The Christmas Waltz – Complete Solo Jazz Piano Transcription (Paul Tobey)
Original price was: $41.93.$27.93Current price is: $27.93.
There are few holiday standards more elegant than The Christmas Waltz, and in this breathtaking December 2024 Saturday Streams performance, Paul Tobey turns this beloved gem into a masterclass in taste, touch, and sheer jazz invention.
Composer: Sammy Cahn & Jule Styne
Transcribed by: Przemysław Jaworucki
Difficulty: Inetermediate to Advanced
Key: F major
Length: 14 pages (full performance)
Format: Instant PDF download
Video: Full live performance included (link below)
The journey begins with a dreamy, completely rubato introduction that floats like softly falling snow. Paul reharmonizes the changes right from the top with a series of luxurious descending tritone substitutions and inner-voice movement that make the familiar melody glow with fresh harmonic color. It’s sophisticated, it’s lyrical, and it sets the perfect mood.
Then the magic shifts: a delicious 3/4 swing vamp locks in at a relaxed ♩ = 125, and Paul states the head again — this time with that effortless, dancing swing feel we all chase. Listen closely to the left hand here — it’s a clinic in itself: roots, shells, and full voicings all articulated with crystal clarity while never rushing or dragging the time. Absolute poise.
What follows are several glorious choruses of open soloing that showcase everything that makes Paul’s playing so compelling. You’ll hear rich, horn-like block-chord passages that would make George Shearing smile, long cascading bebop lines that never lose their melodic thread, sudden dips into a deep blues bag complete with greasy riffs and bent-note attitude, and throughout it all an unshakable rhythmic pocket.
The final chorus returns to straight-ahead swing, pushing the energy just a little higher, before we glide into a beautifully conceived coda. Here Paul spins improvisations over the classic I–VI–II–V cycle, capping everything with a blues-infused cadenza that descends chromatically rather than the usual ascent — a clever, ear-catching twist that leaves you smiling when the last chord rings out.
The entire 14-page transcription, meticulously prepared by Jazzmentl’s resident wizard Przemysław Jaworucki, captures every nuance — every reharmonization, every rhythmic subtlety, every perfectly placed grace note — in crisp, easy-to-read notation.
Instant PDF download delivered immediately after purchase.
Watch the complete unedited live performance right now (and follow along with your new chart!) here:
