MATT MCCARRIN COMPREHENSIBLE JAZZ MASTER CLASSES – ON AHMAD JAMAL HARMONY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKzUtABK4ng https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWTYtUH3tV0
One of my biggest influences is Ahmad Jamal. I was given Crystals as a gift when I was just a child. After that I wanted to really study piano. Jazz classical and all music is such a vast study. It has taken many years for me but I always kept in mind the demeanor and approach of my favorite jazz pianist. I'm really a fan of Ahmad Jamal's approach. Above are two links (the first a song link) and the second additional inspiration by Ahmad Jamal and below is a rough transcription of one of my favorites. Ahmad Jamals playing is hard to emulate because his dynamics and phrasing are just so lush and nice. I reached out to him about this transcription and he sent a nice note, I was lucky enough that he responded back, he's obviously a wonderful person. I noticed there is another record on this CD called Swahililand, I used the melody for a piece I composed called Deep Blue. Because I really love that melody so much. Mm