Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective music Without (the use of) a piano.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

piano +‎ -less

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Examples

  • The Brooklyn-based tenor saxophonist is best known for pianoless ensembles, like his long-running quartet with trumpeter John McNeil (as on their album "Chill Morn He Climb Jenny") and his various combinations with guitarist Ben Monder (like last year's "Bloom").

    The Jazz Scene: Sultry Styles and 50 Years of the Rumble Will Friedwald 2011

  • "I can't, I have to practice," said every well-brought-up Dick and Jane, and their pianoless friends slunk away, social status trailing in the dust.

    WASN'T THE GRASS GREENER A Curmudgeon's Fond Memories Holland, Barbara 1999

  • On the pianoless trio project, The Innkeeper's Gun, there are three Js plus three Js. The first set of Js is double bassist John Goldsby, alto saxophonist Jacob Duncan and drummer Jason Tiemann, informally known as The Nachbar Trio.

    Audiophile Audition Headlines 2010

  • Last year he released "Man'ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing)" (Aum Fidelity), a serious debut featuring his pianoless trio.

    NYT > Home Page 2010

  • But at that time, the "pianoless quartet" became one of the most distinctive sounds in jazz; the quintessence of the cool style and a model for innumerable ensembles to this day.

    Culture | guardian.co.uk 2010

  • Mulligan had gone from insider favorite to general popularity with his pianoless quartet co-starring Chet Baker.

    ArtsJournal: Daily Arts News 2010

  • But at that time, the "pianoless quartet" became one of the most distinctive sounds in jazz; the quintessence of the cool style and a model for innumerable ensembles to this day.

    Culture | guardian.co.uk 2010

  • Despite the unorthodox setting, the project is Atzmon's most full-on "jazz" album since 1999's incendiary, pianoless set, Take It Or Leave It. "It's true," he admits.

    The Guardian World News 2009

  • DAVID BINNEY Friday and Tuesday Mr. Binney, an alto saxophonist given to a robust and kinetic strain of postbop, leads a pianoless trio on Friday, with the bassist Thomas Morgan and the drummer Dan Weiss.

    NYT > Home Page 2009

  • On “Walkin’ Shoes,” Mr. Charlap showed a perverse delight in taking a melody associated with Mulligan’s famously “pianoless” quartet and presenting it in, essentially, an ­all-piano format — a four-handed duet between himself and Mr. Rosenthal.

    Reimagining a Jazz Giant 2009

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