Thank you for your nice comments.
Dr. Dean
Thank you Celia. Your kind comments are inspirational.
Dr. Dean
Well done Doc!
I guess if I ever show up wearing shorts and a tshirt with a Pabst Blue Ribbon sitting on the keyboard, it won’t have the same effect. 
But really, thanks for sharing.
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Thank you Scott,
Pabst was the beer of Choice in my younger years. You should ware whatever makes you comfortable at the piano as it is there for your enjoyment . I would love to have a Pabst Blue Ribbon tee. I also play my piano in shorts and a tee shirt.
Dr. Dean
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After my recording in dressing gown … that was contrasting 
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That was beautiful!!! I wish I could put that feeling into my music. I know I need to let it go…just hard to do.
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Bravo Adam nice made !
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Fantastic. Presentation is exquisite!
You can play with feeling. Just keep practicing until you don’t have to think about what you are doing and then the feeling will take over. Keep at it. And thank you for your kind comment.
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Sounding great Adam - I really like the rhythmic stabs and other subtle fills that you are using to fill in the space when the melody/harmony is static.
You have nailed the head of the tune there… congrats! 
I think the next step for you is try taking a solo. The form of Autumn Leaves is virtually all 251s and so it’s a great tune to start on.
I’ve been working on the final 3 slots for the Rootless Voicings Course Practice Planner and I’m going to be applying/demonstrating using Autumn Leaves.
We will use rootless voicings, backing track, and exercises/drills/concepts for right hand improvisation. I’ll post updates in the thread above and tag you in so you are notified as soon as the lessons are ready.
Cheers and was awesome to see your performance
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Thanks Hayden for listening and for your feedback. I agree about the next step. That is pretty much where I am with all the songs I have learned.
Can’t lie. I am pretty excited about the lessons you are preparing. Cheers.
Adam
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Very beautiful!
Dr. Dean
So, there is this jazz jam once a month at a local small pub, the band is a trombone player, a guy on trumpet, an acoustic bass (on amp) and a drummer. You sign in and tell them what you want to play, and they back you up. I went andsigned up theee weeks ago and I played Beautiful Love, and There will never be another you. Fortunately the band is loud and so when I got lost for a couple bars no one missed me. This month I plan to go and play Stella. So here is a video of me working on it. I play the ballad, I do a little solo, then take a stab at comping for the horns.
The pretty lady sitting on the piano is Mandy. 
https://vimeo.com/315344908
One thing I have learned from this is that I used to be so excited to learn the ballad that I would hurry through the part where Hayden would teach the left hand rootless voicings, and so for all these songs I had to go back and re-learn that. Now I realize that those rootless voicings are more important than the ballad. I plan to focus on it more. 
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Wow you’ve been practicing Lori… really impressed from last time I heard you play!
The Solo:
The motif development in your solo is awesome. You find a pattern, repeat it, and develop it, which is the essence of improvisation and telling a story though musical expression. 
I found that listening to a lot of Wynton Kelly is helping enormously with my sense of swing - I’d recommend the same to get those lines really swingin’ 
The Comping:
Firstly, great job and wonderful voicings.
As an exercise try to anticipate the chord changes on the ‘& of 4’ and listen to the effect that has. You should hear that it drives and propels the music forward and creates a sense of forward momentum.
When there are 2 chords per measure, the Charleston Rhythm is nice to start on beat 1, and then anticipate that second chord on the ‘& of 2’.
Perhaps try comping a little sparser (which is difficult without the lead instrument there!) and focus on accentuating those ‘& of 2s’ and ‘& of 4s’ and I think you will like the result.
Yes it’s simply a different setting.
When you are jamming with other cats (not just Mandy 
) then you will want to be comfortable with rootless voicings.
Stacking 4ths and 5ths on top in your right hand also gives you some big sounds - this can be useful if things get a bit ruckus with the rest of the band!
Great rendition Lori, and enjoy jamming with this tune!
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Thanks for those tips Hayden! I’ll look and listen for those between &2. &4 beats… I think I’m still focused on what I’m trying to play and not feeling (or counting) rhythm. That will be a good goal for me.
I’ve got two weeks before the jam to feel that swing.
You need to know I was a total beginner without ANY chords when I started Pianogroove 4 yrs ago.! I’m grateful for your teaching style.
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My pleasure Lori… Your progress is remarkable for just 4 years of jazz piano study.
Jamming with other musicians creates a new set of challenges and ‘roles’ to fill, in particular the comping element which we don’t have as solo piano performers.
It’s really great to see you making good progress in this area and I can’t wait to hear more!
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Yeah ! bravo Lori , impressive !!
Lovely theme exposition and the first solo was so cool, 2 first minutes really interesting … just the second part of the solo was not such convincing but the video just show that directly and so you now already the next step
But you have all in hands … and you go playing with other musicians … i am sure this will be a great year of improving … Bravissimo !
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That was awesome Adam, I love the things you did in all those whole note spaces that song provides. Pleasant voicings too.
Thanks for sharing that with us. It’s a boost to all of us.
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