Untitled - Arbors Records

DICK HYMAN’S CENTURY OF JAZZ PIANO
Notes by Dick Hyman
PREFACE
In the history of jazz, that overly documented and often misrepresented American art
form, piano players have from the earliest days occupied a multifunctional role. They
have been soloists, vocal accompanists, and collaborators in musical groups for which
they have often assumed the role of composer, arranger, or director. From the bawdy
“professors” in New Orleans bordellos to the dinner-jacketed conductors of entertaining bands, pianists have been at the creative and often the executive center of performance.
This is a survey, admittedly subjective and personal, of many of these talented musicians, and a presentation of the varieties of jazz piano improvisation that they invented.
Recognizing that some organizing principle beyond mere chronology was required, I
have grouped artists in reasonable historical or stylistic categories, but have constructed
such groups loosely, with much cross-relationship implied. I have tried to avoid being
overly categorical, because a history of any art form is slippery, and perhaps more so in
the case of one where improvisation is the defining character.
On the first 5 audio CDs, I have attempted to present the art itself and the astonishing
ways it has been varied by its practitioners. I acknowledge that “century” is perhaps
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too precise a span, but I consider ragtime, which goes back more than 100 years, as
the great prototype of jazz piano. Furthermore, I use the term with something other
than numerical exactness: “century” expresses to me a great and continuing march of
individual achievements. In fact, a broad perspective goes back much farther than 100
years, as we will hear in a piece by Gottschalk from 1869, one part of which sounds
very much like ragtime.
The sixth disc, a DVD, comprises “hands-on lessons” and is self-explanatory, as I speak
about and demonstrate the styles of various pianists and related matters. Videos of 4
“bonus performances” are also presented.
Most of the performances took place in 1996 and 1997 in my studio in Venice,
Florida, where I recorded them on a Yamaha grand piano equipped with Disklavier reproducing mechanism. Several additional tracks were recorded on comparable pianos
at one or another of Yamaha’s New York City showrooms. The original goal for this
material was its use in a CD/ROM, also titled Dick Hyman’s Century of Jazz Piano,
which has now been discontinued.
In 2007, after Mat Domber’s interest in the program had created the opportunity to
transform the entire work into a multi-disc set for Arbors Records, we gathered in the
showroom of Piano Distributors of Sarasota, made available to us by manager Steve
Trawford. Over the course of a weekend, we had the now playerless piano reproduce
100 of the audio performances I had recorded on it back in 1997. Simultaneously, the
sound of the piano was re-recorded onto state-of-the-art equipment so that the actual
sound of the instrument would be embedded in 5 CDs. (The DVD of the “hands-on
lessons” would come later.)
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Several selections in the original Disklavier program had involved a simulated electronic bass line. This worked well enough for the CD/ROM, but we found that it did not
translate accurately into the Disklavier playback. I replayed those pieces, supported
by the fine, live playing of bassist Mark Neuenschwander. We also recorded together
on Lullaby of Birdland which had not been included in the original playlist. For other
technical reasons, I also replayed “Complainin’.”
In the following remarks and summary, information given for each title indicates the
approach used, from note-for-note re-creation of an original publication or recording,
to “minimal,” “occasional,” or “substantial” variations. Occasional re-arranging or additional improvised material are also acknowledged.
