There’s this important piece of advice that I received from someone when I first began developing an interest in jazz piano during my freshman year of high school — pick a jazz pianist whose sound you’re the most attracted to and study his/her music over the course of their recorded career. In that instance several years ago, I found that I was the most attracted to the sound of Bill Evans in the Miles Davis Kind of Blue album — an interest that eventually broadened out to what you’re reading now.

This piece of advice came to mind again when I started teaching my first jazz student several weeks ago, so I’ve decided to burn him a CD of ten classic and diverse group of jazz pianists hailing from all different aspects of the genre. In order to give him a grasp of all the different styles of jazz piano, it’s a necessity for this CD to embody this diversity. It’s actually quite exciting passing on something I love to someone who’s still trying it out — it’s a bit reflective on the post I wrote several months back on my frustrations with meeting jazz much later than I’d like to have, especially since I’m going to be entering my last year of high school this fall.

I’ve also been privileged to be part of a thriving online jazz community via Twitter (more information about the Twitter Jazz Network can be found here), so I thought I’d reach out to them for this one. Here are the suggestions I received:

@thejazzpost: making up a CD of 10 jazz piano greats for one of my students. Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, Red Garland, Chick Corea…any suggestions?

–

@mikelorenzmusic: keith jarrett, art tatum, bud powell, mccoy tyner, herbie hancock…first that came to mind…brad mehldau?…earl hines, james p. johnson

@R0j1b1anc0: Duke Ellington?…thelonious monk…ellis marsalis

@vijayiyer: thelonious monk, duke ellington, art tatum, bud powell, cecil taylor, mary lou williams, jamal, tyner, alice coltrane, hancock…Andrew Hill, Sun Ra, Elmo Hope, Bertha Hope, GERI ALLEN

@kingdahl: probably should add some Keith Jarrett, McCoy Tyner, and if it were me, I’d add Cecil Taylor. :) & Vijay!

@BigSwingTheory: How about Keith Jarrett?

@Attiaflautist: how about Thelonious Monk, Art Tatum, McCoy Tyner, or Duke Ellington! There’s so many to choose from! I love Chick Corea!

@atane: The hardbop guys! Sonny Clark, Bobby Timmons, Kenny Drew, Freddie Redd, Horace Silver, Horace Parlan, Duke Pearson…I’m sure you’ve heard the work of guys like Bobby Timmons & Sonny Clark, you just don’t know it. Never too late anyway. :)…Bobby Timmons on piano – http://youtu.be/VKXsnDvILmI & Sonny Clark – http://youtu.be/-j0k8EnNcT8 http://youtu.be/AyvA2UmzQ8A

@ElementsOfJazz: Marcus Roberts, Arturo O’Farrill , Antonio Jobim, Hank Jones, Gerri Allen, Jason Moran, Mulgrew Miller, Michel Petrucciani…

@uglyrug: Elmo Hope, Hampton Hawes, Kirk Lightsey, Herbie Nichols, Don Pullen, James P. Johnson, Charles Mingus (he played piano too)…

@paulhorton_: I know I’m late to this and practically everyone I love has been mentioned. What about willie the lion smith,Michel petrucciani

@fullyaltered: Wynton Kelly…Errol Garner, Art Tatum…Bud Powell

–

And here are the ten artists that are going to be included on the CD:

1. Bill Evans: Alice in Wonderland (Take 2)/Sunday at the Village Vanguard

2. Thelonious Monk: Evidence/Monk’s Dream

3. Art Tatum: Limehouse Blues/The Art Tatum Legacy

4. Red Garland: If I Were a Bell/Red Garland’s Piano

5. Oscar Peterson: Love For Sale/Oscar Peterson Plays the Cole Porter Song Book

6. Sonny Clark: Cool Struttin’/Cool Struttin’

7. Ahmad Jamal: They Can’t Take That Away From Me/The Legendary Okeh & Epic Recordings

8. Herbie Hancock: Maiden Voyage/Maiden Voyage

9. Brad Mehldau: Paranoid Android/Largo

10. Vijay Iyer: Big Brother/Historicity

Of course, these aren’t the only pianists that he’s going to be exposed to — but it’s a great starter list for now.

