He was able to explain what was confusing to me in the books. I’ve had them for years but didn’t really progress much with them until I took some lessons with a professional keyboard player in one of our local jazz groups. I use these books nowadays as references rather than as a plan for learning. In the blues section for example, he goes through every blues form and the scales that can be used with them, and gives a list of recordings as examples. The latter is quite intimidating but comprehensive. I have both of Mark Levine’s books and also John Novello’s “The contemporary keyboardist”, with a foreword by Chick Corea. Here is the Table of Contents for the two volumes if you’re interested. If you’re curious about what I use use to manage the PDF’s, let me know. The physical books and assorted papers I have weigh a ton and take up a couple of bookshelves. And I like having all of my PianoGroove lessons, my books, lead sheets and transcriptions that I’ve found all in one place–and all at the weight of an iPad. The pages are the same size as printed lead sheets/transcriptions–and you can zoom in on difficult passages if, like me, your eyes aren’t what they used to be. I use PDF format exclusively with a 12.9" Apple iPad Pro. He also has a ton of related videos on YouTube. He includes covers for each volume and instructions on how to print them off if, as you suggest, you want something “away from the computer and pads.” It’s a 2-volume set available in two versions: His explanations are quite clear, and he includes transcriptions of tunes to practice that are accessible. If you want to supplement the great lessons here on PianoGroove, I’d suggest taking a look at Kent Hewitt’s Jazz Piano: Methods and Songbook for Professional Playing. I know–I started out with them and found them hard to understand at the time. The two books by Mark Levine are, indeed, incredible references, but if you’re just trying to wrap your head around the concepts, they’re a bit too advanced.
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December 2022
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