Understanding Minimalist Jazz
Minimalist Jazz is characterised by its emphasis on simplicity, repetition, and subtle variations, fostering a tranquil and meditative ambience.
Mike Rizks Minimal Jazz Piano typically features jazz chord structures, rhythmic motifs, and intentional meaningful ideas of improvisation, sometimes performed at a leisurely pace. Here are some defining traits of minimalist jazz and Rizks Minimal Jazz Piano.
Chord Structures and Voicings
Minimalist Jazz unlike other Minimal styles uses Jazz chords and voicings to create the Jazz feel, sound and are often executed sparsely creating a rolling effect
Rizks style of Minimal Jazz Piano is a blend of complex polyrhythms and syncopation with the melody to create a meditative repetitive with slight variation minimal jazz piano sound
When composing Minimal Jazz Piano pieces Rizk suggests start by composing Jazz chord progressions where the chord tones are a mix of tightly held notes and a range of notes distributed across the broad range of keyboard giving a variance of sound of different octaves followed by the melody
Repetitive and Minimalistic Motifs
A fundamental element of minimalist jazz piano is the incorporation of repetitive motifs. You may play a brief melodic or rhythmic phrase and repeat it with slight modifications, this helps with the medative sound
Motifs are either rhythmic, such as a recurring syncopated figure, and/or melodic, involving the repetition of a small melodic idea across various chords.
Subtle Rhythmic Nuances
In minimalist jazz piano, rhythm tends to be fluid, emphasising a sense of space and pulse rather than adhering to a strict meter.
Incorporating polyrhythms and/or syncopation, along with shifting accents, can help establish a groove that feels both relaxed and dynamic.
Impressionistic Harmonic Selections
Minimalist jazz piano frequently uses extended chords and jazz chords, such as 7ths, 9ths, and 13ths, including b5ths and b9ths etc though these are used sparingly and can be played as block notes or broken notes
If unfamiliar with key signatures or jazz chord arpeggios then Mike Rizk suggests using modal scales for your improvisation
Emphasis on Space and Silence
To safely create a minimal piece use the sound of silence silence. Ensure there is ample space between phrases to allow the sound to resonate. This contributes to a reflective and meditative quality in the music.
Take your time before introducing a new idea, allowing the reverberation of the preceding phrase to linger before progressing.
Mike Rizk prefers to keep the sound continuous exploring repetitive ideas with slight variation, the idea is to make it meditative
Use of Pedal
The sustain pedal serves to enhance the continuity between chords and notes, effectively merging them and contributing to a more immersive musical atmosphere.
It is advisable to refrain from excessive use of the pedal; rather, one should explore half-pedaling and overlapping techniques to achieve a delicate blend of sound.
Mike Rizk
Mike Rizks approach to minimalist jazz in particular minimal jazz piano emphasizes conveying sparse yet significant musical ideas throughout the piece, allowing for a variety of Jazz chord progressions to be interpreted in diverse manners using complex polyrhythms and syncopation blending with the melody with a slight variant repetitive motion to create his sound.
When playing Minimalist Jazz the idea is to create a meditative sound that is relaxing and simple for the ear
