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Six concerts that changed my musicial life

8/18/2023

I've been attending concerts for over half a century. That's a lot of concerts. Many have been completely forgotten, a few others can be recalled with some sort of prompt, and a small number remained seared in my mind. I counted seven concerts that changed me in some significant way. Here's the story of those concerts.

Cecil Taylor, Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto, late 1978. He brought his unit. I remember a drummer and a saxophonist. Again, a packed club. I had tickets to both shows. I retreated to a coffee shop after the first show, unable to go on. I was overwhelmed. It was my first experience with musical greatness.
Bill Evans, Jazz Workshop, Boston, 1978. I saw Evans twice. Both times I arrived early and got the seat closest to the piano. It was of course wonderful. I still have the autographs of the band in my copy of the Bill Evans songbook. It took decades to overcome the influence of those two shows on my piano playing. Lesson? Who we listen to will determine how we will play.
Steve Reich, Bottom Line, New York City, 1979. The club was packed with enthusiastic supporters. I didn’t have the foggiest notion of who he was, what the music was going to sound like, in fact, I can’t remember how I even ended up there. But there I was. Nexus, the percussion ensemble was set up and ready to go. Reich came out, the festivities began. I was completely and totally baffled. People were going nuts; it was like a rock show except the music was 1970s era New York City loft music. I remember being angry. This was my first experience with my limitations as a listener. I was criticizing art I didn’t understand. Yes, I was a teenage philistine.
Vladimir Horowitz, Symphony Hall, Boston, 1980s. Electric is the only word to describe it. It was beautiful, people cried, he played and played and played. He shaped every single note. Years later I earned my ARCT in piano pedagogy with the sound of that experience still ringing in my ears.
Miles Davis, Kix club, Boston early 1981. Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, Ron Carter, and Wynton Marcellas sat in the front row. Miles came out with Bill Evans (sax of course), Mike Stern, Al Foster, and a bassist I don’t remember. Miles played trumpet and synthesizer. The place lost its mind. I was screaming like a 12-year-old at a Sky dome show.
Canadian Opera Company, "Wozzeck", Hummingbird Centre, Toronto, 2006. I went with a group of fellow artists. At the end of the performance, we sat in stunned silence. It was the saddest, cruelest, most pathetic story ever put to song. Horowitz taught me the limits of beauty, Berg, the other side. It was devastating.
Berlin Philharmonic, Roy Thompson Hall, 2016. Sir Simon Rattle at the baton. The first half was a mélange of Schonberg, Webern, and Berg. The second half was a Brahms symphony. During the 12-tone half, the guy beside me was humming along. If you know the music, you’ll understand how remarkable that is, and how funny. During the Brahms there was a pizzicato section. It sounded like a giant classical guitar. What did I learn? I’m not the only one who likes 12 tone music. Second, I fully appreciate why this orchestra is considered the best in the world.

David

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How to spend thirty minutes practicing jazz piano

8/5/2023

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Spend 15 minutes playing along with a recording.

Comp the chords
Play the melody
Play the melody and chords
Steal licks

Spend 15 minutes of one of the following activities.

Practice the scales, chords, and arpeggios for the tune you will be jamming with.
Transcriptions. “Stealing licks” or as Harry Pickins says, collect sounds.
Practice sight reading chords from the fake book.
Practice writing out the chords in the following ways. The photo below comes from a recent lesson.

Voice leading chords
Sonny’s thumbs
Rootless voicings
Guide tones

5. Spend 15 minutes listening and analyzing a recording and ask: “What is going on here? How many times do they play the form in any recording you are listening to?” What instruments do you hear? Is the music played swing or straight? From which era does the music come from or mimic? And so on.

Have fun.

David

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Six concerts that changed my musicial life

How to spend thirty minutes practicing jazz piano

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