Reflection from "Mulan" (Jazz version) - Matthew Wilder & David Zippel

#med (Music.Every.Day)
Day 298 of my daily video posting project. I have been working on this project since November 2023--learning and posting a video of new piano music every day!
Today's video is a beautifully jazzy rendition of "Reflection" from the Disney movie "Mulan". One of my favorites, not just because I have Chinese heritage--it's a great story and features many funny and touching scenes. The music was composed by Matthew Wilder, and the lyrics were written by David Zippel. This arrangement comes from Hal Leonard's collection: Jazz Piano Solos - Disney Favorites.
I like the chord and melody progressions in the original, so it's not much of a stretch to like this version too. It dives deeper into possibilities with some VERY interesting chord progressions. (I know I say that about all the arrangements, but this one definitely ranks as one of my favourites!)
I like the interesting jazz-y fills that the arranger has put in too. I feel like many ballad-style songs leave a lot of room for some imaginative fills and I think this particular one is tastefully done. Some chords took a little extra practice, and some slow, "intense-magnification" work. (Meaning I take apart some of the chords note-by-note and look at my hands to see if it makes some kind of physical sense or has some kind of theoretical meaning, while checking the key signatures and any accidentals!). Some choices that sounded a little weird on the first try, gradually started to make more sense once I had delved deeper, or repeated it several times.
Tune in tomorrow for more of my #music.every.day experiment!