Music Instruction: What's the best way to learn advanced jazz and improvisational piano?

I'm not a piano player but I went to school for Jazz and studied (bass) with some amazing people. Here's what I learned: You have to listen like your life depends on it. Find musicians who inspire you and listen deeply and intelligently. Find out what it is you love about their playing. Find out who influenced them. Find out why what they do is so damn musical. Next, sit down with a recording of one great solo and learn it backwards and forwards. Start by singing it - this will train your ear. Then start playing it on the piano, slowly at first so you can figure out the fingerings and lay down the foundation to speed up the phrases and passages. Internalize that solo like none other. Let it seep into your subconscious so it can come out of your playing one day when you least expect it. Finally, don't expect anything to happen overnight. Michael Brecker once told me he believed that it always takes 6 weeks for something you practice to work its way into your playing. I've never forgotten that and it helps to cultivate my patience.

This book came highly recommended by a jazz pianist: http://www.amazon.com/Voicings-Jazz-Keyboard-Frank-Mantooth/dp/0793534852 I would also recommend buying a Real Book and start learning charts. For each standard you learn, listen to at least 5 different recordings. Learn what great artists have done with it- are they sticking to the chord progression strictly, or are they decorating it? What treatment are they giving the melody? Pick a couple of tunes you really like and learn them in several (and then all 12) keys. Learning solos by ear is a fantastic suggestion, I agree with Kevin 100% on that. Another option for learning what the greats use is to buy/find transcriptions of solos. I always recommend the solos (for all instruments) on Miles Davis's Kind of Blue to be a great starting point- most of Miles's solos are very accessible if you're just starting with learning jazz solos. The John Coltrane solos will take a little while- if you have to put those off until you've build up to it, that's ok. Find some Jamey Aebersold recordings and spend time playing along. Memorize licks from other solos and trying playing them over changes. Build your vocabulary of jazz ideas. Once again, spend more time improvising. Learn what a 2-5-1 (or ii-V-I) is- you'll find them frequently. Learn 10 different ideas you can play over a 2-5-1. Play them in all 12 keys. Go to spotify, and find the playlist made by Andrew Hitz of Jamey Aebersold 100 most influential jazz recordings. As suggested, listen like your life depends on it. lastly, jazz music and artists don't exist in a vacuum, and the way it grew and developed informs what's going on. The Oxford Companion to Jazz is a history textbook. It's dense, and it's thorough. Going through ti and reading it will help you understand the development and evolution of ideas, and give you more ideas for who to listen to, and in what order. Good luck!

I made a card game for my students to help them practice improvisation. It's not specific to jazz, in fact you don't need any theory or experience beyond very basic musical terminology. It's a good way to get your creative juices flowing and to play a little more "free". You can download and print it for free as a PDF here: http://tonicgame.com Let me know what you think!