The comments section on this post is temporarily open for all readers (usually it is for paid subscribers only). The previous threads were pretty active and interesting, so: Say what is on your mind, drop your hottest take, or ask me anything — but please keep it clean and civil.
For some reason the past few months have seen a notable uptick in the number of questions about music I’m getting in various DMs and email inboxes. I don’t always have the bandwidth to answer, especially if I have never met the person…but here in the TT forum, where I’m “on the hook” to respond, I’ll do my best.
Last night I had a nightmare. I was a spy, employed by a covert government agency, freshly arrived in Russia to work on some kind of sensitive assignment. My handler said, “You play piano, so we will send you in disguise as a concert pianist.” It turned out that I needed to play the Rachmaninoff Third Piano Concerto, one of the hardest piano concertos in the literature. My partner for the caper was Evgeny Kissin, one of the great living pianists and someone who has performed Rach 3 many times. When you are a daredevil spy, confidence is all, so I thought to myself, “No problem, I’ll practice and learn the easy parts, and Kissin can play the concert.” Of course, right off the bat, something went wrong, the concert was moved earlier in the schedule. Kissin stepped in to do the first rehearsal, telling the conductor, “Oh, the other guy will show up soon.” In disguise, I watched from the wings, listening to Kissin play Rach 3, knowing that I would have to do the dress rehearsal and concert tomorrow….
….as I say, a nightmare. When I (thankfully) woke up, I realized that this must be what I get for watching all those Mission: Impossible movies.
inzanelyrejected styled Rick Moranis for instagram:
Other than the Mission: Impossible thing, the following three posts are the most opinionated and controversial think pieces on TT the past two months. (I got private pushback about each of them. I didn’t respond, but if you state your points in this public forum in a civil manner I will answer.)
Maurizio Pollini and the End of Scarcity
The Hidden Soul of Harmony: Jazz education and the Neville Marriner centenary (Update: Some of my students had trouble playing the bass line to “Happy Birthday.”)
Update: The comments are closed, I’ll host another forum in a month. Thanks for reading, thanks for listening.
I really enjoyed your interview with Peter Erskine, especially his behind-the-scenes anecdotes of ECM recording process. The Scofield photobomb picture is hilarious!
After reading your article on Blaine Billingsley and John Fahey, I really wanted to recommend Shane Parish's upcoming album "Repertoire" https://shaneparish.bandcamp.com/album/repertoire
The album is all solo fingerstyle guitar, very much in the John Fahey style. No overdubs! Includes songs by Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus, Alice Coltrane, Aphex Twin, Kraftwerk, John Cage and more. I love what I've heard so far, and I think you may find it enjoyable!
What can or should guitar players learn from piano players left hand when it comes to comping? I've been listening to Fred Hersch's playing on After You've Gone on Songs From Home there's a lot there!