wisedeyes, such a great post.
very informative. thank you so much. this is great stuff and exactly what i'm dealing with. thank you so much for taking the time to write that out and to help create in my eyes a very stimulating and informative discussion.
this is all very helpful to me, because as a piano player, sometimes feel boxed in in some/many of the dead tunes as they do not allow that Flat 7, flat 3rd bluesy feel. i was never one to want to hide behind an organ and comp chords. i really love playing piano on these tunes.
And don't get me wrong a lot of tunes do lend themselves to that flat 7, flat 3rd feel, but yes, FOTM is a perfect example. as well as Scarlett. Just 2 or 3 chords right? But that they lend themselves to a more modal/diatonic chord scale. these are not friendly songs on piano. ever try soloing in B (mostly black keys) or E using a diatonic vocabulary on the piano? it's not so much fun. especially when you can't rely on a bluesy flat seven, flat 3rd feel. going to a blues scale has always been my crutch and when you can't go there, i feel limited.
if you're a guitar player you can really milk and bleed just one or 2 notes and make them sing in a solo. as a piano player you have limited sustain on a note, obviously, so to come up with a fun, articulate, dynamic solo, it's harder in my mind, and it helps to be able to cover the breath of the keyboard in a modal context, since there is only so much you can get from playing 2 notes on the piano. does that make sense?
take songs like Big River, Me and My Uncle, etc, these are songs that live and breathe in a bluesy pentatonic feel. you can play for years in variations of blues scales on these tunes. But again, when you can't use that bluesy, pentatonic flat 7, flat 3rd scale or vocabulary, it becomes hard as a piano player to come up with some tried and true licks, forcing one to really know their modes and scales.
does this make sense? i'm really enjoying this conversation as this is what i'm working on now, trying to come up with dynamic, soulful, deep, thoughtful solos as a piano player in these tunes.
thank you guys so much for your time and thoughts. i hope the posts and discussions will continue.
gratefully yours...