Product Description
Alice in Wonderland is a 3/4 waltz in C major, with a 32 bar AABA form. My solo piano arrangement is based on Bill Evan's jazz interpretation of this Disney song. It is 8 pages long and includes a solo over the form, using some of the melodies and improvisation that the Bill Evans trio actually played. A lot of the basslines in the left hand were also based on Scott LeFaro's bass playing on this song.
There is a lot to learn and study here. The second chord in Alice in Wonderland is G7 with the note G in the melody. Bill Evans, or possibly his bass player, Scott LeFaro, reharmonised this to Db7#11, making the melody note the sharp eleven. A beautiful harmonic substitution that somehow has been missed by all the world's fakebooks, but it has been included here.
But enough has been said about Bill Evans and his harmony and not enough has been said about his mastery of rhythm. For me the rhythms in this piece are by far the most difficult things to master. Swinging in 3/4 time is one thing but this is quite a few levels above that. I took a lot from Scott LeFaro's bass playing on the Bill Evans trio recording and learnt a lot about his use of rhythm while making this arrangement.
Together, the Bill Evans trio created complex polyrhythms while keeping a solid and swinging time feel the entire time. Replicating this effect as a solo pianist is quite challenging to say the least. At times I did have to simplify and rewrite things as simply putting Scott LeFaros lines in the left hand with Bill Evans' lines in the right would be an impossible polyrhythmic challenge for any pianist.
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