Jazz is a language which is constantly evolving, you must immerse yourself in it, listen to recordings and go to jazz gigs. At one time the only real way to learn to play jazz piano was to go to live gigs, listen very carefully and if possible stand by the piano to try to work out what the pianist was doing! Fortunately there are now so many resources available which makes the process easier. Having said that you have to accept that learning to play jazz piano well takes patience and many years of hard work. One myth that I would like to dispel at the outset is the notion that only very naturally gifted musicians can improvise. Of course you do need a reasonably good ear but improvisation is a skill which must be learned through many years of careful listening, study and practice. I have tried to arrange the lessons (which are listed in the Lessons Index page) in a step by step way and I would advise that you complete each lesson before going on to the next one.
From the outset I strongly recommend that in addition to practising the material in the lessons, you start to regularly transcribe jazz solos. Try to find fairly simple ones at first and even if you just manage to transcribe the odd lick that you really like you will start to absorb the jazz language. In the lessons I will cover many topics including, jazz rhythms, swing feel straight eighths, phrasing, harmony, style, song structure, reading a lead sheet, scales, enclosure notes, reharmonisation, chord voicing, comping, walking bass, upper structure triads, 4th chords, side stepping, modal jazz etc. In the lessons I use my own Youtube videos and also other videos from Youtube that I consider to be helpful. In the Learning Aids page I list books, online courses, other jazz websites, apps, backing tracks, Youtube Channels etc that I would recommend. In the Essential Listening page I list recordings of the jazz masters. In the transcription page I list websites and Youtube videos where jazz transcriptions can be found. In the Zoom Lessons page I talk about how I give one to one online piano lessons using Zoom and if you wanted to book a free trial lesson then go to the Contact page. I studies Jazz first at Leeds College of Music and later at St Andrews University where I was taught by Visiting Professor Of Jazz Richard Michael BEM. Richard is truly inspirational as a performer and as a teacher, his enthusiasm and desire to share his skills and love of music have no bounds. Before starting the lessons please enjoy these four videos where Richard explains the History of Jazz Piano at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, he demonstrates how the jazz greats might have played the standard "Tea For Two" improvising an introduction based on random notes chosen by the audience and throws in an improvised three part fugue just for good measure (also based on random notes chosen by the audience).