Favorite compers probably Gary Burton (Vibraphone), Wes Montgomery (Guitar), Wynton Kelly (Piano) and Joey Defrancesco (Organ). All different instruments!
Coming back to this video, your videos taught me a lot about this instrument and this music. Thank you for making these fundamental videos they really are an amazing resource!
Gary Burton, Herbie Hancock, and Wynton Kelly, especially on the albums Roll Call and Soul Station. Not only are they fantastic accompanists, but overall great musicians as well.
Hehe yeah Monk is truly unique- When I listen to the recordings I think it sounds so cool, but if I were to try to do it I'm pretty sure it wouldn't go over too well! He is playing his own music, and he had such a strong vision for it. But if someone else does it, they are doing it for different reasons which makes it less effective in my opinion.
Great video!!! I love your sense of humour and great advice! I like Bill Evans for sure and Canadians Oscar Peterson and Lorraine Desmarais, and also the Cubans Chucho and Bebo Valdes to name a few. I particularly love the way Chucho accompanies great Latin Jazz musicians like Paquito D'Rivera. Pure joy! He certainly has the experience to know the right balance and his solos are really creative too.
I don't know Lorraine Desmarais, so I'll have to check her out! Are you in Montreal by any chance? I am from Plattsburgh. Latin jazz comping is a whole other thing - it requires so much energy and rhythm. There's a great duo record with Bebo and Javier Colina that I love.
Great video again Tim!! i really like your humour and your self-irony! ;) And i got some good points for practising again, i sometimes play with a singer where i learned a lot from learning by doing.... And some my favourite compers are wynton kelly, hank jones, tommy flanagan, hancock, and jim hall, i really love the paul desmond - jim hall quartet recordings, they have such a fluid sound cause jim hall leaves the soloist a lot of space and uses beautiful voicings. Lookin forward to your next video!!
Thanks glad you enjoyed it! I'm letting the humor come through a bit more, because why not. Wynton Kelly is a great choice as well as Jim Hall. I also really like Bobby Timmons too!
Thanks a lot for that so well articulate lesson(and what an amount of work you put in !). My favs : Wes Montgomery, Django Reinhart, Tommy Flanagan, David Kikoski, Duke Ellington, Tony Miceli, Gary Burton, etc...
You got some great names in there, but you're right - one guy I forgot about is David Kikoski. I enjoy when people mention totally worthy players who aren't really 'household' names. He's one of the best.
Awesome video! And I’m loving the new format you use for your videos recently! I’ve been digging Wynton Kelly, Monk, and Herbie recently as some of my favorite campers. I’m wondering what the best way to practice comping is? I often find myself playing my stock rootless voicing on the downbeat of every chord and it’s gotten stale really quickly.
I know the feeling - practice at slow tempos, this will give you time to think of different inversions and voice leading on the fly. Depending on the tune, you could sing the melody yourself and then comp in between.
Tim, this is awesome and so helpful. You have a dual talent as a player and educator. I really appreciate the effort and time you are putting into these videos.
How about comping when someone is soloing? Do you still voice lead with the melody in mind or do you think differently? How do you chose chord coloring so you don't clash with the soloist? Great video by the way.
Thanks! Well - it depends on how well you can follow the soloist.. which also depends on how good the soloist is (haha). The solo IS the melody, so in a perfect world you would try to voice your chords in a way that compliments what the soloist is actually playing - an example might be when they use a flat 9 instead of a natural 9 on a G7 in a ii-V-I progression...obviously it's not really possible to read the soloist's mind, but sometimes you can hear where they are going and play accordingly. All that said, I think these concepts are the MOST important during the melody of a song, especially with a singer. But they still apply in general behind solos as well. It's just less jarring in that situation because usually these little moments go by so fast that people don't notice the dissonance.
What were those dark blue mallets to the left of your head? Btw great vid. I just started practicing four mallet comping on the vibes and this video is very helpful.
Glad you enjoy it! Those blue mallets behind me are the old 'Albright' mallets - which unfortunately aren't made anymore. There are lots of people trying to replicate them though, I guess the closest ones would be the Stefon Harris model from Malletech. I had a pair several years ago and they were harder and heavier, but still pretty close.
I guess it depends on the situation.. if you "catch" some rhythms, like the commonly played "and of 4", then it sounds together and hip. You can totally play rhythms based on what the soloist is playing, but outright mimicking it is usually distracting.
Could you be so kind. Recommend books, sites, that explained the comping, voicing. I enjoy very much, all your videos and pdf. But I need something to study and review. Thanks
Favorite compers probably Gary Burton (Vibraphone), Wes Montgomery (Guitar), Wynton Kelly (Piano) and Joey Defrancesco (Organ). All different instruments!
Coming back to this video, your videos taught me a lot about this instrument and this music. Thank you for making these fundamental videos they really are an amazing resource!
Thank you! Can’t wait to hear you play in person some time.
This video is hilarious I appreciate the humor
Gary Burton, Herbie Hancock, and Wynton Kelly, especially on the albums Roll Call and Soul Station. Not only are they fantastic accompanists, but overall great musicians as well.
This is pure gold! Thanx!
