There’s this obscure PGMUSIC app that’s called the Modern Jazz Pianist. Installing it on Win10 gave me weird results with chords being spelled wrongly, but if you drag the midis in Biab, you see the chords
Anyway, the playing is off the charts. Miles Black is great, wonderful, but, truth be told, the real star is the amazing Renee Rosnes.
If people are intrested in discussing some of the harmony going on, I’d like that. I’ve been trying to figure some things out.
One of the most amazing things is this little blues called Lexicon, a deftly reharmonized 12 bar blues.
On bar 76 (first four bars of F7) she goes into this mind blowing arpeggio that reads F, Gb, B, D, that is 1, b9, #11, 6. I thought, that’s a nice diminished dominant, like F13b9, right? But in the left hand she plays F quartal voicing, reading: F, Bb, Eb, that is 1, 11, b7. The combination is no longer compatible with F13b9, the diminished dominant chord, becuse there is no natural 11 there.
So I wondered, what if she spells out locrianNat6, which is the second mode of harmonic minor? I know Renee Rosnes has played with Joe Henderson and Wayne Shorter, is influenced by Herbie Hancock and Richie Beirach. Hancock and Shorter are, to me, the Parkers and Coltranes of our generation.
I have never even considered the LocrianNat6 chord as being something other than the II-chord in a minor II-V, where, truth be told, you just play harmonic minor over the whole progression. I heard Beirach talk about the harmonic minor scale a lot. I didn’t understand, cause I always associated harmonic minor with minor blues or simplified and dull-ified arabic music. It never sounded “modern” to me. Now, all of a sudden, it does.
I dig Mark Levine’s harmony and piano books and most of what I know is derived from these books. And Mark Levine largely dismisses the harmonic minor scale. Most musicians in the intermediate amateur realm are Levinites, like me. And we never play harmonic minor, since our religion forbids the use of it on weekdays, as well as on weekends,
If anyone is as mind-blown as I am over this wonderful PGMusic set and especially Renee Rosnes’ playing, please, share what you learned from it.
It’s way over my head, out of my league, above my pay check, a different ballpark altogether, but intrigues me.
Biab, Kontakt, Sampletank and lots of nice libraries, from Fluffy audio to Abbey Road drums. Check out these great contemporary Jazz Styles: www.jazzstylezz.com
This came out several years ago, as part of a series. I did buy The Latin Pianist and learned a lot from seeing what the piano played. Just recently, on Dzjang’s recommendation in another thread, I bought The Modern Jazz Pianist.
Wow.
I don’t play piano. I’ve read all the common theory books, though, including Mark Levine’s (mentioned above) and for the most part understand the theory. But this Modern Jazz Pianist is in another league. I’m still trying to understand some of what I hear and see.
Highly recommend for advanced jazz musicians. You will have your head blown, so take it in small doses.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
Another interesting way to approach this question is via chord substitution. There's an F7. If you were comping, you might augment that by playing a ii-V to dress the chords up. Now it's Cm-F7.
So, instead of doing that substitution with your left hand (the harmony) do it, or imply it with the right hand (the melody line).
Look at those notes as if they go with a quartal Cm voicing (F-Bb-Eb, no root). You have F, Gb, Bb, B, D, Eb
RayL
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@Musicstudent: never saw this video, wow... how intense is that. I am not worthy, either, by the way. Much as I dig it. Amazing!
Jerry Coker, Mark Levine, the Berklee Books, Coltrane changes... don’t cut it, this stuff is way beyond all that.
What comes closest is the reharmonization book by Randy Felts. Though he sticks to the church modes, his theory on parallel voicings moving in unexpected ways (reharmonization using bass lines) sheds some light.
I saw a YT vid on “sounding like Robert Glasper”. It talked about unexpected resolutions (cm7-F7 resolving to Bmaj or A maj instead of Bb...), parallel voicing moving in whole steps, minor and major thirds, harmonizing a simple melody with parallel voicings.
Last, but not least, I read something on Wayne Shorter were it is said that Shorter changed the chords in unexpected ways: Bbmajor replaces Bb7 as the dominant to Ebmaj. And then he extends Bbmajor to Bblydian or lydian augmented.
If you consider bII7 (a tritone sub) and replace that chord with phrygian or lydian (augmented) it begins to make sense.
Biab, Kontakt, Sampletank and lots of nice libraries, from Fluffy audio to Abbey Road drums. Check out these great contemporary Jazz Styles: www.jazzstylezz.com
Wouldn’t it be like a dream come true if Renee Rosnes and Miles Black could talk us through some of the harmony of this wonderful disk? A video or a text. I’d be more than willing to pay for that. That disk is so special and so mind blowing. I know that’s the harmony of Tom Harrell and Herbie Hancock and I’d love to know more about it. And, though I really try, I don’t understand it.
Something like this:
The Modern Jazz Pianist, pt2, Renee Rosnes and Miles Black masterclass Renee and Miles talk you through the harmony used in part 1 of the Modern Jazz Pianist. In the first part of the video Renee and Miles unravel the chords and underlying harmony of some of their compositions. In the second hour they shed some light on the improvisation part: which scales, pentatonics, arpeggios they use and how they practised that material to get to the level they are at.
Hey, a man can dream, can he not?
Biab, Kontakt, Sampletank and lots of nice libraries, from Fluffy audio to Abbey Road drums. Check out these great contemporary Jazz Styles: www.jazzstylezz.com
Can anyone here recommend the Piano Master Class and Jazz Piano Master Class programs from PG Music as well as any of the other master class or master solo's programs either Piano or Guitar?
My wife asked if I had seen the dog bowl. I told her I didn't even know he could.
The Jazz Piano Masterclass is wonderful. Essential Jazz Guitar Is a real gem for guitarists: it’s only comping, but really sophisticated in the Jim Hall-Ed Bickert style.
Have fun
Biab, Kontakt, Sampletank and lots of nice libraries, from Fluffy audio to Abbey Road drums. Check out these great contemporary Jazz Styles: www.jazzstylezz.com
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®
With your version 2026 for Windows Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
The 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 25 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 12 new RealStyles.
MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
Playable RealTracks Set 5
RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
Android Band-in-a-Box® App (included)
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
Join Tobin as he takes you on a tour of the new user interface in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®! This modern GUI redesign offers a sleek new look with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, and a smoother workflow. The brand-new side toolbar puts track selection, the MultiPicker Library, and other essential tools right at your fingertips. Plus, our upgraded Multi-View lets you layer multiple windows without overlap, giving you a highly flexible workspace. Many windows—including Tracks, Piano Roll, and more—have been redesigned for improved usability and a cleaner, more intuitive interface, and more!
Introducing XPro Styles PAK 10 – Now Available for Windows Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!
Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 10 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 21 – Now Available for Windows Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest Xtra Styles PAK installment—the all new Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher)!
Rejoice, one and all, for Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box® is here! We’re serving up 200 brand spankin’ new styles to delight your musical taste buds! The first three courses are the classics you’ve come to know and love, including offerings from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, but, not to be outdone, this year’s fourth course is bro country! A wide ranging genre, you can find everything from hip-hop, uptempo outlaw country, hard hitting rock, funk, and even electronica, all with that familiar bro country flair. The dinner bell has been rung, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 21 today!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Energetic folk rock, raucous train beats, fast country boogies, acid jazz grooves, laid-back funky jams, a bevy of breezy jazz waltzes, calm electro funk, indie synth pop, industrial synth metal, and more bro country than could possibly fit in the back of a pickup truck!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 21 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 21 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 21 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Introducing XPro Styles PAK 10 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!
Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 10 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
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