Playing for Singers

Review - Playing for Singers"Playing for Singers: Art of Accompaniment for the Jazz or Cabaret Piano Player" by Mike Greensill is a good introduction to the art accompanying a jazz vocalist on the piano. Mike's wife is a jazz vocalist and he apparently often accompanys her, as well as many other jazz vocalists. Thus Mike writes from experience. Being both an introduction, and not a heavy jazz theory book, this book is a slim (120 pages) spiral bound. And this book is chock full of goodies from that experience. Mike includes chapters on accompanying with a bass, and with a bass and guitar.The writing is clear. The examples are well thought out and set easy enough for near beginners at accompanying to master and understand. The information is good and will give most any beginner to moderately skilled lots of good hints and information on both how to accompany and how to comp. Mike includes many quotes from many accompanists and from many singers that greatly enhance the understanding of accompanying jazz vocalists.A good grasp of the chords, their basic voicings, basic piano skills, and music appreciation is required to use this book. It is not a book for beginning piano students. But that said, most any individual with basic piano skills and understanding of chords who wants to start accompanying vocal artists could gain much from this book.

This book belongs on the piano alongside Mark Levine's Jazz Piano Book; together they provide damn near everything a practicing jazz pianist needs to know to survive. Truly a graduate course!

Very helpful and informative.

I have had the pleasure of watching and listening to Mike Greensill for years in San Francisco and he could probably back an elephantwith its trumpet.In addition to playing for singers he backs himself when he elects to sing...and very well I might add as it is difficult to back oneself as itis multi-tasking.The book which I am awaiting,should be in every music department of every high school and college everywhere.And it could well be a multi-lingual collection of DVDs for the world to absorb and learn.

For Jazz (and not only) vocal accompanists. I strongly recommend it. Great delivery, too.

An excellent book covering most of the topics essential to good accompaniment of singers. Well written in plain English with lots of notated musical examples to illustrate the point. A longer section on endings would have been useful, likewise intros. Reading the book seated at a keyboard is necessary to gain the most from this book. Highly recommended.