Wow, immensely helpful. Will keep me busy on my guitar for months. I like Jimmy Raney’s comping.
I've been playing duo with a vocalist for over a year. This video really helped me a lot. Thank you.
Also, my fav. is Monk. (Not fit for vocals, okay. But I love his comping!)
Hehe yeah Monk is truly unique- When I listen to the recordings I think it sounds so cool, but if I were to try to do it I'm pretty sure it wouldn't go over too well! He is playing his own music, and he had such a strong vision for it. But if someone else does it, they are doing it for different reasons which makes it less effective in my opinion.
Tommy Flanagan, Hank Jones, Chick Corea
Great video!!! I love your sense of humour and great advice! I like Bill Evans for sure and Canadians Oscar Peterson and Lorraine Desmarais, and also the Cubans Chucho and Bebo Valdes to name a few. I particularly love the way Chucho accompanies great Latin Jazz musicians like Paquito D'Rivera. Pure joy! He certainly has the experience to know the right balance and his solos are really creative too.
I don't know Lorraine Desmarais, so I'll have to check her out! Are you in Montreal by any chance? I am from Plattsburgh. Latin jazz comping is a whole other thing - it requires so much energy and rhythm. There's a great duo record with Bebo and Javier Colina that I love.
Outstanding video, thanks Tim
Great video again Tim!! i really like your humour and your self-irony! ;) And i got some good points for practising again, i sometimes play with a singer where i learned a lot from learning by doing.... And some my favourite compers are wynton kelly, hank jones, tommy flanagan, hancock, and jim hall, i really love the paul desmond - jim hall quartet recordings, they have such a fluid sound cause jim hall leaves the soloist a lot of space and uses beautiful voicings. Lookin forward to your next video!!
Thanks glad you enjoyed it! I'm letting the humor come through a bit more, because why not. Wynton Kelly is a great choice as well as Jim Hall. I also really like Bobby Timmons too!
My favorite accompanists are Bud Powell, Al Haig, Barry Harris, Duke Jordan, and Tadd Dameron.
This is really nice material. Now, I´m listening how they comp, thanks a lot, as always
Thanks a lot for that so well articulate lesson(and what an amount of work you put in !). My favs : Wes Montgomery, Django Reinhart, Tommy Flanagan, David Kikoski, Duke Ellington, Tony Miceli, Gary Burton, etc...
You got some great names in there, but you're right - one guy I forgot about is David Kikoski. I enjoy when people mention totally worthy players who aren't really 'household' names. He's one of the best.
Glad to see you agree. Some videos on YT with him playing in Roy Haynes 's band are mind blowing IMHO
Awesome video! And I’m loving the new format you use for your videos recently! I’ve been digging Wynton Kelly, Monk, and Herbie recently as some of my favorite campers. I’m wondering what the best way to practice comping is? I often find myself playing my stock rootless voicing on the downbeat of every chord and it’s gotten stale really quickly.
I know the feeling - practice at slow tempos, this will give you time to think of different inversions and voice leading on the fly. Depending on the tune, you could sing the melody yourself and then comp in between.
Tim, this is awesome and so helpful. You have a dual talent as a player and educator. I really appreciate the effort and time you are putting into these videos.
Thanks - I'm glad you are getting something out of it. I don't always know if I'm talking too much ;)
How about comping when someone is soloing? Do you still voice lead with the melody in mind or do you think differently? How do you chose chord coloring so you don't clash with the soloist? Great video by the way.
Thanks! Well - it depends on how well you can follow the soloist.. which also depends on how good the soloist is (haha). The solo IS the melody, so in a perfect world you would try to voice your chords in a way that compliments what the soloist is actually playing - an example might be when they use a flat 9 instead of a natural 9 on a G7 in a ii-V-I progression...obviously it's not really possible to read the soloist's mind, but sometimes you can hear where they are going and play accordingly. All that said, I think these concepts are the MOST important during the melody of a song, especially with a singer. But they still apply in general behind solos as well. It's just less jarring in that situation because usually these little moments go by so fast that people don't notice the dissonance.
What were those dark blue mallets to the left of your head? Btw great vid. I just started practicing four mallet comping on the vibes and this video is very helpful.
Glad you enjoy it! Those blue mallets behind me are the old 'Albright' mallets - which unfortunately aren't made anymore. There are lots of people trying to replicate them though, I guess the closest ones would be the Stefon Harris model from Malletech. I had a pair several years ago and they were harder and heavier, but still pretty close.
Hey Tim really enjoyed the video, could you please tell me what key this in.
Thanks! We played it in A minor.
Wynton Kelly, John Lewis
What’s wrong with comping based on rhythms the soloist did? Honest question here, please be nice I’m a baby jazzer.
I guess it depends on the situation.. if you "catch" some rhythms, like the commonly played "and of 4", then it sounds together and hip. You can totally play rhythms based on what the soloist is playing, but outright mimicking it is usually distracting.
Could you be so kind. Recommend books, sites, that explained the comping, voicing. I enjoy very much, all your videos and pdf. But I need something to study and review. Thanks
Well, the only book I have is the jazz piano book by Mark Levine, but I can make this PDF available (without the melody) if it helps.