Author: Roberta

Something disturbing happened recently. I am planning a west coast tour for next fall, and I was offered a door gig. That in itself is not surprising. What is surprising is that the door gig was not a performance, it was a clinic. Hello? Teaching is what a lot of musicians do to make a living so they can support their musical endeavors. Now teaching is considered a door gig? Adding insult to injury, I was asked to “submit a proposal”. Who is saying yes to being treated this way? Someone must be consenting or it couldn’t be happening. Needless to say I (politely) turned it down.

PRESS RELEASE – DATELINE APRIL 1st

Pianist/Composer Roberta Piket today announced that she will immediately begin a year-long artist residency in the New York area, appearing nightly in her living room in Teaneck, NJ.

At a press conference today, she commented, “the pay isn’t great, but the food’s pretty good and I can dress however I want.”

She added, “I’m also thrilled that I will be joined by some of the best cats on the scene”, referring to Claude and Also, her orange tabbies. “We go back a long way and I’m looking forward to seeing them on the bandstand, er, I mean, under the piano keeping my feet warm.”

Roberta believes this special residency will give her career the boost she’s been hoping for. Says Piket, “I hope we can keep it going. If it works out, I’d love to continue to appear in my living room for as long as management will allow it.”

A great deal of jazz piano pedagogy is devoted to the topic of playing with a rhythm section. Playing solo piano presents challenge (and rewards) of its own.

In clinics and in my private teaching, it’s been my experience that many students over-compensate for the lack of a rhythm section by trying to sound like a whole band.

For example, often less experienced pianists will use the left hand as the “bass player”, walking a bass line on the piano. This is not particularly effective; the left hand tends to get in the way of the right hand because the contrast in sonority that exists with an actual bass player is obviously missing with the “left hand bass,” so the sound gets muddied up. Also, if you are devoting a great deal of your energy and attention to keeping the left hand going constantly, you’ll be distracted from the melodic material you’re trying to create in your right hand.

Obviously this is not a hard and fast rule. Lennie Tristano used left-hand bass effectively at times. In my opinion this generally worked for him because his right hand lines are very strongly articulated and accented. Also, Lennie has a very highly developed sense of dynamic balance and right/left interdependence. He’s very aware of which hand is out front and of how the hands “mesh” together. So if you absolutely love this texture, go for it, but be aware of the issues it raises.

Another solution for creating a convincing accompaniment in the left hand is to play a figure that isn’t constant. It can be an intermittent phrase or a pedal point which is answered by the right hand. This gives the rhythmic momentum and harmonic foundation of the bass but allows the player the space to create something on top of it. Even though the figure isn’t constant, its propulsive effect carries through. The result is a full yet clear texture:

Estate

Sometimes when students play solo for me, I’ll ask, “were you playing rubato or in time?” Often they answer, “I don’t know.” It’s very important to be clear in your own mind about what you are trying to say. Otherwise, it will not be clear to the listener. Playing freely, out of time, can be very effective in creating a mood, so if you’re going to stretch out over the time, then really take your time. Try to feel phrases, not beats or bar lines.

In the Days of Our Love: Excerpt

Conversely, if you’re playing in time, consistency is important. Even though you’re playing by yourself you should still count the tune off in your mind and have a clear tempo going before you start the tune. The more solidly you feel the groove internally, the less you feel compelled to walk a bass line or bang out a chord on every downbeat as a time marker.

One of the biggest challenges in doing an entire concert, or a whole CD, of solo piano is to have enough variety. You may want to vary the head-solo-head routine. One way to do this is to play an introduction using thematic material from the tune to create a “free” improvisation in which you are not necessarily concerned with the tune’s chord changes.
Certain tunes lead themselves well to this approach. I like to open the Thelonious Monk tune, “Monk’s Dream”, this way because, as is typical with Monk’s compositions, it has very strong and distinctive motives.

Monk 1 – Variations on a Dream

The harmony in this case is derived from the way the melodic themes are combined as opposed to the soloist improvising over the pre-existing chords.

Variety is very important when playing on only one instrument. For example, you will want vary the register you are playing in, the meter, the mood, and the time feel. To create as much variety as possible while maintaining an esthetic consistency and unity, for my first solo CD [] link to solo page] I chose tunes from different genres of jazz. For examples, from the modern jazz composition pantheon I recorded Marian McPartland’s beautiful In the Days of Our Love and Chick Corea’s classic, Litha. From the Great American Songbook I chose the Arthur Schwartz classic I See Your Face Before Me, and from the bop era I chose Monk’s Dream. For this CD I chose to record one original, my composition Claude’s Clawed, which is a highly chromatic head arrangement with a free blowing section, very different from the rest of the material.

Claude’s Clawed

I also chose pieces that were not traditionally know as piano pieces, such as Wayne Shorter’s Nefertiti, made famous by Miles’ Quartet, and Sam Rivers’ Beatrice. This allowed me the freedom to create a fresh take on these pieces without comparing my interpretation to what has gone before.

The great thing about solo piano, is that you have total control and all kinds of possibilities; giant block chords to single lines: broad and expansive rubato or solid groove; dynamics from whisper soft to triple fortissimo. Take the time to explore. The rewards will be worth it.

I attended a concert last night at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine at 112th Street and Amsterdam Ave. It’s an incredible structure, started in 1882 and scheduled for completion in 2026! The Pittsburgh Chorale and Washington & Jefferson College Camerata Singers were the featured artists. One of the pieces on the program was Beethoven’s Fantasia in C Major for Piano, Orchestra and Chorus which utilized a small orchestra of musicians from the Manhattan School of Music. (My fellow New England Conservatory alumnus, pianist Antonio Fermin, whom I met several months ago at an informal NEC event, was the featured pianist and he played beautifully.) The piece was written in 1808. It got me thinking about whether any buildings being built now or any music being written now will still be around in 130 to 200 years.

I just confirmed my new Solo CD reached the CMJ Jazz Top 40 for the week of 9/18. Thanks to all the great DJs who have been playing and reporting it. I always wanted to be a Top 40 Artist. 🙂

In celebration of her first solo piano CD, Roberta presents her interpretation of standards by (among others) Thelonious Monk, Chick Corea, Marian McPartland, Wayne Shorter and Sam Rivers and others.

She will also answer the burning question, “Why am I talking about myself in the third person?”

This is a lovely room with a beautiful Steinway grand piano. It’s conducive to a terrific and relaxed listening experience.

Check out Roberta’s Youtube Channel for some Solo Excerpts: http://tinyurl.com/RobertaYouTube

An Die Musik Live
409 North Charles Street.
Baltimore, MD
410.385.2638.

All Ages
Shows at 8 and 9:30pm
Admission: $15/$10 students

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