Jazz Piano Sheet Music Transcriptions by Ian Pallister

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Jazz Piano Sheet Music Transcriptions by Ian Pallister

Welcome!

The problem for many budding jazz pianists is that unlike classical music much of jazz music is improvised and rarely written down. Not only do pianists like myself miss out on playing fun pieces for themselves, this also means that it's hard for them to analyze jazz pieces and develop their own improvisational skills.

To this end, I have started to transcribe pieces that I want to play (including some non-jazz pieces), and have posted the sheet music transcriptions on this site free for other amateur pianists like myself - strictly for private educational purposes, not for commerce or re-distribution!

In the table below, for each piece, I've included the transcription details, a PDF of the sheet music and a performance of the piece - YouTube where appropriate, including myself where there isn't an alternative, although I'm keen rather than actually any good !

If you're interested in transcribing pieces yourself, have a look at the Transcribing section. Anything else I can think of is on the Resources tab, including links to other transcription sites.

ian_pallister at hotmail dot com

Description	Transcription	Performance
Sunny Side Of The Street James Booker/McHugh & Fields A stunning version of Sunny Side from the wonderful James Booker - just listen to the video on the right! My transcription is very faithful to the recording, but I'm afraid it's more difficult to play than it sounds, so download and get practising! Transcribed August 2011
Deep Purple Evan Palazzo/Peter De Rose Short but very sweet - a lovely arrangement of Deep Purple from Evan Palazzo. Evan has a website and CD here. Transcribed March 2011
Autumn Leaves Joe Van De Graaff/Joseph Kosma There are lots of versions of Autumn Leaves around, and many on YouTube. Joe's version, unlike many others, overlays the classic tune on a steady jazz beat in a simple and catchy way - I like it! Transcribed February 2011
It's The Talk Of The Town Evan Palazzo/Jerry Livingston Evan has posted many excellent tunes on YouTube, and this is one of the finest. It's the marriage of a great tune with Evan's soulful, wistful and humorous style, and done with an effortless technique. A great piece and fun to play. Evan has a website and CD here. Transcribed December 2010
Por Una Cabeza Carlos Gardel Known more popularly as the tango music from the movies Schindler's List, True Lies and (as shown here) Scent of A Woman, this was actually a song from the 1930s written by Carlos Gardel and lyricist Alfredo Le Pera. The literal transcription doesn't work that well as a piano solo, so I've transposed a bit here and there. No, it's not really jazz, but it is a lovely piece of music. Transcribed December 2010
On the Sunny Side of the Street Joe Holt/McHugh and Fields This joyous arrangement from Joe Holt of a well known standard never fails to raise a smile - watch it and see if I'm not right! Joe has posted many such arrangements on YouTube, and his channel is well worth a look. Joe also has a website with CDs and lessons here. Transcribed October 2010
On the Sunny Side of the Street Evan Palazzo/McHugh and Fields A slow, very soulful arrangement by Evan Palazzo of this classic tune, show-cased by him on YouTube (shown on the right). Deceptively simple music once transcribed, but very difficult to render this piece with the accuracy and sheer style that Evan has. Absolutely superb. Evan has a website and CD here. Transcribed August 2010
All Of Me Jean-Pierre Bertrand/G. Marks This is a great boogie from Monsieur Bertrand @ JPBoogie.com. His site holds several MIDI files, one of which (this one) I used to write this transcription. MIDI files do import into notation software, but are usually 'raw' and so not legible, and it's easier to transcribe from scratch than spend ages trying to clean them up. Give this one a try - it's not that hard and the classic tune makes it hang together well. Playing not too good here - had to do it in a hurry. Transcribed June 2010
Puttin' on the Ritz Chris Dawson/Irving Berlin Chris has lots of high quality jazz posted on his channel on YouTube. This version of Berlin's classic by Chris is snappy, light, and very addictive! Roll the L.H. tenths if (like me) you don't have the span, or play the bass notes an octave higher if you feel like it: basically do whatever it takes to play this piece - it's worth it. Chris has a website and CD here. Transcribed February 2010
Maple Leaf Rag Dick Wellstood/Scott Joplin The original Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin is the King of all ragtime pieces, but Dick Wellstood's treatment transcribed here turns it into a terrifically exciting stride piece. Yes, that's me playing it. Could have dressed up a bit first, I suppose. By the way, the creaking is the piano stool, not my knees. Transcribed December 2009
Minute Steak Teddy Wilson Another piece that I transcribed from the Teddy Wilson Keystone Transcriptions (audio). A short, cheeky, happy piece that lasts, well, exactly one minute. Transcribed 2009		Can't play this. Never will.
The Little Things That Mean So Much Teddy Wilson This swing piece from Teddy Wilson sounds utterly magical. I transcribed it from the Teddy Wilson Keystone Transcriptions (audio). I think I read somewhere that his wife composed the tune, and Teddy put this arrangement around it. I think I also read that they eventually divorced, so, maybe he didn't take the hint. Playing and sound not too good here - sorry. Transcribed 2008/9
Smashing Thirds Fats Waller Vibrant happy piece of Fats solo stride piano. I transcribed this way before the Hal Leonard version (which is slightly different) appeared. (Mine spreads the notes over the hands better in my humble opinion!) Transcribed the hard way - tape cassette recorder, August 1993.	Only on paper at the moment - TBD	Will do a YouTube.
Crazy Rhythm Jackson/Caesar, Meyer & Kahn Typical Cliff Jackson treatment : take a good standard, add stride, and gradually crank up the tempo. Transcribed the hard way - tape cassette recorder, August 1992. And then fixed with Transcribe in 2010!		Will do a YouTube sometime. Used to play it.

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