[contextly_auto_sidebar id="nSfJU3F4qca0WNdrRd2gjfF0g8ANwvpR"] WELL, this time it seems to be for real: Jazz pianist, songwriter and founding Jazz Messenger Horace Silver has died at 85. Silver's recordings, under his own name and in his 1950s group with Art Blakey, were some of the first jazz I got into, and I've been marveling at his genius all over again since I've learned to play his "Song … [Read more...]
The Genius of James Booker
IT'S long been something of a cliché to talk about what a head-spinning musical and cultural melting pot New Orleans is. But there’s no other way to frame the protean New Orleans pianist James Booker (1939-‘83), who is very near the top of my list of most individual/ accomplished musician who very few people know about. His musical vocabulary was an odd blend of bordello and concert hall: He … [Read more...]
The 5 Browns on the Piano
Photo Andrew SouthamA GROUP of cherubic, Julliard-educated young people came to Irvine this weekend to play 5 pianos in tandem. This could be heaven or it could be hell, but this group of siblings is good.HERE is my interview with the band in the LA Times. There is more to the story than met the eye when I accepted this piece -- their backstory is a bit complicated. I enjoyed talking to two of the … [Read more...]
The Slyness of Jeremy Denk
ONE of the coolest and most genuinely individualistic musicians I've ever met is the classical pianist Jeremy Denk, whose blog Think Denk is witty, sometimes loopy, and always provocative. He's an enthusiast of Nabokov and Proust, and a player of very deep feeling whose treatment of Ives has left some friends spellbound.HERE is my piece on Denk, who comes to town next week for two concerts with … [Read more...]
Cool Polish Pianist in Los Angeles
One of the finest young(ish) pianists in the world appears with the Los Angeles Philharmonic this weekend -- Polish-born Piotr Anderszewski. His Bach, Beethoven and Chopin are magnificent -- a truly deep, probing player. (He's also interested in the oft-overlooked, harmonically interesting Karol Szymanowski.)I spoke to the pianist the last time he was in town, and he talked about his choice of … [Read more...]
Celebrating Glenn Gould
Today would be the birthday of a musician who's nearly up there, for me, with john lennon and john coltrane. like them, he was a force of nature, complicated personally, and a man who left so much music behind i've listen to him every week -- sometimes every day -- for years. part of what first interested me about pianist glenn gould (1932-82) is that he was a classical musician who rockers, … [Read more...]
Classical Piano and the Importance of Good Grooming
Last night i caught Leif Ove Andsnes, the norwegian pianist, at disney hall. (here he is, right, after, presumably, chopping an entire nordic forest.) he played a set of janacek, brahms, mozart and schubert, with violinist christian tetzlaff. (a fine story on the celebrated duo here.)great concert, by the way. while the ballade in the janacek was nearly heart-stopping, my favorite was the brahms … [Read more...]