Maybe

Hey look, we're at 20 songs!

That's right, I'm taking a break from jazz songs for a while..but you know, that's not the only thing that you can learn. There's many different varieties of songs and this is one of them.

Somebody Loves Me

Hey look, did you notice the title of this song? Just in time for Valentine's Day, huh? Did Gershwin decide to write a song about his female admirers? And no, don't say that this is the 5th time that I've told you about George Gershwin.

So What

Many times when we're faced with a difficult decision, question, or statement, we don't think of just saying these two simple words: "So what?" We could do it for lots of things.

Your hair is too long. So what?
You're not a very good piano player. So what?
You just took away my solo. So what?
I just don't like you. So what?

Why does it really matter.....?

As musicians, we often wonder if our audience really likes our playing. If we're playing in a band situation, the comparison levels just go up.

Did those people like my solo?......Uh-oh, the drummer is looking at me like I did something wrong......What does that person over there think of my song?......Gulp. I think I just made myself the worst player out of everyone in the music contest. 

Paper Moon

I remember seeing the moon from my window last night....but I don't think it was made of paper. Of course, as time passes, we keep figuring out new things - what the moon actually is, why apples fall to the ground, what electricity actually does, how to write a song, etc., and that means that songs are changing, too. The 12-bar blues songs that we played in the '20s aren't going to be the same as the latest pop song. And, the songs that you've listened to before aren't going to be the same as this one.

This song was originally sung, but I'm just playing it on the piano.

So, the button's there. Just do it. It doesn't matter what other people think.

Maybe if you click here, the song will be recommended to someone else and they'll get to listen to it, too.

Blue Bossa

This is different from the other songs I've published, because its rhythm is more straight like Latin jazz, instead of the swing songs that I usually publish. Although this isn't the most common jazz style, I know other songs that have a similar rhythm, such as Caravan and Perdido (do you want to look those up now, or wait for the post to appear? You should do one of them - remember, never miss an opportunity to listen to a song.)

Salt Peanuts

I think that the inspiration for this song came from people who were trying to sell their fresh salted peanuts. They'd probably walk around holding up bags of them, saying, "Salt peanuts! Salt peanuts for sale!" As you can hear in this recording on YouTube, someone keeps yelling "Salt Peanuts!" through the whole song (and even during the solo!).