Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Antonio Carlos Jobim: An All Star Tribute

WINNER OF...
1995 JazzTimes Reader Poll- Best Video- First Runner Up

Direct from Brazil in his last recorded performance, Antoine Carlos Jobim (1927-1994) is joined by an international delegation of jazz giants to recreate his classic melodies in a beautiful, concert-length “Thank You.” With over four hundred songs to his credit including the unforgettable Girl From Ipanema, Jobim virtually single handedly brought the world Bossa Nova by adapting the percussive excitement of the samba to the intimacy of the guitar while echoing the melodies and harmonies of Cool Jazz. This classic, concert-length "Thank You" includes: Girl From Ipanema, Once I Loved, O Grande Amor, No More Blues, Wave and more
Customer Review: Farewell To A Legend
"Tom" Jobim died only a few months after this concert, so it was one of his last performances. He was truly a legend and if you love music you really need to acquaint yourself with his. Beautifully complex rhythms and harmonies that do not wear thin with repeated listening--the hallmark of great music. Even without understanding the lyrics his music evokes combinations of deep emotions, including a sad/sweet longing that has no English translation from the Portuguese. I'll not mention all of the artists that appear in this concert, but only draw your attention to Gal Costa, who has become one of my favorite Brazilian singers. Check out her earlier CDs. You will not be disappointed!
Customer Review: Impressive
Before watching this DVD I had never heard of Gal Costa. What a pleasant surprise to see her perform. Antonio himself appears in this one for Luiza and Wave: very nice. I couldn't appreciate John Henricks performance, too much scatting and not very good. That's just my opinion. Gonzalo Rubalcaba didn't impress me either. For me, the real standout performance was by Gal Costa. She does very cool A Felicidade with Herbie; and then an amazing So Todos Fossem Iguais a Voce. Also, Herbie is an amazing keyboard player. It is as though the instrument is part of him. Buy it!


Ah… the arpeggio. A miracle of cascading notes that produces a beautiful sound on the piano. To most it's a mystery how it's created. But to those who understand chords, it's just a matter of practicing until the pattern is mastered.

Now, the arpeggio can be used either in the right or left hand (or both together) but it's usually the left-hand that takes up this amazing technique. Let's look at how one might use an extended arpeggio pattern to create an improvisation.

The first thing you need to know about most left-hand arpeggios is that they usually start below the middle of the keyboard. Most pianists begin their run below middle C and there's a good reason for this - bass notes!

Those thunderous resonant bass sounds that reverberate in the body are hit and the piano comes alive!

Now, you have to be careful here because if you hit too many bass notes together the effect can end up sounding "muddy." That is, you won't be able to differentiate the notes and you'll end up having sonic sludge. But, if you spread out the first few notes this won't happen. That's why the open position chord is perfect to begin your left-hand arpeggio. For example, let's say you want to play a C Major 9 arpeggio.

Of course, you'll begin with the C note (which is also the root note.) Now, we could play the third (e) but if we do, chances are we'll end up with that "muddy" effect. No, A better way is to play the fifth followed by either the octave or the seventh tone.

What I like to do is play a pattern that looks like this: 1-5-8-9-3 - which means I'm playing these notes: c-g-c-d-e. This pattern produces a beautiful "new age" sound and is used frequently in New Age piano playing.

For example, look at the lesson "Coming Home." Here we play an extended arpeggio in the left hand and use over 2 octaves of the keyboard. It's quite an exercise and is a good one to get your left hand moving!

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music's online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Visit http://www.quiescencemusic.com now and get a FREE piano lesson!

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