On May 26, 2011, at 6:53 AM, Christopher Smith wrote: > I really enjoyed "The Universal Mind of Bill Evans" which is interview and > demonstration. He is interviewed by his brother, who also played jazz piano, > though not to the same level.
> It might be a little high-level for jazz newbies, though. As with most everything Bill did, the intellectual level and commitment to emotional and creative integrity is indeed high in this video. But I don't think that presents a danger to a beginning student. It's a fine introduction to a way of thinking about and working on music that will encourage a good start on a productive and creative artistic life. > > There are some fantastic Ahmad Jamal trio videos from the 60s that are on > YouTube, one tune per video. They were kind of precursors to modern pop music > videos, shot in documentary fashion. > > If you are able to come across Billy Taylor's TV show from the late 50's > called "This is Jazz", it is an admirable set of broadcasts, though not > restricted to jazz piano by any means. > > All these suggestions are 40 years old, though. Others may have more modern > suggestions, but I have found that mostly all you get are concert videos > these days. Which is fine, don't get me wrong! But if you want a bit of > background or explanation, you won't really get it. I agree that most good jazz piano examples are going to be "old", whether on video or recordings. I don't know of any Bill Charlap videos, but he'd be a contemporary pianist I could recommend with enthusiasm. There are YouTube clips of many pianists with diverse styles - from superhuman Art Tatum to the quirky percussive Thelonious Monk (fine examples of music architecture - maybe not so universally acceptable as demonstrations of how most would want to play the piano). There are concert videos available of Bill Evans, some very good. I did run into a nice (relatively recent) clip of Benny Green playing "Taking a Chance on Love" - quite conventional, but very good - with excellent accompaniment by bassist, Christian McBride, and drummer, Billy Drummond. I'll continue to think about this and watch for other examples. Chuck Chuck Israels 1310 NW Naito Parkway #807 Portland, OR 97209-3162 phone: (503) 926-7952 cell phone: (360) 201-3434 www.chuckisraels.com _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
