When considered from a musical perspective as a snapshot in time, the late 1950s and early 1960s represented a watershed moment for American jazz. Much like rock music a decade later, innovation gushed forth in the form of groundbreaking albums from jazz artists like Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Dave Brubeck, Cannonball Adderley, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Art Blakey, Bill Evans, and many more. Harmonically underpinning most of the small-group hard bop and post-bop of this pivotal era was the humble piano. So, join us as we take an affectionate look at several iconic jazz piano performances from this incredibly fertile period that defined — to borrow the title of Ornette Coleman’s 1959 album — the shape of jazz to come.
- “Well, You Needn’t” (Thelonious Monk)
- “So What” (Bill Evans)
- “Blue Rondo à la Turk” (Dave Brubeck)
- “Neo” (Wynton Kelly)
- “Waltz for Debby” (Bill Evans)
- “Lonnie’s Lament” (McCoy Tyner)
- “Eighty-One” (Herbie Hancock)
- “The Eye of the Hurricane” (Herbie Hancock)
- “She’s Leaving Home” (McCoy Tyner)
“Well, You Needn’t” (Thelonious Monk)
As the prolific composer of such jazz standards as “Straight, No Chaser,” “Round Midnight,” “Evidence,” “Ruby My Dear,” “Epistrophy,” “I Mean You,” “Misterioso,” and “Bemsha Swing,” among others, Thelonious Monk rocked a completely unique piano style. Released in 1957, Monk’s Music features John Coltrane’s big-toned tenor sax and Ray Copeland’s buoyant trumpet underpinned by Wilbur Ware on bass and the Jazz Messengers stalwart Art Blakey on drums. On “Well, You Needn’t,” Monk’s laconic, playful, rollicking piano is interwoven into the track, taking solos, sporadically joining in on thematic statements, and laying out entirely for an exploratory bass solo followed by Blakey’s commanding drum solo. Listen to the entire song to fully appreciate Monk’s genius at work. It’s a thoroughly delightful 11-minute masterclass on jazz harmony!
“So What” (Bill Evans)
The year 1959 was a flashpoint that saw the release of Kind of Blue, the Miles Davis modal masterpiece that stands as arguably the most influential jazz album in history. Featuring Davis on trumpet, Coltrane on tenor sax, Cannonball Adderley on alto, Paul Chambers on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums, Kind of Blue was a game changer that rerouted the course of jazz and popular music forever. One of the harmonic devices modal jazz relies on for its characteristic tonically ambivalent sound is quartal piano voicings. Pianist Bill Evans employed these liberally on Kind of Blue to give the record a sophisticated, modern sheen. Nowhere is this more famously evident than on the track “So What,” where he used a two-handed first-inversion quartal voicing for the bass and piano call-and-response intro section. As testimony to the lasting influence of Evans’s off-the-charts inventiveness, this voicing is now commonly referred to as the “So What chord.”
“Blue Rondo à la Turk” (Dave Brubeck)
Another 1959 masterpiece was Time Out by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. As the title suggests, the album’s theme was the exploration of uncommon time signatures — exotic rhythms that pianist Dave Brubeck and his group had absorbed during their extensive world travel. This made for one of the most exciting releases of the year — right up there with Kind of Blue in terms of its influence on the future direction of jazz. In the case of “Blue Rondo à la Turk,” Brubeck heard an unusual rhythm performed by Turkish street musicians. When he asked them about it, one replied that the rhythm was to them what the blues was to Americans. Together with saxophonist Paul Desmond, bassist Eugene Wright, and drummer Joe Morello, Brubeck wove these exotic rhythms into a tasty musical confection topped with Desmond’s “dry martini” alto. “Blue Rondo à la Turk” became a jazz standard that even artists as diverse as Paul Gilbert and Al Jarreau have covered.
“Neo” (Wynton Kelly)
“Neo,” as captured in the above video in a live 1961 performance by the Miles Davis Quintet at San Francisco’s Black Hawk jazz club, is a classic example of ’60s modal jazz. The track’s seductive, exotic feel is punctuated incisively by pianist Wynton Kelly with a sprightly, “on top of the beat” performance. Rarely performed or recorded by Davis, this recording of “Neo” features himself on trumpet and Hank Mobley on tenor sax, bolstered by a bouncy, vigorous pulse incessantly driven forward by Chambers on bass and Cobb on drums. Kelly’s piano solo begins at 5:58, but you’ll want to listen to the entire track to fully appreciate how artfully he weaves his piano part into the arrangement. Incidentally, Kelly also helmed the piano bench for one track on Kind of Blue.
“Waltz for Debby” (Bill Evans)
The Bill Evans trio, featuring Scott LaFaro on bass and Paul Motian on drums, redefined the piano trio format by elevating bass and drums to nearly equal status with Bill Evans’s piano. On the heels of his creative collaboration with Davis on Kind of Blue, Evans would release this new trio’s first album, Portrait in Jazz, in 1960. The studio effort was followed by two highly acclaimed live albums recorded at New York City’s famous Village Vanguard. Produced by noted impresario Orrin Keepnews, Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby set new standards for quality in live jazz recordings. Evans’s jazz standard “Waltz for Debby” is a bubbly 3/4 jaunt featuring the intensive interplay between piano, bass, and drums, which was the trio’s calling card. Tragically, bassist LaFaro died in an auto accident just 10 days after the 1962 gig at which “Waltz for Debby” was recorded. The loss hit Evans hard, but he emerged later that year with a new trio that, once again, placed the three instruments on an equal footing — as would all the pianist’s future trio outings.
