Here is a piece again for all the jazz lovers among you!
Today I have recorded a "Jazz-Etude" by Michael Garson together with my colleague, Michael Schönfelder (clarinet).

Here is the video-link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUQOKdkb ... ideo_title (Michael Garson, Jazz-Etüde)

The video can be watched in 3D or in 2D. You have the choice!

The mp3-file below is exact the audio-track of the video above.

Garson - Jazz Etude (1:58)

Comments appreciated as always!

Hi Andreas,

not much work for you here!
But it seems difficult for your young partner : is it not too slow ?
Nonetheless it is an overall good performance.
Cheers,
Didier

PS Are there really people watching youtube with 3D glasses ? I'm getting old...

Well done ! It is up on the site. Seems to me your piano is sounding rather shrill in the high register again.

For criticism (as Riley would say ) I'd have liked a bit more jazzy touches, i.e. more spiky accents from you and more 'swing-style' rhythm from Michael. Easier said than done, if you're not born and bred in the idiom....

Didier wrote:


What?! Regard the heavy mega runs in the coda and you will change your opinion. (Or you have to play it yourself for me, my friend. )



No, it´s exact quarter=192 as it is prescribed by Garson in the score.



Thanks for that, Didier!




There are progressive people like me f.ex. (That smiley could be a face wearing 3D-glasses, btw, isn´t it? )

Cheers,
Andreas

Techneut wrote:


Thanks, Chris.



Oh, that´s just because I have prepared it for your visit in april, but doesn´t matter.



If Riley would say that, it must be true, no doubt. Seriously, I agree to your last sentence in the quotation above. I´m absolutely not a real and original jazz musician, but I like to play some jazz from time to time. (May be it´s like you need a fresh glass of cola after having had always "Bier and Bratwurst" all the time. )

Hello Andreas,
I did not know you were a jazz lover. Apparently it is not your first jazzy submission, but I've been away for months, so that I missed this aspect of your talent. As for the music, it is apparently a minor blues, quite classical, except the Coda which is, I guess, a quotation to Bach's style. I suppose everything is written, isn't it ? I wonder wether it is a transcription of an original improvisation... Generally speaking I am not a big fan of written jazz (the risk of which is to be a pale imitation of real jazz), but in this case it is not bad, and of course it's always pleasant to play with other musicians. Did you try to extend this piece improvising ?

It does. Get the damn thing tuned


I'm hardly a jazz expert too, but I'd love to be able to play it (as many classical pianist secretly wish).

BTW For to nag you about the ID3 TAGS. There were none ! See image for how it should have looked. I added them this time, but don't let it happen again

Hi Andreas,

I had a listen to this performance by you and your clarinet partner. I enjoyed it. I didn't get the feeling that this was the type of jazz that people call boogie woogie but I liked the element of dissonance it had to it.

Riley

Thanks for your comment, Francois.

Francois de Larrard wrote:


No, I did´t!

Techneut wrote:


The "damned thing" got tuned and intonated just one week before I made the recording and from my view it sounds just brilliant! There is really nothing, which can be improved. I´m sorry, my friend.

Pianoman342 wrote:


Thanks for your comment, Riley. No one acclaims, that this should be a boogie-woogie, but indeed, there are a lot of blue-notes in it, which causes the typical jazz sound. The runs at the end are to be played "straight" as it is written in score, so there is not the typical swing-feeling, but more the imitation of Bach-style as Francois has written above.

It sounds very good except for the high notes you play between 1:20 and 1:30. I can't say whether I find them out of tune or just sounding too shrill. Must be my ears being the problem. I had the same impression when we recorded the Moldau (although then, some tones were out of tune I think).
Anyway I'm glad I have the secondo part this time

Techneut wrote:


Sorry for my quite late answer, Chris, I´m just very busy at this time. Well, I have to admit, that the higher discant of my piano is quite forceful, the grade between brilliant and shrill is given and there really is an area between, I think. While practising the Primo-part I also wished from time to time, that my piano could sound a bit softer, but only if I practice passages with a lot of higher notes. When playing normal pieces (two hands pieces) I have not that feeling. So, I think, I can comprehend your impression up to a certain degree. Anyway, I have asked my tuner and the only possibility would be to renew the felts completely on the whole piano and that´s quite expensive. And even, if I would follow that suggestion, one can not be sure, that the sound becomes softer. (And I don´t want it to have much softer, it should keep its Steinway-like brilliance.) And yes, of course, when we practised on the Moldau, some of the higher tones were out of tune, but not in this Jazz-recording.




Lucky guy!

In every case I´m looking forward to our meeting and I hope, that the brilliant discant of my Grotrian will not bother you too much! And I appreciate your frank feedback, so I always make thoughts about my piano respective my playing and never get bored!