Blog | Alec Katz

Playing Jazz Standards

The Great American Song Book is a huge source of inspiration and the best way to learn about harmony, melody, rhythm and musical form. I dedicate a great deal of my time with the students helping them to find their way of playing jazz standards and studying various approaches of interpretation at the keyboard.

January 2019

Jazz Masters

Harry Whitaker – Blues For Piano Players

Meeting Harry Whitaker was one of the brightest things that happened to me in New York City. Pianist-composer-producer Harry Whitaker inspired many players in New York...…

January 2019

Transcriptions

Barry Harris Solo on Hocus-Pocus

Here is a transcription of Barry Harris solo on Lee Morgan composition Hocus-Pocus from The Sidewinder. I dedicate this post to him, his legacy and his students and fans around the world.

December 2018

Miscellaneous

Indexing Real Books On iPad

If you use iPad to read music and looking for a good way to handle you music books collection there are a bunch of very useful apps for it. Here is the simple way to index your Real Books withing forScore.

November 2018

Jazz Masters

I Remember Mulgrew (part 2)

This is the second part of my post on Mulgrew Miller. Mulgrew was known for being the highly in-demand pianist for recordings and on-stage. One of the reasons for that was because he was such a great accompanist. His comping, chord voicings, swing and overall sound behind the soloists are so beautiful.

November 2018

Jazz Masters

I Remember Mulgrew (part 1)

Mulgrew Miller was one of the most inspirational musicians I have ever met. In June 2012 Mulgrew Miller was a guest artist at The Center for Jazz Studies, The Israel Conservatory of Music In Tel Aviv. It was a remarkable week full of music and a wonderful experience

August 2018

Jazz Masters

Relaxin’ with Chuck

Playing with the great bassist-arranger-composer Chuck Israels during his in 2009-10 was a wonderful experience. One of the tunes we played was Relaxin' at Camarillo by Charlie Parker.

May 2018