thanks!

[@horacio_llegolamiel3758]

So you are playing it D? My version of Real Book is in C

[@zvonimirpopovic5313]

Hi Ron, I would like to start to work as a beginner with the Real Book Which are your suggestion for beginners, how to start and develop? Kind regards, Zvonimir

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

I'm glad you're going to begin playing these great tunes, Zvonimir! For each tune, listen to a few recorded versions and then begin with just the chords and the melody. Don't feel like you have to improvise right from the beginning. Gradually become comfortable playing a few of these tunes and then you can start with simple improvisations. Enjoy!

[@jazzerson7087]

Hope you haven't discontinued the Real Book series!

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

You have perfect timing, James! I just sat down and posted the next Real Book video! (#19: Bessie's Blues) I took a little break because my teaching schedule got so busy but I'm back at it now. Thanks for asking!

[@jazzerson7087]

That's great! I do value what you're doing. :-)

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

That means a lot to me, James. Thanks! It's a great project to go through each song like this, learning the ones I've skipped before and the newly-included tunes as well.

[@cameronbortz]

hey I'm new to jazz and just bought a real book, when the song ends on paper and you keep playing on, does that mean you are just treating the ending like a repeat and just improving over the basic chord form of what's written on paper from top to bottom? thanks for the help!

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Welcome to the world of jazz, Cameron! Yes, that's the general idea about improvising on tunes. You just keep repeating the whole chord progression. The African Flower is usually played in this way, although the musical form on Ellington's original recording is a bit nebulous.

[@raymondvandevorst9913]

So i've bought Money Jungle because of this video. Has anybody else also done this, what are your thoughts

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

It's a wonderful album!

[@DonyaLane]

Wow, I really like what you're doing in this series! Why has no one done this already on KZbin? I just stumbled upon you (and I subscribed), so I haven't even gotten to your "Afro Blue" vid. But I'm going to try to follow you in order. Just curious... will you be delving into the later pop/rock Real Book? BTW, I also bought my first Real Book (illegally) on the streets of Boston when I was at Berklee in the early 80s. It eventually disintegrated into a million pieces! I'm glad to see that Hal Leonard took on the LEGITIMATE publishing of The Real Book series. Also, I never knew that The Real Book began as a Berklee student compilation book! Interesting little footnote...

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Thanks Donya! I bought my first Real Book in the late 70s. I actually punched holes in it and put it in a 3-ring binder, so miraculously it's still in good condition. But as you saw I'm using the new one for this series. It's interesting that you were at Berklee about 10 years after the book was created and they weren't talking about it's origins at that time. The original "publishers' still haven't gone public and I'm guessing that only a handful of former students even know who they were! That's a great idea to do the pop/rock book. I'll have to take a closer look at it :)

[@DonyaLane]

It's entirely possible that there were some teachers mentioning The Real Book origins when I was there ('82-'86). Maybe I missed that footnote, or have since forgotten it. But now it all makes sense!

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

I listened to a bit of La Giaconda. Beautiful! (I did a show called Swinging On A Star with Lewis Cleale back in the mid 90s)

[@DonyaLane]

Oh wow, thank you so much for checking it out! I appreciate that. I totally know the production of Swingin On a Star that you worked on! George Street Playhouse, correct? My collaborator (of La Gioconda) was working as a backstage deckhand for that production - he was just a young guy then. Lewis didn't even remember him, by the time he was in our production. LOL Swingin was with Michael McGrath, whom I have also worked with. Lewis and Michael are currently reunited in the Honeymooners on Broadway (and they were both in Spamalot together). It's probably worth mentioning, La Gioconda was picked up for the 2016 NYMF, but Lewis was not available. The show was completely recast for that production. We also gave it a new title: Lisa & Leonardo. www.LisaAndLeonardo.com

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Small world! Yeah, we started out at the George Street Playhouse, did 2 seasons at the Goodspeed, and eventually made it to Broadway with a Tony nomination for best musical. It was a wonderful experience and both Lewis and Michael were joys to work with!

[@thebandlounge]

Are you just extrapolating the bass notes from the lead sheet chords above the staff? Sounds great :)

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Yep, that's exactly what I'm doing, Grant. For this tune, I usually play the root, 5th, and then one higher note for each chord. The higher note could be the octave, 9th, or 10th.

[@thebandlounge]

Cool :)

[@DonyaLane]

I think if you listen to Ellington's left hand, he jumps up to the 3rd of many of the chords. Root, 5th, 3rd (or 10th, if that's how you want to look at it).

[@JuniorTan]

Debussy awakes

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Yes! In the music of Duke Ellington!

[@mathiashilbert8076]

6:24

[@bsq2phat]

One tune a week will take you more than 8 years to complete. Are you skipping some?

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Yes, I'm going through the whole book without skipping any tunes. It gives me a project to keep me busy for a long time!

[@alessandroweitz874]

La mia versione più bella rimane quella di Michel Petrucciani...😢

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

A great pianist!

[@gideonmensah4951]

Can I get you on facebook so I can share some problems am having with you.

[@rondrotoskeyboardimprov9453]

Absolutely! You can either contact me through my KeyboardImprov facebook page or email me at: [e-mail]