I went to Richie's house a few years ago to hear his story about working with ECM / Manfred Eicher for a series of 51 short films I made about ECM's history from 1969 (or 1961, actually) to 2019. It's here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrC8C210u2I Manfred has seen it, too, and called me to say it was fine to publish this.
A wonderful appreciation. Thank you, Ethan. Liebman's Lookout Farm (1974) with Bierach in the ensemble, was my first taste. It was a perfect hand-holding intro to the what's next. It brought new delights.
Wonderful tribute. Funny you should mention the slash chord. Years ago I did a duo performance with him and we played “On Green Dolpin Street.” At the very end I played a #5 on the Eb and he immediately did what you’d expect Richie Beirach to do. At that moment, I thought to myself, “Man, this is one of those moments you dream about.”
Very sad to hear this news, thanks for writing an insightful tribute. I spent a lot of time at Liebman's loft on 19th street, where Chic and Dave also lived, from around 1968 to 1971, so I heard tons of Richie playing with Dave. I can't imagine my musical world without that sound.
on a side note, I did see Ritchie play with Elvin at the Vanguard, it was amazing. Somewhere there may some drawings of that gig.
Beautiful tribute, always felt Beirach deserved more attention. Saw him at Swarthmore with Dave Liebman, Frank Tusa, and Jeff Williams, touring behind Liebman's 'Lookout Farm.' Great quartet!
Yo Ethan- big fan of the Pendulum 3-CD box set Richie did with Randy Brecker, Al Foster, Lieb and Frank Tusa live from the Vanguard. And yeah man- Elm is ECM royalty!
Sad to hear of his passing. I won't exaggerate by saying I was a big fan, but back in the day, I enjoyed some of his stuff. Over the years, I randomly find myself wanting to play "Elm," which of course I did today. Damn, to hear Richie and Jack was at once a joy and a heartbreak... R.I.P.
I have quite a few albums by Beirach, but I don't listen to him frequently. Just put his whole discography on shuffle play in Apple Music. Enjoying him immensely. And I found a couple of albums as well. Inborn (live and studio) and Some Other Time. Both overlap in material from Chet Baker. The lineup is wonderful: Michael and Randy Brecker, John Scofield, George Mraz, and Adam Nussbaum. Do you know anything about these dates?
I have both “Eon” and “Elm” on vinyl. I always liked his arrangement of “Nardis” on “Eon” and “Elm” is such a great tune to play.
I listened to the Quest “Redemption: Live in Europe” from 2007 today and RB is on fire. The music is dark and intense too.
Aside from those few I mostly only know of Bierach as a sideman on the early John Scofield Quintet records of which RB’s tune “Leaving” (another fun tune to play) is on “John Scofield Live”.
I need to listen to more of RB’s solo work.
Side note: the first time I ever heard the tune “Elm” was when I was living in England in 1997, and going to a local college to learn more about music. The guitarist John Etheridge was a guest artist for a day and that night he played a gig with some of the school faculty; one of the tunes was “Elm”. Being a novice jazz guitarist at the time I was eating it up and I specifically remember being struck by the beautiful melody of “Elm”. Of course I’d have to wait a several years before I could finally make sense of it to play but, hearing it at the gig that night struck a chord (no pun intended). I need to revisit it.
I listened to Bierach’s audiobook “A Framework for Jazz Mastery” a few years ago and it offered some useful insights on how to become better at improvisation.
Thank you E.I. for posting your insightful comments about the great musician Richie Beirach. A lot of us grew up on the Lookout Farm / Liebman-Beirach Duo / Quest records. I saw them perform live several times, and those concerts were amazing and deep. Richie was also an outstanding educator. I spent a week at the Banff Centre when Richie and Lieb were teaching. They were both very articulate and passionate when presenting their material and helping students. Richie and Lieb could clearly explain their approaches to harmonic superimpositions, polychords, etc.
Beirach was one of the very important pianists of his generation. He leaves behind a tremendous recorded legacy to be explored.
I went to Richie's house a few years ago to hear his story about working with ECM / Manfred Eicher for a series of 51 short films I made about ECM's history from 1969 (or 1961, actually) to 2019. It's here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrC8C210u2I Manfred has seen it, too, and called me to say it was fine to publish this.
thanks for link!!
PS: Here's a slightly different version with music included: https://vimeo.com/326404730
This is great, thanks! I hope to use this with my writing students: focus on the idea, not on what you can do with words.
This is a really brilliant and valuable interview - thanks for this!