Thanks to everyone who contributed; I’ll let you know what he decides!

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: You’re My Everything/Fred Hersch Trio/Whirl

I was just finishing a post about my experience so far with the combo that I’m currently in, but I’m going to be telling you about my day instead. You see, I had an audition this morning with the SCSBOA honor jazz band program. I’ve done auditions before, but only classical ones — auditions with stiff-necked judges and staring audiences and billowy black dresses. But today I exchanged that dress for a pair of black slacks — if that really symbolically means anything at all — and walked into an audition with a whole different atmosphere — an atmosphere with muffled Aebersold recordings emanating from the audition rooms; predominantly male; brassy instruments. And for some reason, it was a lot warmer, too. I’d never noticed how cold the buildings of my classical auditions were. It was warm in the sense of comfort — it was bubbly, swingy, devoid of threatening glares.

But I’m going to tell you right now that I did not make it. When I looked up from the keys to play the next etude during this audition, I was able to catch a glimpse of the judge’s face. It was blank; there was no epiphanic light in his eyes — it almost seemed as if the awkward movements of my short, stubby fingers were far more interesting than what I was actually playing. I’m familiar with the small idiosyncrasies of a musical judge — if I can see that he’s retired his pen to the corner of his desk and he’s leaned backwards, closing his eyes, then I know that he’s listening to the music. Thumbs up (unless, of course, he’s sleeping). On the other hand, if he’s avoiding eye contact and focusing on the curly scribbles of his writing, then it’s a no-go. Two thumbs down. Of course, there’s always exceptions (like a time when I walked into an audition with two very, very Russian piano judges whose main critique was that I moved too much when I played), but there’s always small patterns like these that pop up at nearly every audition I go through.

There’s a lot of feelings that come with not making it. The hurt claws at me; it gnaws at my insides; I try to rationalize it — maybe I forgot to play something; maybe I didn’t prepare enough. I can’t look at my piano without wincing. I hide all that audition music under the songs that I love to play. I make two lists. One list details my achievements, and the other details all the stupid things I’ve ever done. It’s the same process every time — the achievement list has things like my first piano concerto with an orchestra, my Louis Armstrong jazz award; the stupid list include all the auditions I forgot to practice for, that one chemistry lab that I set on fire and had to redo twice, the friends I lost when I joined the marching band, and finally, this audition I didn’t make. And every time, the stupid list is about three times longer than the achievement one.

But then I remember that this isn’t the first audition that didn’t go well. Actually, it’s probably one of very many auditions that will not go well. And I’m probably not the only one who’s staring at my instrument and wondering, “Why on earth did I do this to myself?”

I remember that I’m doing this to myself because I love my keys; I love the way it tingles under my fingertips at the touch of a dissonant chord; I love to spoil it with Chopin and Cole Porter and Schumann and Scott Joplin. Billy Joel knows it too –

I’ve come far
From the life I’ve strayed in
I’ve got scars
From those dives I’ve played in
Now I’m home
And I’m weary
In my bones
Every dreary one night stand
But my baby grand
Is coming home with me

Ever since this gig began
My baby grand’s
Been good to me

(Baby Grand/Billy Joel)

I’ve found that after things like this happen, my best releases lie in both music and in words. These words are usually written down on a loose sheet of paper, outlined several times with several different pens, and then crumbled and tossed into the trash bin. But I hope that as I share these words with you, you’ll find some release in them, too.

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Baby Grand/Billy Joel & Ray Charles/The Essential Billy Joel

P.S. Please contribute to the Haiti Recovery Fund by visiting the Red Cross Website.

This past Sunday I got a chance to visit the Performing and Visual Arts College Fair sponsored by NACAC at the Ackerman Union at UCLA. I’ve been to college fairs before, but this one was focused around schools that offered exceptional arts programs — everything from hardcore conservatories like New England Conservatory and Juilliard to liberal arts schools like UCLA and USC. There were even a few schools out of the country like the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) in Glasgow, Scotland.