Many tracks were meant to recall specific performances out of the past, but in others
I improvised in the manner of individual pianists, without meaning to emulate a
specific recording. I also used various compositions by Ellington, Gershwin, Monk,
etc., as vehicles for my own approach to improvisation. Finally, I included a section of
completely free improvisations with no planned structure. – Dick Hyman, 2009
CONTENTS
AUDIO CD DISC #1
Group I: Ragtime: First Signs, Birth, Flowering
Group Ii: Ragtime: The Latin Tinge
Group Iii: James P., Father of Stride Piano
Group Iv: Jelly Roll, Earl, Early Mary Lou
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AUDIO Cd Disc #2
Group I: George Gershwin as Published, Plus New Variations
Group Ii: Varieties of Novelty Piano
Group Iii: Ancient Blues and Boogie Woogie
Group Iv: Fats and the Lion
Group V: Art Tatum: God is in the House
Group Vi: Teddy’s School of Swing
AUDIO Cd Disc #3
Group I: The Duke and Sweetpea
Group Ii: Swingers: The Count, The King, Erroll and Dave
Group Iii: Beboppers
Group Iv: Later Blues and Funk
AUDIO Cd Disc #4
Group I: Monk Variations
Group Ii: New Directions
Group Iii: Lenny to Bill
Group Iv: Improvs on Standards
AUDIO Cd Disc #5
Group I: Unstructured Free Improvs
Group Ii: Spur of the Moment
Group Iii: With a Little Help From a Friend
Group Iv: Keyboard Partners
Group V: Etudes for Jazz Piano (“In the Styles of the Great Pianists”)
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Dvd Disc #6
Hands-On Lesson #1: Ragtime, from Louis Moreau Gottschalk to Scott Joplin
Hands-On Lesson #2: Jelly Roll Morton
Hands-On Lesson #3: Boogie Woogie
Hands-On Lesson #4: Stride Piano
Hands-On Lesson #5: Earl Hines/Teddy Wilson
Hands-On Lesson #6: The Rhythm Section
Hands-On Lesson #7: Art Tatum
Hands-On Lesson #8: Erroll Garner
Hands-On Lesson #9: Bud Powell and Bebop
Hands-On Lesson #10: George Shearing, Block Chords and Orchestrata
Hands-On Lesson #11: Another Look at Block Chords
Hands-On Lesson #12: Bill Evans
Hands-On Lesson #13: Nicholas Slonimsky to McCoy Tyner
Bonus Performance #1: Someone to Watch Over Me
Bonus Performance #2: Variations on Heliotrope Bouquet
Bonus Performance #3: Variations on Elite Syncopations
Bonus Performance #4: Carolina Shout
Memorabilia
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REMARKS ON AUDIO CD DISC #1
Group I: RAGTIME: FIRST SIGNS, BIRTH, FLOWERING
Two generations before Scott Joplin’s iconic Maple Leaf Rag, Louis Moreau
Gottschalk, an even earlier American pianist and composer, published an elaborate,
virtuosic arrangement of a melody he had heard the slaves singing during their weekly
social gatherings at Congo Square in New Orleans. In 1845 Gottschalk, who was a
concert pianist in the European tradition of Franz Liszt, used that melody, built on
the Cuban dance rhythm we identify as the habañera, under the title, Bamboula.
Gottschalk’s popular concert career came to include other references to Cuban and
Creole music. One of these, Pasquinade, was published 24 years later. I find it significant that in the second theme of the two compositions, a listener hears a typical
ragtime syncopation. In the present Gottschalk “sampler” I’ve added some cadences to
demonstrate how casual an effort it is to relate the piece to out-and-out ragtime.
Maple Leaf Rag, the seminal rag by Scott Joplin, was published in 1899. The intricate
syncopation displayed in its march-like structure did not diminish the great popularity of the piece, which even now suggests opportunities for embellishment. I take the
well-known jazz pianist’s license in occasionally embellishing the printed version.
Although Eubie Blake’s publisher copyrighted what we know as Charleston Rag in
1917, the first recording of the composition, by the composer in 1921, was issued
under the title, Sounds of Africa. Blake, in his later years, alleged that he had originally composed the piece in 1899, when he was 14 years old. At any rate, the loping
octaves of the opening theme refer to boogie-woogie, an equally venerable jazz piano
tradition.
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A collaboration between Scott Joplin and Louis Chauvin in 1907 produced Heliotrope Bouquet, a work of surprising contrasts. Perhaps Joplin composed one section
by himself, and Chauvin wrote the following one. The first, harmonized chromatically,
lends itself to some “pretty” improvised excursions. The second, a lot more earthy,
suggests the tune of Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five recording, 20 years later, of Heebie
Jeebies. The energetic third theme, yet another contrast, seems to demand a vigorous
orchestration featuring circus trombones.
