Our list of some of the best Jazz Piano books & series in recent years. Get inspired by one or more of the following books.
1. Hal Leonard Jazz Piano Method (2015)
(Piano Instruction). The Hal Leonard Jazz Piano Method is a comprehensive and easy-to-use guide designed for anyone interested in playing jazz piano from the complete novice just learning the basics to the more advanced player who wishes to enhance their keyboard vocabulary. There are lots of fun progressions and licks for you to play and absorb. The accompanying audio includes demonstrations of all the examples in the book. Topics include essential theory, chords and voicings, improvisation ideas, structure and forms, scales and modes, rhythm basics, interpreting a lead sheet, playing solos, and much more!…
2. Hal Leonard Jazz Piano Method – Book 2: The Player’s Guide to Authentic Stylings (2019)
(Piano Instruction). The Hal Leonard Jazz Piano Method Book 2 is a detailed, easy-to-use guide for anyone interested in furthering their jazz piano skills. There are many harmonic concepts, useful licks, and comping techniques for you to absorb. The accompanying audio includes demonstrations of all the examples in the book. Includes: harmonic exercises; melodic vocabulary; chord progressions and substitutions; melodic minor scale theory; locked-hands style; drop-two voicings; stride; walking bass lines; Latin styles; modern sounds; and much more!…
3. The Best Jazz Piano Solos Ever: 80 Classics, From Miles to Monk and More (2014)
(Piano Solo Songbook). Over 300 pages of beautiful classic jazz piano solos featuring standards in any jazz artist’s repertoire. Non-jazz pianists will also find these well-thought out arrangements very beneficial. Includes: Afternoon in Paris * Birdland * C-Jam Blues * Django * Dolphin Dance * Giant Steps * I Hear a Rhapsody * In Walked Bud * Killer Joe * Line for Lyons * Moonlight in Vermont * Moten Swing * A Night in Tunisia * Night Train * On Green Dolphin Street * Shiny Stockings * So What * Song for My Father * Up Jumped Spring * West Coast Blues * Yardbird Suite * and more….
4. Jazz Piano Technique: Exercises, Etudes & Ideas for Building Chops (2013)
(Keyboard Instruction). This one-of-a-kind book applies traditional technique exercises to specific jazz piano needs. Along with warm-ups, etudes isolate each technical problem within a jazz context. This allows for improvisation, directly addressing the needs of the jazz player. Practicing is not only pragmatic, it’s fun! Topics include: scales (major, minor, chromatic, pentatonic, etc.), arpeggios (triads, seventh chords, upper structures), finger independence exercises (static position, held notes, Hanon exercises), parallel interval scales and…
5. Oscar Peterson – Jazz Exercises, Minuets, Etudes & Pieces for Piano (2005)
(Keyboard Instruction). Legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson has long been devoted to the education of piano students. In this book he offers dozens of pieces designed to empower the student, whether novice or classically trained, with the technique needed to become an accomplished jazz pianist….
6. Jazz Ballads: Jazz Piano Solos Series Volume 10 (Jazz Piano Solos (Numbered)) (2009)
(Jazz Piano Solos). Fresh solo piano arrangements with chord names of 24 favorite ballads in a jazz style, including: Body and Soul * I Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out to Dry * Misty * My Funny Valentine * The Nearness of You * When I Fall in Love * and more….
7. Jazz Standards: 40 Sheet Music Bestsellers Series (2011)
(Piano/Vocal/Guitar Songbook). 40 enduring favorites are featured in each volume of this series. Due to their popularity and their playability on piano, these songs rank among the top-selling sheet music titles of all-time. Whether you seek new songs to perform, skill-building practice material or just the sheer fun of playing great songs that you could never quite figure out by ear, these collections guarantee a lifetime of enjoyment. Songs: All I Do Is Dream of You * As Time Goes By * At Last * But the World Goes ‘Round * Cry Me a River * Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else but Me) * Dream a Little Dream of Me *…
8. Christmas Songs: Jazz Piano Solos Series Volume 25 (2012)
(Jazz Piano Solos). 21 holiday classics arranged for jazz piano. Includes: Blue Christmas * The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) * Christmas Time Is Here * Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas * I’ll Be Home for Christmas * Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! * My Favorite Things * Santa Baby * Silver Bells * White Christmas * and more. Includes chord names….
