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And, btw, I checked out Eeco's site.. enjoyed those riffs very much. Thanks for sharing. When are you going to post your recordings for us to listen?
On the bottom of my posts there is a link to a free tune from my CD. The tune was a warm-up ad-lib jam in the studio, but it sounded so good we kept it for the CD.
Thanks for pointing that out.. I don't typically read people's signatures. (I think my eyes just got used to skipping them over the years of seeing the 'same thing'.)
That was a great jam session.. very nice! Sounded like you guys were having a lot of fun with that one.
Every day we are afforded a new chance. The problem with life is not that you run out of chances. In the end, what you run out of are days.
Checking in late again - I believe the LEVEL of performance has a lot to do with your subject. CAN the jazz player learn to perform classical? If s/he is a good musician, and chooses to, then yes s/he can. CAN the classically trained learn to improvise and play jazz? Again, with real musicianship, and with focused work, then yes.
But the problem rests in DEGREES of "good". The jazz player will need to stifle certain impulses, and surpress certain "natural" urges, to become a convincing classical player. Similarly, the classical player will need to abandon in-grained habits, and ignore some very cornerstones of her/his training, to excel in jazz.
So, maybe the correct question is, Will s/he ever become really good at a completely different genre?
Andre Previn comes immediately to mind. He is an excellent jazz pianist, and an orchestral conductor (think, Philadelphia!). By MOST mortal standards, he is wonderful at both. Yet, if one were to compare his work to THE VERY BEST in either of those diverse worlds, he comes up a little short in each. His prodigious talent lies in the fact that he can bridge both so very convincingly!
Ed
In music, everything one does correctly helps everything else.
I can think of only three pianists who were considered excellent or famous in both classical and jazz: Jarrett, Previn, and Gulda. Even among those three each was much more famous for only one type of music. I'm not sure any of them would be considered terrific in their "secondary" genre.
I find most classical pianists who improvise quite boring...even pianists like Cziffra or Katsaris. This is because I think what I would call the "classical style" improvisation doesn't work. As amazing as Cziffra or Katsaris is technically, to me their improvisations sound like a series of the same arpeggios, octaves, tremolos etc. I do very much like transcriptions by Cziffra and Katsaris because these works seem far more substantial and interesting.
I know a couple of classically-trained pianists, fine performers they are, who teach (and play) jazz.
I think it's a hypothetical question the answer to which might also be based on interest and inclination. There may be classical pianists who, if they had the will to study jazz, could become fine jazz pianists. There may be jazz pianists who could, too, become fine classical pianists if the will to do so were a priority.
It may well be that some classical, highly-dedicated-to-their-art pianists have neither the time nor the inclination to study jazz. Does that mean that they could not become fine jazz performers?
I can think of only three pianists who were considered excellent or famous in both classical and jazz: Jarrett, Previn, and Gulda. Even among those three each was much more famous for only one type of music. I'm not sure any of them would be considered terrific in their "secondary" genre.
I find most classical pianists who improvise quite boring...even pianists like Cziffra or Katsaris. This is because I think what I would call the "classical style" improvisation doesn't work. As amazing as Cziffra or Katsaris is technically, to me their improvisations sound like a series of the same arpeggios, octaves, tremolos etc. I do very much like transcriptions by Cziffra and Katsaris because these works seem far more substantial and interesting.
And, btw, I checked out Eeco's site.. enjoyed those riffs very much. Thanks for sharing. When are you going to post your recordings for us to listen?
On the bottom of my posts there is a link to a free tune from my CD. The tune was a warm-up ad-lib jam in the studio, but it sounded so good we kept it for the CD.
Thanks for pointing that out.. I don't typically read people's signatures. (I think my eyes just got used to skipping them over the years of seeing the 'same thing'.)
That was a great jam session.. very nice! Sounded like you guys were having a lot of fun with that one.