Pleasant Moments, a 1907 piece, again by Scott Joplin, differs from countless other
salon waltzes of the 1800’s by including ragtime syncopations. Utilizing both the
salon and the rag elements, and again taking the jazz pianist’s license, I’ve added some
new, improvised material.
Group II: RAGTIME: THE LATIN TINGE
There is wide agreement now that the syncopations of ragtime came about, to a great
degree, from the influence of Cuban dance rhythms on mainland music. If New
Orleans is seen geographically as the northernmost point in Caribbean culture, the
connection to Latin music is clear. Continuing into recent time, American music has
absorbed Latin infusions such as tango, maxixe, rhumba, samba, cha-cha, and, most
recently, salsa. Although some of the dances are now obsolete, many of their rhythms
have remained in jazz.
Solace, a Mexican Serenade, a particularly evocative Joplin work from 1909, is another
in the line of tangos deriving from the Cuban habañera. (The Argentine tango is quite
different.) The piece was used to great effect in the influential 1974 film, “The Sting,”
as well as in “Scott Joplin, King of Ragtime,” a film which followed.
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Odeon was composed by the Brazilian, Ernesto Nazareth, whose early career paralleled
that of Scott Joplin. Nazareth, however, lived on for nearly two decades after Joplin
succumbed to illness in 1916. Nazareth is known to have accompanied silent movies
in Rio de Janiero, hence, his title for this piece, Odeon, presumably a name, then as
now, for movie theaters.
Porto Rico is another habañera from the early 1900’s. Ford Dabney was active on
Broadway and in Harlem as songwriter (he wrote Shine), arranger, and orchestra
leader. Earlier in his career he had been the court musician to the then King of Haiti.
I came across a piano roll of Porto Rico, which I estimate to be from 1910 and assume
was played by the composer. I learned the attractive piece from that source and have
somewhat re-arranged it.
Ferdinand Jelly Roll Morton’s The Crave was not recorded until 1938 nor copyrighted
until the following year, but Morton claimed to have played it in New Orleans before
1910. The piece, yet another habañera, may be partially derived from a contemporaneous composition by Abe Olman, Egyptia, and is one of numerous exotically titled
works along with Dardanella, Egyptian Fantasy, and Lena From Palesteena. It was
Morton who early acknowledged the profound influence Latin music had on jazz,
referring to it as “the Latin tinge.”
Group III: JAMES P., FATHER OF STRIDE PIANO
James P. Johnson was greatly influential in the history of jazz piano, playing from the
time of the first World War through the 1940’s, when he continued to be active in
New York clubs. In addition to being recorded extensively as a soloist, he can be heard
in memorable performances accompanying Bessie Smith and Ethel Waters. He composed scores for musical reviews, orchestral concert pieces, and an opera. His early ca9
reer, like that of George Gershwin, with whom he was friendly, involved cutting piano
rolls for player pianos. Carolina Shout was one such in 1918, but my preferred version
is a phonograph recording he made of the piece 3 years later. I use this as my model.
Three other Johnson piano pieces follow, Snowy Morning Blues, which I take a bit
slower than the composer’s recording of 1927; Caprice Rag, which Johnson had cut as
a piano-roll in 1917, though my performance is based on his Town Hall appearance
under the direction of Eddie Condon in 1943; and You’ve Got to be Modernistic,
modeled closely on the composer’s recording of 1929.
Group IV: JELLY ROLL, EARL, EARLY MARY LOU
Although there is some reason to believe that the latter two might not have appreciated
the notion, I think that there is a lineage leading from Jelly Roll Morton’s piano-asensemble to Earl Hines’ piano-as-trumpet; and in a more obvious transition, to Mary
Lou Williams as an early stylistic follower of Hines. The latter influenced her only up
to a point. Continually reinventing herself, Mary Lou could fool one into thinking
it was Teddy Wilson on some recordings, and she even played two-piano duets with
Cecil Taylor toward the end of her career.
