Central Park West #1 - Piano Lessonby John Coltrane

In this lesson we’re going to learn the chord changes to the jazz ballad “Central Park West,” by pioneering saxophonist John Coltrane, from his 1964 album “Coltrane’s Sound.” Central Park West is a great ballad because it has a concise form, and a simple, lyrical melody, and yet the harmony travels to several different key areas that feel quite fresh and unexpected. The structure is based on a sequence of ii-V-I’s, all based around the different degrees of a single chord. In this lesson, we’ll go through the harmonic form, look at the root position voicings, and then move on to two sets of guide tone voicings.