Everything Piano

I just love the 3 volume book/CD sets of Mac Rebennack, also known as Dr. John the Night Tripper, sitting at a piano just playing and talking about the music of New Orleans.

You will not find a structured teaching course in the blues here - There are no "lessons", just a virtuoso playing and speaking about what he does best. The accompanying book has many of the solos written out in standard musical notation (with chord symbols) along with excerpts of what the left hand is playing etc. It is by no means a complete and exact transcription of every note played on the CD, but itwill get you started on the road and is very helpful.

Be warned however: I have a degree in music and have played piano for 20 years, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to play like Dr. John.  A solid background in theory is a great help in understanding what Dr. John is talking about when he refers to the chord structure / inversions/ substitutions/ progressions etc. If you are looking for a quick "play piano like Dr. John in 10 easy lessons" you will be sorely disappointed. There is a LIFETIME of material in these 3 volumes.

I bought all 3 volumes - and then went out and got the two volume DVD set produced by the same folks so I could see how on earth anyone's fingers can play like that! Note that Amazon is now packaging the DVD along with the book and CD for Volume One at a bargain price.