Short 6 Minute Jazz Improv:

TomDensley

Short 6 Minute Jazz Inprov (

Jelly Bean -
original solo jazz piano (feedback welcome)

This is an original tune I call "Jelly Bean." Solo piano

What I'm working on:

Consistent time feel through the head and solo

Melodic development without overplaying

Voicing balance (shells vs. fuller stacks) and dynamic shape

What I'd love feedback on

Does the time feel stay locked?

Are the voicings too dense or too sparse in spots?

Overall arc: does the head → solo → head-out feel musical?

Happy to return listens I'll check it out. Thanks for hearing me!

rsl12

Hi TomDensley

It's always nice to hear someone else here working on jazz. Sounds like a good practice tune, since you can focus on rhythm. I always have trouble keeping up a syncopated vamp without the RH sounding stuck in a rut, or else breaking the vamp unintentionally. Your RH sounds quite free, so whatever rhythm work you are doing is working great! Good intro, gently getting into the groove. The head must have a very improvisational feel, as I can't make out what it is. Is 5:54 the end of the head? Your tempo seems consistent. Not sure what you mean by dense voicings, as it's almost all just two voices (1 LH voice, 1 RH voice). Do you mean is it too busy? I don't think so personally.

If you want lots of feedback, you should submit this to the upcoming Pianotell Recital. The recital will be open for submissions starting Nov 1. Almost everyone gives feedback to the other participants.

diretonic

TomDensley Impressive LH/RH rhythmic interplay, and all good. If by stacks you mean chords, it seemed mostly 2-part. Aside from what sounds like a recovery (or thinking through?) here and there, tempo is solid enough. I listened to a couple of your other pieces and you definitely have talent but if you favour black key playing - particularly Ebm - there's a risk of getting creatively hemmed in. In a longish piece like this one a couple of bars of something else going on harmonically (every 8/16/32 bars?) would refresh the basic idea. Of course that might disrupt your creative minimalist flow.