7/05/2010

Oscar Peterson Note for Note (Piano Solo) [Spiral-bound] Review

Oscar Peterson Note for Note [Spiral-bound]I bought this book since Peterson is my favorite jazz pianist, and I'm playing the piano as a small hobby. And - I'm pleased with the book!
The transcriptions, as you might expect, are from a particular recording - 2 performances of the same jazz piece by the same artist will usually sound different... And indeed I have a few CDs in which some of the pieces from the book are performed with different improvisations and in different rhythm. But I did get some of the recordings the book refers to, and indeed the transcriptions are accurate. Note-for-note, as declared in the book. At least for the right hand...
In any case, most of the pieces as they are in the book sound great and cool (if you manage to play them!). Great moves, passages and improvisation techniques that give you a good taste of the musical world of one of the best jazz pianist ever.
I found myself using the passages and the ideas from the book in other jazz pieces, such as those from the Real Books. So performing the pieces as they are isn't the only reward you'll get - it will also improve your improvisation capability and technique in general.
I recommend studying at least a basic jazz theory before trying play from this book, so that you can understand the scales used for improvisations, the progressions and the left hand work done in the book. Besides, some of the pieces don't contain a left hand transcription. But since the technique for the left hand used by Peterson and in the book (tensions and voice spreading, for example) is covered by most theory books, you can easily figure it out by yourself.
There are no transcriptions for the bass line. But chords are written all the way (not all are 100% accurate actually), which makes it easy to play with a bass/guitar player.
As to the required level of playing - all the pieces in the book are hard to very hard to perform. Oscar Peterson was a great virtuous. You'd better work on your technique if you'd like to master them! Those who come from a classical music background will probably find it easier to read and play such scores.
There are no fingering specified, so it might be better for you to write down the fingering for the hard passages and such.
The accompanying CD is pretty helpful. It contains the piano parts performed exactly as they are written in the book, in the left channel (not performed by Peterson, of course. And played in MIDI I believe. Still, pretty nice), and bass and drum lines for some of the pieces in the right channel - useful if you'd like to play along with the bass/drums.
To conclude, I highly recommend this book for any jazz pianist (with a good enough technique!) or a classical pianist who wishes to try a good jazz

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Product Description:
This fabulous book/CD pack features transcriptions of 18 piano solos by the legendary Oscar Peterson, taken directly from the original recordings. The solos are divided into two groups: eight Oscar Peterson Classic Originals (Chicago Blues ¥ Hymn to Freedom ¥ Nightingale ¥ Night Time ¥ and more) and ten selections in Oscar Peterson Plays the Blues (Blues Etude ¥ Greasy Blues ¥ OscarÕs Boogie ¥ R.B. Blues ¥ RonÕs Blues ¥ and more). Includes an intro by the editor complete with performance notes, a welcome letter from Oscar Peterson, and great photos, with OscarÕs captions, throughout. The CD contains performances of each transcription played by gifted jazz pianist Miles Black.

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