A wonderful appreciation. Thank you, Ethan. Liebman's Lookout Farm (1974) with Bierach in the ensemble, was my first taste. It was a perfect hand-holding intro to the what's next. It brought new delights.
great!
Wonderful tribute. Funny you should mention the slash chord. Years ago I did a duo performance with him and we played “On Green Dolpin Street.” At the very end I played a #5 on the Eb and he immediately did what you’d expect Richie Beirach to do. At that moment, I thought to myself, “Man, this is one of those moments you dream about.”
Ha ha! The truth encountered in the wild!
Very sad to hear this news, thanks for writing an insightful tribute. I spent a lot of time at Liebman's loft on 19th street, where Chic and Dave also lived, from around 1968 to 1971, so I heard tons of Richie playing with Dave. I can't imagine my musical world without that sound.
on a side note, I did see Ritchie play with Elvin at the Vanguard, it was amazing. Somewhere there may some drawings of that gig.
Thanks so much for valuable comment!
Beautiful tribute, always felt Beirach deserved more attention. Saw him at Swarthmore with Dave Liebman, Frank Tusa, and Jeff Williams, touring behind Liebman's 'Lookout Farm.' Great quartet!
no doubt! Jeff Williams is a friend and a great drummer
Let us not forget his crucial contributions with the John Abercrombie quartet
.
Yo Ethan- big fan of the Pendulum 3-CD box set Richie did with Randy Brecker, Al Foster, Lieb and Frank Tusa live from the Vanguard. And yeah man- Elm is ECM royalty!
Hi Jeff and thanks
Never forget that Richie was an incredible educator. In the mid 70's we all studied with Richie at 305 Spring St.......Alan Palanker
Thank you for this tribute Ethan
Jeff is still great - saw him about a week ago at the Cafe Oto in London (just down from the Vortex) with Xhosa Cole's Freemonk...he was outstanding!
Jeff Williams is one of my favorites
Sad to hear of his passing. I won't exaggerate by saying I was a big fan, but back in the day, I enjoyed some of his stuff. Over the years, I randomly find myself wanting to play "Elm," which of course I did today. Damn, to hear Richie and Jack was at once a joy and a heartbreak... R.I.P.
thanks Karl...
I have quite a few albums by Beirach, but I don't listen to him frequently. Just put his whole discography on shuffle play in Apple Music. Enjoying him immensely. And I found a couple of albums as well. Inborn (live and studio) and Some Other Time. Both overlap in material from Chet Baker. The lineup is wonderful: Michael and Randy Brecker, John Scofield, George Mraz, and Adam Nussbaum. Do you know anything about these dates?
I haven't really checked those out, but all those musicians are top shelf, of course. I know Beirach talked a lot about both Stan Getz and Chet Baker
I have both “Eon” and “Elm” on vinyl. I always liked his arrangement of “Nardis” on “Eon” and “Elm” is such a great tune to play.
I listened to the Quest “Redemption: Live in Europe” from 2007 today and RB is on fire. The music is dark and intense too.
Aside from those few I mostly only know of Bierach as a sideman on the early John Scofield Quintet records of which RB’s tune “Leaving” (another fun tune to play) is on “John Scofield Live”.
I need to listen to more of RB’s solo work.
Side note: the first time I ever heard the tune “Elm” was when I was living in England in 1997, and going to a local college to learn more about music. The guitarist John Etheridge was a guest artist for a day and that night he played a gig with some of the school faculty; one of the tunes was “Elm”. Being a novice jazz guitarist at the time I was eating it up and I specifically remember being struck by the beautiful melody of “Elm”. Of course I’d have to wait a several years before I could finally make sense of it to play but, hearing it at the gig that night struck a chord (no pun intended). I need to revisit it.
I listened to Bierach’s audiobook “A Framework for Jazz Mastery” a few years ago and it offered some useful insights on how to become better at improvisation.
I also learned a lot from "Elm" when I played it, in high school I played it a LOT
Thank you E.I. for posting your insightful comments about the great musician Richie Beirach. A lot of us grew up on the Lookout Farm / Liebman-Beirach Duo / Quest records. I saw them perform live several times, and those concerts were amazing and deep. Richie was also an outstanding educator. I spent a week at the Banff Centre when Richie and Lieb were teaching. They were both very articulate and passionate when presenting their material and helping students. Richie and Lieb could clearly explain their approaches to harmonic superimpositions, polychords, etc.
Beirach was one of the very important pianists of his generation. He leaves behind a tremendous recorded legacy to be explored.
yes indeed
In memoriam.
Love his work with J Abercrombie
yes, that was a fresh sound to be sure