“Lonnie’s Lament” (McCoy Tyner)
Coltrane’s 1964 album Crescent features the saxophonist’s classic quartet in, well, classic form. The song “Lonnie’s Lament” has a relaxed, loping rhythm driven by McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on double bass, and Elvin Jones on the drum kit. After an intro featuring sensuous interplay between Coltrane’s tenor and Tyner’s piano, Trane lays out, and the rhythm kicks in under a contemplative piano solo punctuated by Tyner’s forceful, low-register octaves and fifths, with serenely floating quartal chords in the middle and dancing melodies on top. Then comes Garrison’s bass solo. With approximately four and three minutes for their solos, respectively, Tyner and Garrison are given plenty of time to stretch out — and that they do, toying with the thematic elements and exploring new melodic and harmonic territory. At 9:28, Coltrane returns as the band restates the head and plays it out. “Lonnie’s Lament” is one of endless song choices that celebrates Tyner’s inimitable talent and his immense influence on generations of keyboardists in all genres.
“Eighty-One” (Herbie Hancock)
Released in 1965, E.S.P. was the first album from Davis’s Second Great Quintet. The second track, “Eighty-One,” kicks off the record with an exuberant pop sensibility, announcing to the world in no uncertain terms that post-bop had arrived. From Herbie Hancock’s compressed, sustaining piano to Ron Carter’s melodic upright bass (which clearly showed the influences of the Beatles’ Paul McCartney and Motown’s James Jamerson), “Eighty-One” proved, right out of the gate, that Davis had his ear to the rail of popular music and was responding in real time. The track (and the album) was an ear-opener for longtime Miles Davis fans. As drummer Tony Williams laid down straight-up beats and seamlessly dipped in and out of swing time, Davis on trumpet and Wayne Shorter on tenor took their solos and played fat, swaggering “power chords” and incisive stabs together as they stated thematic elements. Hancock delivered a confidently relaxed solo and supplied the harmonic glue that held it all together. The quintet would go on to release five more studio albums over the ensuing four years. By the end of their run, they were playing electric instruments and poised to unleash jazz fusion upon the world.
“The Eye of the Hurricane” (Herbie Hancock)
By 1965, Herbie Hancock had firmly established himself as a solo artist. His critically acclaimed fifth album, Maiden Voyage, was released that year and contained three songs — the title track, “Dolphin Dance,” and “The Eye of the Hurricane” — that would become jazz standards. Hancock’s Maiden Voyage lineup featured Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, George Coleman on tenor sax, and Carter and Williams locking down the rhythm on bass and drums. Starting at around 3:00, Hancock takes a lengthy, masterful solo incorporating ambiguity and structured chaos into a comprehensive musical statement. A seamless blend of hard-bop, modal-jazz, and free-jazz elements, “The Eye of the Hurricane” exemplifies the jazz subgenre that would become known as “post-bop.” This enticing stylistic mash-up would evolve over the latter half of the ’60s and ultimately ignite an explosion of fusion subgenres that would take over the airwaves in the ensuing decade. Hancock would go on to achieve great success in the jazz-funk movement of the 1970s — and beyond. On “The Eye of the Hurricane,” we can hear him laying down the harmonic foundation for the future of jazz.
“She’s Leaving Home” (McCoy Tyner)
We’ve saved a special treat for last: jazz piano giant McCoy Tyner’s playful cover of the Beatles’ “She’s Leaving Home” will delight both jazz and rock fans! After helming the piano bench in Coltrane’s classic quartet from 1962 to 1965, Tyner went on to a stellar solo career and prestigious collaborations spanning 55 years until his death in 2020. He contributed “She’s Leaving Home” to A GRP Artists’ Celebration of the Songs of the Beatles, a 1995 compilation of various jazz artists’ contributions. It’s safe to say that no rock band has had their songs covered more often than the Fab Four. Tyner’s stylistic trademarks are very much present in this uplifting performance. Woven throughout are his signature quartal voicings punctuated by percussive low fifth and octave stabs, with whimsical impressionistic melodies dancing on top. This performance features the trio Tyner performed with through much of the 1980s and 1990s, with Avery Sharpe on bass and Aaron Scott on drums. Suffice it to say that Tyner never met a genre he couldn’t finesse with his impeccable jazz chops!
Now, Let’s Talk About You
In this article, we’ve examined several classic jazz piano performances. If you’re a musician who aspires to jazz piano greatness, then you’re likely putting in the hard work with the tireless study of theory and technique — and endless hours of practice on your keyboard of choice. And that’s where we come in with a broad selection of instruments to help you realize your goals. While you can certainly nail a classic jazz piano sound on a magnificent concert grand, you don’t have to spend five figures to closely approximate it. Sweetwater is proud to carry the best digital pianos in the industry, and they come loaded with samples of some of the finest acoustic grands on the planet. Browse our website or call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer at (800) 222-4700 for expert, personalized advice. You’ll be well on your way to creating your own jazz classics!