9. Intro to Jazz Piano: Hal Leonard Keyboard Style Series (2011)
This comprehensive book/CD is the perfect Intro to Jazz Piano. If you want to learn how to play the enduring standards that make up the Great American Songbook, then you’ve come to the right place! Whether comping, playing the melody, or soloing, you’ll learn the theory, the tools and the techniques used by the pros. The accompanying CD demonstrates almost all of the music examples in the book. The full band tracks feature the rhythm section on the left channel and the piano on the right channel, so that you can play along with the band!…
10. Piano Scales, Chords & Arpeggios Lessons with Elements of Basic Music Theory: Fun, Step-By-Step Guide for Beginner to Advanced Levels(Book & Streaming Video) (2013)
Piano Professor Damon Ferrante guides you through 140 step-by-step lessons (for beginner to advanced levels) and 30 streaming video lessons.This easy-to-follow method, used by thousands of piano students and teachers, is designed to be interactive, engaging and fun.The lessons will greatly improve your piano technique, creativity, and understanding of music. Whether you are teaching yourself piano or learning with a music instructor, this book and streaming video course will take your piano playing to a whole new level!Ask yourself this:1. Have you always wanted to learn how to play piano scales, chords, and…
11. Improvising Blues Piano (1997)
(Schott). The basic principles of blues piano explained for the intermediate-level pianist in an easy-to-grasp fashion….
12. Berklee Jazz Standards for Solo Piano (2017)
(Berklee Guide). Twelve arrangements for solo jazz piano of standard jazz tunes. These arrangements are fun to play, musically suitable for performance, and support the Berklee piano curriculum and other activities (e.g., auditions). They are organized by performance level, with examples from Levels 1 through 4, so this collection will support every pianist’s journey through Berklee and other jazz piano programs. The accompanying recording features performances of the pieces by the arrangers. Tunes include: Autumn Leaves * Black Orpheus * Body and Soul * A Foggy Day (In London…
13. Exploring Jazz Piano – Volume 1 (Schott Pop Styles) (2005)
(Schott). Volume 1 introduces the intermediate pianist to the basic chord-types used in jazz, from major and minor triads to seventh and ninth chords. Other topics include: Chord/scale relationships, modes, broken chord and scale patterns, pentatonic and blues scales, walking bass lines, Latin rhythms and bass lines, the diatonic cycle, secondary dominants, II V I sequences, horizontal and vertical improvisation, tritone substitution, two-handed voicings, rootless voicings, technical exercises and fingering, accompaniment styles, ear-training,…
14. 100 Left Hand Patterns Every Piano Player Should Know: Play the Same Song 100 Different Ways (2018)
100 Left Hand Patterns Every Piano Player Should Know (Play the Same Song 100 Different Ways) by Music Mentor Jerald Simon, is one of the books from the Music Motivation® Series. This book was created to help piano students of all ages and skill levels learn how to improvise and arrange music of their own. The 100 left hand patterns introduced in this book can help piano students, piano teachers, and music professionals take their piano playing to the next level by learning how to play the same song 100 different ways. Use these 100 left hand patterns…
Best Jazz Piano Books Worth Your Attention
We highly recommend you to buy all paper or e-books in a legal way, for example, on Amazon. But sometimes it might be a need to dig deeper beyond the shiny book cover. Before making a purchase, you can visit resources like Genesis and download some jazz piano books mentioned below at your own risk. Once again, we do not host any illegal or copyrighted files, but simply give our visitors a choice and hope they will make a wise decision.
Best Smooth Jazz: Jazz Piano Solos Series Volume 50
Author(s): Hal Leonard Publishing Company
Publisher: Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation, Year: 2018, Size: 36 Mb, Download: epub
ID: 2380636
A Natural History of the Piano: The Instrument, the Music, the Musicians--from Mozart to Modern Jazz and Everything in Between
Author(s): Stuart Isacoff
Publisher: Vintage, Year: 2012, Size: 14 Mb, Download: epub
ID: 1030449
Shall We Play That One Together?: The Life and Art of Jazz Piano Legend Marian McPartland
Author(s): Paul de Barros
Publisher: St. Martin's Press, Year: 2012, Size: 2 Mb, Download: epub
ID: 1166704
A Natural History of the Piano: The Instrument, the Music, the Musicians - from Mozart to Modern Jazz and Everything in Between
Author(s): Stuart Isacoff
Publisher: Knopf, Year: 2011, Size: 15 Mb, Download: mobi
ID: 1057182
Latin Jazz Piano: Hal Leonard Keyboard Style Series
Author(s): John Valerio
Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation, Year: 2010, Size: 4 Mb, Download: pdf
ID: 815342
Contemporary Jazz Piano: Hal Leonard Keyboard Style Series
Author(s): Mark Harrison
Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation, Year: 2010, Size: 2 Mb, Download: pdf
ID: 818938
Music Musique: French and American Piano Composition in the Jazz Age
Author(s): Barbara Meister
Publisher: Indiana University Press, Year: 2006, Size: 790 Kb, Download: pdf
ID: 220601
Please note that this booklist is not absolute. Some books are absolutely hot items according to USA Today, others are written by unknown authors. On top of that, you can always find additional tutorials and courses on Coursera, Udemy or edX, for example. Are there any other relevant books you could recommend? Leave a comment if you have any feedback on the list.