In a welcome departure from the usual interview-book format,
veteran jazz-journalist Lyons (The 101 Best Jazz Albums) fills in
the context for these 27 brief talks with jazz-pianists - by first
surveying (in less than 40 pages) the jazz-piano traditions: he
efficiently sketches the developments from ragtime to stride to
band-related swing; he notes the pivotal position of Art Tatum but
also stresses the underrated influence of Milt Buckner and Nat
"King" Cole; he reflects the variety of postwar trends. And the
interviews themselves, each prefaced by a brief
biography/appreciation, are strong on nuts-and-bolts material. All
the players are asked about training, exercises, teaching,
preferred instruments. (Only the late Mary Lou Williams, who
bemoans the state of modern jazz, totally rejects the possible
usefulness of classical training in jazz-piano.) The pianists
discuss their influences - from Tatum and Teddy Wilson (himself an
interview-ee) to lesser-knowns. George Shearing discusses braille
music, names Dave McKenna as "the best pianist playing right now."
(McKenna is, unfortunately, not among the subjects; see Whitney
Balliett's profile instead.) Oscar Peterson, in the most densely
technical of the interviews, reveals that his awesome agility was
the result of obsessive 18-hour-a-day practice. Jimmy Rowles talks
about accompanying singers, Ran Blake explains Third Stream, Randy
Weston muses on his use of African sources. And all the artists -
who also include John Lewis, Dave Brubeck, Marian McPartland, Bill
Evans, Keith Jarrett, Cecil Taylor, and Chick Corea (a Scientology
devotee) - express their widely divergent feelings about electronic
instruments. Not for those who look for anecdotes or eloquence in
musician-chats - but a solid, unpretentious source of
technique/artistry viewpoints for aspiring pianists and serious
fans. (Kirkus Reviews)
This comprehensive survey of jazz piano, beginning with a brief
history of the instrument within the jazz tradition and concluding
with interviews that present twenty-seven pianists in their own
words, is both wonderfully anecdotal and a serious piece of jazz
history. Lyons has assembled a giant concert of piano voices,Bill
Evans, Herbie Hancock, Teddy Wilson, Oscar Peterson, Keith Jarrett,
Randy Weston, Cecil Taylor, Horace Silver, Dave Brubeck, Sun Ra,
McCoy Tyner, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Chick Corea, and many others. The
pianists are candid, intense, and always opinionated. Yet their
responses are infused with a keen appreciation for fellow
musicians, their contemporaries, and those who came before,Walter,
Tatum, Ellington. For pianists everywhere, whatever their
individual style, this book will speak to and for you as it
expresses the thoughts of its many great artists.
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