It was definitely a much better experience than my last college fair back at the Andover Phillips Academy in Boston, MA — I remember when I asked the Syracuse representative about their music program, he stared back at me in confusion and responded with, “um, do you like hockey?”

I’ve never seen a ballroom this crowded before, either:

But the most interesting thing was the variety of definitions these schools gave for the “well-rounded” musician.

Schools like NEC saw it as being  a well-practiced and experienced musician — knowing your music theory well isn’t a huge criteria in the admissions process. Loyola University New Orleans and RSAMD, on the other hand, think music theory is super important — Loyola even requires a theory test with your audition. The representative there also emphasized the importance of knowing how to survive in the real world — for her, music’s more than just playing; it’s also got a business aspect that some people forget about. (In fact, if I remember correctly, she’s a business manager for the LA Phil and sings with the LA Opera.)

And then we get to CalArts, who thinks that being a well-rounded musician means that as well as doing hours of practice and knowing your theory well, it’s also knowing how to intelligently critique the music you hear. In other words, it’s knowing how to write well.

So far, a well-rounded musician equals hours of practice + knowing your theory + surviving in the real world + being able to write well. (Do you have anything to add to the list? Tell me in the comments below.)

To close it off, here are the colleges at the fair that really caught my attention. Although I’ve got a bit more time to decide, I’m pretty much geared towards a double major — Jazz Studies/English.

1. UCLA

2. Loyola New Orleans

3. CalArts (even though I’ve been around it for ages, the whole well-rounded-writer thing was something I’ve never really heard expressed from an arts school before.)

Schools I enjoyed talking with (but not looking to attend):

1. Interlochen Center for the Arts (I had a great time talking with admissions ambassador David Neubauer — he told me about his band in LA that I’m hoping I can see sometime soon. And after some research, I’ve found out that he’s a magician — what a story.)

2. Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (in Glasgow, Scotland. I got to talk to the dean of music who told me about one of the UK’s great jazz guys, saxophonist Tommy Smith. Their jazz program’s only a year old, but it was so exciting talking to someone so excited about jazz. Sadly, Glasgow might be a bit too far for me.)

And the not-so-great:

1. Berklee (I was completely disappointed. They have a reknowned jazz program, with people like Esperanza Spalding and Hiromi Uehara coming out of it. But their table was bare — no pamphlets, nothing! They only had one representative that knew nothing about the jazz program or even the area of the school in general. Come on, Berklee.)

2. Rice (Great jazz band; no jazz program. Really?)

Be sure to tell me your definition of a well-rounded musician in the comments below.

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Lady Bird/Art Blakey/At the Cafe Bohemia

This week, NPR Jazz is asking bloggers like me to list five albums I’d use to introduce someone to today’s jazz. This is incredible because (a) I love today’s jazz, and (b) this is justification that I’m not crazy for running a blog about jazz — there’s more like me out there!

Even though I’m not in the age range of many of these bloggers (20+), being a sixteen-year-old jazz musician in high school gives me a personal look at what today’s kids are into, jazz or not. And surprisingly, jazz hasn’t perished, even in my generation. This actually reminds me of an article I just read in the October issue of Downbeat called “Why Jazz Endures,” with four takes on why jazz hasn’t died yet from Dan Morgenstern, David Baker, Steven Bernstein, and Branford Marsalis. (Check out Downbeat here — you can get it digitally, too!) Baker brought up a good point — there’s four reasons why jazz is still alive: it’s timeless, it brings people together despite their differences, it’s personal and spontaneous, and it’s “synonymous with freedom” (think about what improvisation really is).

So although I’m allowed to go all the way back to thirty years ago, I’m going to stick to the players who are playing now — the players that are living, breathing, and playing at this very moment. The albums I’m representing them with aren’t necessarily bestselling or the most popular albums — rather, they’re albums that I think embody modern jazz.

