Cover of the book showing a person's hands playing the piano along with the title 'An Approach to Comping Volume 2: Advanced Concepts and Techniques' by Jeb Patton.

An Approach to Comping Volume 2: Advanced Concepts and Techniques

By Jeb Patton

An Approach to Comping, Volume 2 is designed for experienced pianists who understand all the basics but want to delve deeper into the way jazz pianists support the soloist with their accompaniment. 

It is a step-by-step guide to comping rhythms, voicings, and progressions, including 9 note-for-note transcriptions of Barry Harris, Bud Powell, Ahmad Jamal, Wynton Kelly, Hank Jones, and Bill Evans comping behind the soloist. If you want to make the band sound better, there are no better musicians to study.

Jeb Patton was in the Heath Bros. band for many years and is a first-call pianist in New York because he always makes the band sound its best. Learn from the masters!

What's Inside:

  • Explorations of the left-hand comping of Barry Harris, up-tempo comping by Bud Powell, rootless voicings, drop-2's using the sixth-diminished scale, comping in the style of Count Basie, modal voicings, comping across the bar line and much more!

  • 2 examples of comping in the styles of McCoy Tyner and Herbie Hancock.

  • Comping guides, rhythms, and progressions derived from the transcriptions

  • 65 comping exercises aimed at getting the concepts under your fingers

  • 2 CD downloads containing demonstrations and play-along tracks

  • Interviews about the art of comping with Peter Bernstein and Albert “Tootie” Heath

Spiral-bound, 256 pages, Table of Contents.

Sample Pages: Comping Fast Tempos, Wynton Kelly's Comping, Hank Jones's Comping

Sample Tracks: Remember, Falling in Love with Love

Endorsements:

“Jeb Patton has written a well-conceived and well-thought-out book about the art of comping for pianists. It's full of examples of voicings and rhythms and interviews with top musicians discussing the art of comping. A great book!” 
— Kenny Barron, jazz pianist

“The accompaniment skills of a pianist in the classic jazz ensemble are what most often makes or breaks an aspiring young pianist's career. Jeb Patton's book, An Approach to Comping very logically and systematically outlines the difficult and even mysterious aspects of good solid piano accompaniment, while supplying a plethora of great comping exercises. A must have for any serious Jazz Piano student!”
— David Hazeltine, jazz pianist and composer

“Jeb is a very dedicated young man, and his new book on comping will be an asset to all of us.”
— Harold Mabern, legendary jazz pianist
Format: Print
$34.00
All Books Spiral-Bound to Lay Flat on Any Music Stand
Instant Digital Downloads
Primary Instrument: Piano
Primary Instrument: Piano

“Jeb has lovingly transcribed and analyzed the actual comps of several jazz masters. What can be better than that? This book should provide inspiration for jazz musicians of all levels and instruments.”
— Bruce Barth, jazz pianist

“Jeb Patton has done an amazing job of describing the intricacies of the too-often overlooked subject of comping. As Jazz pianists, we spend most of our time comping behind ourselves and others. However, too many of us fail at this crucial and fundamental task. Anyone who is serious about Jazz piano must have a copy of this on their shelves!”
— Xavier Davis, jazz pianist and composer

"For me, comping is the main ingredient for supporting the soloist. This book allows the pianist, guitarist, or even drummer to experience comping first-hand by comping along with the great jazz pianists from the bebop tradition and beyond. It also has a lot of valuable information for people whose first instrument is not piano.”
— Albert “Tootie” Heath, legendary jazz drummer

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