Jazz Piano Solos

The music of modern jazz composer Jeff Novotny is a bold, adventurous mix which defies easy categorization. An overarching jazz character incorporates diverse elements such as rock, metal, electronics, and world music, with a few "legit" forms such as bebop and stride piano, but all with a modern flavor. Unpredictable in both harmony, form, and texture, the listener never knows quite what to expect in the next few seconds, much less how the pieces will unfold over time. The structure of many of these pieces lies somewhere between developing variation (akin to modern classical music) and a through-composed format, giving the pieces a film-like progression as they unfold.

This volume contains two highly challenging piano solos which draw on a number of styles, including stride, boogie-woogie, classical, and contemporary jazz.

Jeff studied classical music at the University of Pittsburgh and jazz composition at the University of Massachusetts, where he received a Master of Music (M.M.) degree. He has written and produced music for many types of jazz and rock groups, solo piano, concert band, orchestra, and electronic music.

His favorite composers include John Zorn, Alfred Schnittke, and Richard Wagner, with whom he identifies for their eclecticism and unpredictability. His music has been published in International Piano magazine, and also recorded by the Munich-based jazz-rock band Panzerballett, as well as the Norddeutsches Radio (NDR) Big Band (Hamburg, Germany). A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he is now based in Phoenix, Arizona.