1. HIROMI UEHARA (& SONICBLOOM)/Time Control

I remember being a bit reluctant to introduce Hiromi to our high school jazz instructor because Googling Hiromi will result in one of three things: (1) something back-to-basics, (2) something classical, or (3) something that the average listener would mistake for techno music. Even though she says that one of her biggest inspirations was and is Oscar Peterson, Hiromi and her trendy 3-piece rhythm guys kind of depart from traditional tapping-your-foot-on-beats-2-and-4 jazz in this album. But then what is it? It’s still got a form — it’s not all over the place like free jazz sounds like sometimes. For now, I’ll refer to it as techno jazz (although you will get tiny bits of traditional jazz and classical mixed into it). Whether you’re into techno, classical, or traditional jazz, Hiromi’ll give you all three of them.

As a plus, if you want to impress your non-jazz-listening friends, Hiromi always has these crazy fast look-what-I-can-do licks on hand.

2. BRAD MEHLDAU/Largo

Some musicians start out with classical training (I know I did) — others jump right into jazz. But what I’ve seen in pianists like Bill Evans and Cedar Walton is that jazz pianists tend to have a base of classical training. And today’s Brad Mehldau, like these pianists, has the same background. Basically, Mehldau is great if you’re currently listening to (a) classical music or (b) something along the lines of Coldplay. Because what classical music, Mehldau, and Coldplay have in common is that you can hear the classical bits in action. Because like any kind of music, jazz is this creole of a million different musical ideas — so if you’re looking for something along the lines of classical + Coldplay + jazz, you’ve got Meldhau.

Meldhau’s one of those pianists that give me goosebumps — the good kind — at the end of each chord he plays. They’re rich and smooth and bold — even behind his often unusual melodies, they’re always there. Unlike Time Control, you can definitely switch on some Meldhau before you go to sleep.

3. ROD PIAZZA & THE MIGHTY FLYERS/Live at B.B. King’s Blues Club

For some reason, upbeat blues tunes seem to always the most popular among my non-jazz listener friends — it’s something about the swing and the pushing, upbeat tempo. Plus, Rod Piazza on the harp is one of those things you just can’t hate on. There’s no way. But my favorite part of this band is its female pianist (I have and always will have a soft spot for female jazz pianists), Honey Piazza. I had a friend who went to a Mighty Flyers concert that told me she was playing the keys with her toes at some point. To hear more of what I’m talking about, listen to The Stinger in this album. It’s a bit more traditional blues, but the Mighty Flyers definitely do their part in bringing back the appreciation for great basic blues to today’s listeners.

4. VIJAY IYER/Tragicomic

I first heard Iyer in his NPR Jazz at Newport live webcast a couple months ago. To be honest, it was a bit awkward to listen to at first — Iyer uses not-so-traditional chord voicings and meter changes that initially sound super strange. If you’re thinking about what albums to show your friends when you’re introducing them to modern jazz, this probably shouldn’t be the first album you reach for.

But like how Hiromi’s classical background comes up in her playing, Iyer’s background does the same — he’s got a B.S. in Mathematics and Physics from Yale & a Masters in Physics and an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Technology and the Arts from UC Berkeley. If there’s any way to make jazz sound math-y, Iyer’s done it. And that’s what modern jazz is all about: blending the jazz from the past and the jazz in you — and for Iyer, the jazz in him is somewhat technical and irregular; maybe even revolutionary. So take a deep breath and abandon all of your jazz stereotypes before you listen to Vijay Iyer — he won’t be playing your traditional seventh chords and your average straightforward melody, but he will be playing  modern jazz, Vijay style.

Oh, and to add even more to his modern character, he’s got an active Twitter account. Go send a tweet about thejazzpost @vijayiyer.

5. GORDON GOODWIN’S BIG PHAT BAND/Act Your Age

Gordon Goodwin and his Big Phat Band have stuck with me since I first started playing jazz — he’s active in the LA area and he’s very well-connected with some of the schools in the area as well (we’ve even commissioned a song from him that we’ll be be playing October 22); in fact, I met him in person when I heard the band live for the first time when the Jazz Bakery was still around. And like everyone says, nothing’s better than live jazz music. Goodwin’s compositions bring the energy back into big band tunes (check out Act Your Age and Backrow Politics from this album) with a bit of a comic twist (for example, the trumpets featured in Backrow Politics are contrasted with a flute soli towards the end of the tune — in the live concert, the trumpets were mocking them from behind; it was absolutely hilarious). This band goes back to the jazz basics without losing its fun, entertaining feel.

