Originally posted by Oddball
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jazz in the gardens at midnight ....
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This week we mark the end of BBC Piano season with a very special ‘sporting’ event - the six-by-two piano relay. It’s the jazz Olympics, if you like.
We invited a half-dozen of the best jazz and improvising pianists the UK has to offer to participate in a unique performance, never attempted before on Jazz on 3 (or perhaps anywhere else?). The concert begins with a series of three duos on two pianos, featuring Matthew Bourne and Kit Downes in the starting blocks, followed by Alcyona Mick and Liam Noble, then finally Pat Thomas playing alongside Robert Mitchell.
Following the three duos, we move onto the daring ‘freestyle’ event. All six pianists are invited to the stage to take part in an extended relay performance, passing the musical baton between them as they see fit. Combinations are spontaneous and random – sometimes all six musicians share two stools at the same time. The resultant music passes from beautiful romantic sections through to more angular and conversational passages, each musician adding their own voice to the flow of the piece. Whilst their individual flavours are thrown into the mix, the piece is certainly more a consequence of the ‘team’ as a whole – a magnificent example of collective composition, all in the heat of the moment.
We also managed to pull Kit Downes aside before the gig to unearth his favourite under-appreciated pianist.
....nobody does it better ....According to the best estimates of astronomers there are at least one hundred billion galaxies in the observable universe.
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Originally posted by handsomefortune View Postwas the group pianist sesh worth a listen?
oooops - they aint done it yet - it's tonight.
please ignore.
Alcyona Mick's and Liam Noble's rendition of Pete Saberton's frantic piece stood up well against the two late 80s versions of it I have pairing Sabbo with John Taylor.
Pat Thomas doing his splish-splash Pullen the clusters over our ears while Robert Mitchell spins out fast figurations oop t' top end.
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Originally posted by Alyn_Shipton View PostReturning briefly top the topic of the thread, Oddball, there's loads of episodes of Jazz Library available for download, which should give you a bit of the overview you're after. And far be it from me to recommend my own New History of Jazz, but maybe that might help?
However as far as I am concerned, it is going to have to be bit of at a time, building on my own knowledge base.
I was interested to note that you regard Bill Evans as a key, if not the key pianist of the modern era, and I will start with him (always found him a little melancholic). Unfortunately you do not have a podcast on him. S-A, calum, any ideas for a good primer on Bill Evans?
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this is the best biography of Evans but serious and detailed
this site looks pretty comprehensive if not reverential
good ol' wicki
allaboutjazz article
the best advice with Evans is that the trio with Lafaro & Motian are indispensable works in the history of jazz ... and brilliant
i also love the box sets of live sessions from his later years [see discog]
According to the best estimates of astronomers there are at least one hundred billion galaxies in the observable universe.
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Oddball, sadly the Jazz Library on Bill doesn't seem to have converted into a podcast. Here's the playlist as starters: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/jazzlibrary/pip/7wwco/
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