Piano Jazz

Stylistically, the piano encompasses almost as many directions as there are keys on the instrument. Cool School. New Orleans Stride. Boogie-woogie. Blues. Swing. Bop. Free Jazz. Avant-garde. Tonally rich, filled with nuance, or jam-packed with swagger, the piano can lead you to unexpected places. Have fun. Explore. Tinkle some keys.

If your knowledge of jazz's ivory-tickling maestros extends little further than Dave Brubeck or Nat King Cole, you might want to explore this versatile instrument in greater depth. You will be richly rewarded for your curiosity as we deliver the eccentric Sun Ra ("Space Jazz Reverie") and the mercurial Mose Allison ("Seventh Son").

At this juncture, piano lovers, you can confidently debate whether Earl Hines or Thelonious Monk had better left-hand technique. You have a well-reasoned opinion on how McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, or Bill Evans better complemented Miles Davis. Right on! Many more layers of this musical onion await your peeling. Go for 'em.

A little more than a century ago, a classically trained pianist named Scott Joplin began writing ragtime, a kind of proto-jazz. Ever since then, the 88-keyed instrument has claimed a place (though not always centre stage) in jazz history. From Jelly Roll Morton, who boasted to have invented jazz, to Keith Jarrett, whose improvisations blur boundaries between pop, jazz, and classical, the instrument has yielded some of jazz's most cherished moments. The fancy fingerwork begins here.