Be sure to check out other “top 5 albums of today’s jazz” blog posts at NPR Jazz’s A Blog Supreme. (Remember Coltrane’s tune, A Love Supreme?)

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Bill Evans/Little Lulu/Compact Jazz

With the internet nowadays, you don’t really have to leave home to listen to jazz. When I look for some new tunes to listen to, here’s where I go:

Pandora: This radio is pretty interesting: you type in a song you love, and instead of playing that song, it starts playing songs you might grow to love.

Let’s say, for example, I type in a song that’s stuck in my head right now: All the Things You Are (in this case, played by Bill Evans). First song…Indiana/Ray Brown. 2…Have You Met Miss Jones?/David Arnay. 3…Stumble Monk/Vinson Valega. 4…Miss Razeau/Bob Beiden Ensemble. 5…Bert’s Playground/Ari Hoenig.  6…Tall Tale/John Patitucci. I don’t know many of these songs, which is excellent.

Youtube: Despite some of the crazy vloggers you might run into here (my sister is a diehard fan of Fred), you can actually get some quality jazz here as well. The way I use it is similar to Pandora; type in a tune you know, and see where it takes you.

Let’s take Miles Davis’s All Blues from the Kind of Blue album. First, I’m taken to a video of Miles Davis playing All Blues with Herbie Hancock, another great jazz pianist. 2…Monk’s Epistrophy (Thelonious Monk is my absolute favorite) with the Thelonious Monk Quartet. 3…another Monk, Straight, No Chaser. 4…Bill Evans’s Waltz for Debby. 5…Oscar Petersen, Soft Winds, with The Quartet Live. 6…Ella Fizgerald & Joe Pass, Stormy Weather.

You might run into some more familiar names here – unlike Pandora – but you’ll still find something new. Also, you’ll get to see some of the legends play; watching the jazz combos interact with one another is something you can’t miss, which is why many musicians insist that there’s nothing like live music. But at least this is one step closer.

If you want to get yourself familiar with the “standards,” here are the places to go: 1…JazzStandards.com. 2…Wikipedia’s Jazz Standards List. 3…Realbook Jazz Charts. 4…USC’s list of jazz standards. 5…the Real Jazz Standards Fake Book. 6…and KnowledgeRush’s list of jazz standards.

My favorite standards? 1…Blue Monk. 2…All The Things You Are. 3…Georgia On My Mind. 4…Now is the Time. 5…Autumn Leaves. 6…Just Friends.

Now run along and get yourself some jazz.

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Just Friends/Send in the Clowns (Remastered)/Sarah Vaughan & the Count Basie Orchestra/(i risk melting during her scatting solo (especially the part where the band doubles it behind her) every single time i play this.)

I come from a world of snazzy jazz band polos and squeaky wind instruments and smelly yellow school buses.

Ah, high school jazz band. For the past two years, I’ve woken up to play jazz at the wee hours of the morning, puffy-faced and yawning, blindly fumbling with the F blues scale. You should hear improvisation at this hour.

But then again, it’s taken me to heavenly heights. The first time I saw Miles Davis’s face was when I walked into that room, a huge poster hanging on the wall, sticking out from everything like a Mona Lisa, a trumpet pressed against his lips. Because of him, Kind of Blue and Time Out has replaced Britney Spears (I know, I know) and Fergie on my iPod.

I hum Bill Evan’s solos in the shower. Whistle. Sing?

Jazz is soul. Blues. Love. Anger. Creativity. Energy. Everything.

This is dedicated to everything that that has that special swing. Concerts, performances, albums old and new. Professional and amateur. Mine and theirs.

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Jilted/The Rise and Fall of Ruby Woo/The Puppini Sisters/(genre: swing)