Smoky Fingers! is a modern jazz-inflected etude designed to develop agility and rhythmic vitality. It is musically notable for its syncopated patterns and 'smoky' harmonic colorings.
Students should focus on the rhythmic precision of the syncopations and maintaining a relaxed wrist.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
"Smoky Fingers!" is rated Henle level 3 of 9 — late beginner repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 4–5. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 4.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 3 — meaning you can already play level 2–3 pieces cleanly. Learning it one level early is possible as a stretch piece, but more than that usually leads to months of frustration.
A typical performance of "Smoky Fingers!" lasts about 3 minutes.
"Smoky Fingers!" is available as free public-domain sheet music on IMSLP — the score is linked directly from this page.
Pieces at a comparable difficulty and character include 24th Street Rag by Cameron Lee Simpson, Bullseye Rag by Cameron Lee Simpson, Banana Pepper Rag by Cameron Lee Simpson — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.