[Monday Notes no. 72] Fats Waller was one of the greatest interpreters of the stride piano. A pupil of the great James P. Johnson and precocious in playing and composing music, as was often the case with black musicians he came to success more because of his skills as an entertainer than his value as…Continue readingFats Waller, I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter
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[Monday Notes no. 67] Although it is natural to associate bossanova with the guitar, the piano has been very important in the development of this music. The most important founders of bossanova include pianists Johnny Alf, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Sergio Mendes, Ivan Lins and Milton Nascimento. Let us analyse a nice piece entitled A Ra…Continue readingJoao Donato, A Ra. The Piano and Brazilian Popular Music
[Monday Notes no.66] Billy Strayhorn wrote many songs and arrangements for Duke Elllington’s orchestra, always remaining in the shadows as he had a reserved and shy character. Lotus Blossom is one of his most beautiful songs, here performed by Duke Ellington who did not even know it was being recorded.Continue readingBilly Strayhorn and Duke Ellington, Lotus Blossom. 30 years of music side by side
[Monday Notes no. 60] Among the many outstanding musicians Miles Davis chose for his bands, one of the lesser known is certainly Wynton Kelly. In Miles’ lineups, Wynton Kelly came after Bill Evans and immediately before Herbie Hancock. Let’s listen to his No Blues, taken from the album Smokin’ At The Half Note, which he…Continue readingWynton Kelly & Wes Montgomery, No Blues
[Monday Notes no. 44] John Lennon was an imaginative musician who constantly broke the mould. Some of his songs have become an anti-militarist and libertarian symbol and make us miss a time when music had the ambition to change the world.Continue readingJohn Lennon, Imagine. A white piano for an everlasting song
[Monday Note 36] Nat King Cole was a formidable jazz pianist, yet he had greater success as a singer. Songs such as Mona Lisa, Smile and Unforgettable made him popular and led to him to be the first African American to lead a television show.Continue readingNat King Cole plays and sings Mona Lisa, a song with an Italian flavour
[Monday Notes No.34] In this trio recording of I’ve Found a New Baby Lester Young plays with Buddy Rich on drums and Nat King Cole on piano, who hid behind the witty pseudonym Aye Guy because he was under contract with another label and could not appear under his real name. The line-up is unusual…Continue readingLester Young Trio, I’ve Found a New Baby
[Monday Notes n.26] Although he was one of the protagonists of the historic jam sessions at Minton’s, it is impossible to place Thelonious Monk within any stylistic current, as his music is completely personal and inimitable. Let’s look at his piece Rhythm-a-Ning.Continue readingThelonious Monk Rhythm a Ning, a pianist beyond the mainstream
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Bud Powell, Tempus Fugit
[Note di lunedì n.20] Bud Powell realised on the piano the innovations that Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie had experimented with on wind instruments. Powell was an exceptional pianist but also an accomplished composer. Let us listen to and analyse his piece Tempus Fugit.Continue readingBud Powell, Tempus Fugit
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Lester Young Teddy Wilson All of Me
[Monday Notes n.15] All of me is one of the first songs that aspiring jazz singers learn. The melody is simple and graceful, the phrases symmetrical and easy to remember, the tempo bright but not too fast. The song is so typical that its simple melody immediately evokes the 1920s and the swing era.Continue readingLester Young Teddy Wilson All of Me