All Blues - Zach Nielsen Trio

Video from a recent gig. It's great to be able to play on a real piano in a setting like this. Got this little thing on Craigslist for $100. It's a bit out of tune but gets the job done.

This song was made famous by Miles Davis on the landmark recording, Kind of Blue (that all music lovers should own).

I also released a short EP a couple years ago. If you have not yet checked that out you can do so here. I do a couple of covers that you might recognize, Message in a Bottle by The Police, and Come as You Are by Nirvana. Check it out.

Stella By Starlight - Solo

One of my favorite jazz songs to play.



Check out my trio's EP here.

Improv on the White Keys

Something I recorded yesterday.



Check out my trio's EP here.

Two Videos from Last Night's Gig

Two Degrees East Three Degrees West






Hocus Pocus

www.zachnielsenjazz.com

I just launched a new jazz website.  Click over if you get a chance.  If you have any feedback for me on how to make it better, please let me know.  I'll be adding new videos and transcriptions all the time so you might want to check back now and then.  

You can also check out my latest EP on iTunes or AmazonMP3.  It features a couple songs that most of you will know, "Message in a Bottle" by the Police and "Come as You Are" by Nirvana.

Another Video From a Gig Last Weekend - The Old Country

One of my favorite tunes to play. I thought this take had some really interesting interaction between the three of us.

Billie's Bounce - Video From Last Night's Gig

Jazz is never perfect, but I like the energy of this one.

Be Thou My Vision - A New Arrangement

Nardis - Solo Piano

This is one of my favorite jazz tunes to play.  It's called Nardis and was written by Miles Davis but made famous by the late great jazz piano giant, Bill Evans.

This was filmed with my Canon 60D and a handheld Xacti HD camera by Sanyo.  Audio was recorded with an SM81 straight into GarageBand.

Improvisation on Be Thou My Vision

I love to explore on this tune. Such a great melody. I hope you enjoy.

An eConcert

Today I thought I would let you in on some stuff I have been practicing quite a bit over the last year.  These four pieces are from Book I of Bach's Well Tempered Clavier.  I am playing a recital with my Dad next week in Cedar Falls, IA which will combine these four songs and some jazz with a trio that I have assembled.

These performances are far from perfect but are simply a reflection of where I am at right now with them.  It's always a work in progress.

The final piece is a solo piano jazz version of standard, Autumn Leaves.  You might dig that as well.


Prelude in F# minor




Prelude in C minor




Fugue in E minor




Fugue in C minor




Autumn Leaves

C Bluesy Riffing

Just a little quick hitter jam that I did with the iPhone and my $100 Craigslist piano with the audience of the Lego ship that my son built and a cute picture of my boy Emery looming over me.

Z Music - Blues Riff

Speaking of Keith Green... he might dig this.

I got a new piano on Craigslist for $100.  It really needs to be tuned but it feels good and looks pretty good too.  I thought I would play a little bluesy thing that I made up and have been messing around with lately.  Don't mind my kids chirping and playing Legos in the background.

Z Music - Beautiful Love

This piece is one of my favorite jazz standards: Beautiful Love.

Beautiful Love - Solo from Zach Nielsen on Vimeo.

Z Music - Prelude in E Minor

Prelude in E Minor - Bach from Zach Nielsen on Vimeo.

Z Music - Fugue in C Minor, Bach

Musically, this is one of the things I have been working on for the past few months. I am no classical player, but love the challenge of it. I don't read music all that well, thus these types of pieces take me forever to learn. It's a great workout for the fingers and Bach was from another planet in terms of his talent, so it's a joy to enter into his music. I am hoping to perform this piece and another one for a recital in March. I still have a ways to go. It's far from perfect, but it's getting there.

Fugue in C Minor - Bach from Zach Nielsen on Vimeo.

Z Music - Nostalgia In Times Square

This is one of my favorite jazz pieces, Nostalgia In Times Square, by Charles Mingus. This is the first video from a series I will run from a recital we did at our church in March called, "For The Joy of Music and the Glory of God".

Z Music - Now's The Time

A classic blues piece by Charlie Parker:

Z Music - Stella By Starlight

This is a solo piano version of the jazz standard, Stella By Starlight.

Z Music - Improv in Eb

I think I might start posting video of some musical things I am working on. Some of you will dig it, some of you won't. I know that, but think it is important to keep a record of your progress with anything you do, so this will be one way I can do that and perhaps some of you might enjoy looking in on it.

This first video is an improvisation that I played today when I started practicing. These are ideas that I have messed around with before, but I had no set plan when I started playing this piece. The beginning and ending chord progressions serve as bookends that are more choral in nature. I like how they sound. The middle section is more funky and all improvisation in my right hand with a static chord structure in my left.

I hope you enjoy it.