I Can't Play Piano

[Pings Bass]

As an aside, I wonder if @Esteban Garcia considers The Yellow Jackets to be Jazz?

I've given up. It's not what I think of when I speak of jazz. But you can call it jazz and be in good company. Or you can call it fusion, instrumental pop, smooth jazz, whatever. Enjoy what sounds good to you and call it whatever you want.

 

[mikewalker]

I was tainted by that debbil muzik, as at a tender age I got hoisted out to a haunted house in Esquimalt every week to thump a borrowed standup bass to the Real Book with a rotating crowd of actual adults who were members of that cult. But to this day I am still very fond of JAZZ AT MASSEY HALL.


PS: honorable mention to Return To Forever

 

[fhm555]

I think it was FZ who talked about dumping your bag of guitar tricks in reference to jazz guitar.
If it was not FZ it was some guitarist who was at that same level.
What can I say? My brother subscribed to Guitar Player mag and as a word junkie I read it cover to cover every month, but it was about guitar so I didn't make any serious effort to store any pertinent details as they were discussed in terms I was not the least bit interested, in so I only got the bullet points not related to playing guitar.

 

[ThudThudThud]

I thought the first video was funny. Quite a good perspective.

I like a lot of jazz ('er indoors HATES it), but some of the weirder stuff (Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane etc.) I don't get at all.

BTW/FWIW I don't play piano at all, but I put a MIDI controller on my guitar, so now I do!

 

[mambo4]

Why do you not get jazz? Because you're not listening.

Hey stop blaming the victim

 

[ThudThudThud]

The only reason you don't understand jazz is because you don't like it!

 

[Fishheadjoe]

I'm kinda with you Towfer! I do like big band stuff but as soon as I can't tap my foot to it, I am out.
My wife surprised me with a pair of tickets to a Jazz club to see a "highly regarded" sax player playing one of Toronto's jazz clubs. The place was packed and I was kind of looking forward to the show. Well 15 minutes in, I had heard three songs performed and said sax player played what seemed to me to be the same freakin riff for his solo in each song. I could literally hum his solo as he played, it was the same. I started to get angry as I felt we were being ripped off, the tickets were quite dear.
We were gone after the first set. 45 minutes of the same stuff, I couldn't imagine sitting through a whole night.
I have come to the conclusion that I am far too much of a low brow type to "appreciate" what was being played and frankly, I just don't care.
God bless everyone who likes it, happy for them.
Fishheadjoe

 

[Jim Nazium]

 

[BassyBill]

By way of contrast to my earlier jokey post…

If you can't enjoy this, then I really don't know what else I can add here.

 

[BassyBill]

Okay, I lied. I'll add this guitar version of the same tune.

 

[5StringBlues]

Jazz is like the New Coke, it'll always be around.

 

[RichardW]

this reminds me of a comment I've heard Victor Wooten make several times along the lines of (paraphrasing) 'there are 11 notes between the root and the octave, and eight of them are "correct," so your odds of hitting the right one are pretty good.'

 

[DrayMiles]

Kenny Barron said today's jazz is from/for the head and not the heart roughly. I love playing it, but listening to it can be problematic. If I'm in an emotional mood and I'm driving, 9 times out of 10 I'm NOT going to put on a jazz record...
BUT
for some reason Duke Ellington and Coltrane playing "In a sentimental mood" (except for the drumming IMO)
or Kenny Barron playing Sunshower:

touches me...

If it isn't emotional, then I view it as a learning exercise or an outlier....

But to each their own.

 

[BtaylorTheRogue]

*deep breath*

I have never listened to Jaco play for more than 30 seconds at a stretch, and I can't fathom why anyone would want to (but I don't judge them).

 

[dave hope]

I've heard the cliche "just listen to what you want" most of my life concerning musical tastes.
QUESTION? Is there someone out there voluntarily listening to what they DONT want to listen to?

 

[micguy]

I took a couple piano lessons when I was 7, and decided it wan't for me. Apparently, what I was doing is avoiding being boxed in by conventional thinking. I could, I'm sure, walk on stage, and perform that piece with every bit as much talent on the piano as this guy. I never thought about hiring a jazz trio to back my immense piano talents, but after seeing that, maybe....

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

I don't either, twofer. Furthermore, I don't want to. Who the ham-sandwich wants to drag around a piano to a jam anyway?

 

[seang15]

You can't play piano? Not even the two-finger style?

 

[HolmeBass]

I've given up. It's not what I think of when I speak of jazz. But you can call it jazz and be in good company. Or you can call it fusion, instrumental pop, smooth jazz, whatever. Enjoy what sounds good to you and call it whatever you want.

I knew that, I was just curious. I mean The Yellow Jackets are not Kenny G, but still...

I was honestly just curious. If you think it's Fuzack it won't inhibit my enjoyment, honest!

 

[Aloe]

I also can't play piano. and I didn't understand the video. maybe it's a great performance in post-modern sense, but I wouldn't consider this jazz. jazz is somewhat academic in modern world, it's not like any punk can play whatever he likes and call it jazz.

to me it doesn't sound like a jazz piano even in the jazz subgenres I don't like and there're plenty of them. on the positive side there're lots of jazz music that I like. give me some Chick Corea. or Jacques Loussier.

because it's obvious: the guy cannot play the piano. and he's not making a secret of it