Ron Carter said he didn’t listen to other bass players because he was busy developing his own style. Dizzy didn’t listen to Louis Armstrong and Dizzy did ok with innovating jazz trumpet Joey Alexander had no formal training and mentions Monk as one of his early influences and no one before. Fred would have had a difficult time validating through evidence that a person has to go back a generation or more to be an innovative and creative force in this music. This is Wynton Marsalis mindset that we need to preserve legacy. The result of that was Miles saying Wynton hasn’t developed a voice and was just a good trumpet player. Never knew if the guy was gonna play like Louis or Miles. Ya ever hear Michael Brecker talk about how prez influenced his playing. How long should one stay in the imitation phase anyway? If a pianist does nothing but listens to Brad and he ends up sounding like Brad, well he has failed as a creative artist. Jazz has a lot of imitators. Maybe the rules are relevant to the individual and their innate abilities and how fast it takes them to speak the rhythmic and melodic language as a soloist. Obviously Brad is influenced by Bach and classical as was John Lewis. At some point a person should be able to define their challenges and build a practice based on their own unique needs and talents
A me sembra che Sullivan Fortner abbia ascoltato TUTTO. E comunque mi sembra che se Fred Hersch parla della necessità da parte dei giovani di avere una consapevolezza storica, che c'è di sbagliato. Io adoro lui, Brad, Bill Evans, John Taylor, Keith Jarrett, Erroll Garner, Earl Hines, Craig Taborn e molti altri, inclusi Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Phineas Newburn... ascolto anche vecchi rulli di Debussy pianista. Se avesse inciso, mi piacerebbe ascoltare Francesco Landini 😊
Great video. I love how wonderful he plays with Barron. The contrast is so good. Barrons timing is insane, and then we get all the melodic virtuosity of Mehldaus solo. The whole concert is great. I learned so much from the way they really keep listening to each other while soloing. Sometimes they throw ideas over in the middle of a solo and the other picks it up immediately.
"Pianist Kenny Werner was another important light at the New School my first year there. In his theory class, he presented an approach to building lines in one’s solos that was all his own. I won’t go into a more specialized technical description of what that was but, suffice to say, I grabbed on to some of the key tenets of Kenny’s method, and they seeped in. In a few years, they had codified into something that was part of my approach. The strength in Kenny’s teaching was that it was specific and open-ended all at once: there were guidelines rooted in foundational principles of harmony, but they could be applicable to any number of soloistic contexts, in real time." (Brad Mehldau, <Formation> p.194)
I'm a drummer, and even I understand that this clip is badly cut. I love Brad Mehldau. It's like someone saying, "they would rather listen to Vinnie Colaiuta." Well, fair enough.
It's fascinating how age seems to rekindle a different kind of fire in truly great players. Perhaps it's a blend of seasoned maturity and a deeper understanding of what's truly at stake. Maybe, neurologically speaking, they've honed efficiency, letting "less is more" become more a permanent element in the way they express themselves.
But when the classical musician's will do improvisation ? Well usually they cannot, cause there is no sheet music in improvising. But theres no wrong notes in jazz, so the classical snob's could get a life.
I don't think he means it as an insult. Brad was one of his students at one point so I think he likely admires what he's accomplished. But I think Brad embodies so much. He's the perfect amalgamation of jazz history, classical counterpoint, and modern music and he crafts his playing in such a way that still sounds so uniquely him. You can tell that he studied the masters like crazy but also just loves listening to contemporary greats. That's why he's my personal favorite.