Shreveport Stomp, by Morton, was recorded by the composer more than once. This
version is based on his trio performance of 1928, which included Omer Simeon’s
clarinet and therefore required some re-arranging. A Monday Date is also based on
a 1928 recording, the classic by Earl Hines. His trumpet-style octaves are on display
along with his deliberate breaking up of the conventional steady tempo. However,
the present version contains substantial variations on my part and represents Hines in
manner only, rather than in detail.
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On the other hand, Mary Lou Williams’ Night Life, clearly under the influence of
Hines, is quite close to the original. The underlying tune seems to recall a traditional
spiritual.
REMARKS ON AUDIO CD DISC #2
Group I: GEORGE GERSHWIN AS PUBLISHED, PLUS NEW VARIATIONS
George Gershwin, in my view, ought to be included in a history of jazz pianists,
although his great achievements as a composer outshine his gifts as a “tickler” as songplugging pianists were once called. Gershwin was at first one of these specialists, as
well as a vocal accompanist, a piano roll player/arranger, and, of course, the soloist in
his own concert works. He was known to play endless variations on his own songs
at parties, and he notated such embellishment in a collection of 18 virtuosic arrangements published in 1932. I offer two of them here, Liza (All the Clouds’ll Soon Roll
By) and Do-Do-Do, each followed by my own variations. Rialto Ripples, a much earlier instrumental piece which Gershwin wrote with Will Donaldson in 1917, receives
the same treatment.
Group II: VARIETIES OF NOVELTY PIANO
Gershwin as a pianist may be seen to have been one of a group of pianist-composers of
the 20’s and 30’s who wrote what the publishers termed “novelty piano.” Post-ragtime
and not quite stride piano (although some examples came close), novelty seems to have
been a publishers’ catchall designation for snappy piano solos by mostly but not entirely
white performers, sold to a popular market and reflecting jazz and ragtime innovations.
Zez Confrey’s Kitten on the Keys and Nickel in the Slot are the highly syncopated
prototypes of novelty piano. (I’ve added a counter melody to Nickel). Rube Bloom’s
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Soliloquy is more reflective; it was nicely orchestrated in 1927 for a sweetly period Paul
Whiteman recording. In a Mist, by Bix Beiderbecke, is probably the most harmonically challenging jazz piano piece to have emerged from the 1920’s, even in comparison with Gershwin’s works. It, too, was consigned to the “novelty” bin. Little Rock
Getaway is still an appealing piano solo by Joe Sullivan, from 1935. Two years later,
Bob Zurke notably recorded it with the Bob Crosby Orchestra, adding individual
variations demonstrating his freedom with counterpoint. The present version is based
on this recording.
Group III: ANCIENT BLUES AND BOOGIE-WOOGIE
Piano blues probably dates from the 1800’s, but was neither published nor recorded
until much later. In its rhythmic form it has become known as boogie-woogie, no
doubt from the sound of its repeated left-hand patterns, which were often inspired
by the sounds of locomotives on the track. Honky Tonk Train (sometimes with the
added Blues) is a case in point. It was written by and first recorded by Meade Lux
Lewis in 1927. Thereafter, throughout his career, he varied the tempo and some of
the right-hand figures but never altered the rock-solid left-hand pattern. The present
performance is based on a later 1936 recording.
Pine Top Smith recorded his Boogie-Woogie in 1929. In a clever arrangement by
Dean Kincaid for the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, the piece became emblematic of a
national craze for boogie-woogie in which all of the leading swing bands took part.
Yancey Special, also credited to Meade Lux Lewis, was based on a well-known lefthand pattern popularized by Jimmy Yancey, another Midwest pianist. Yancey sued for
royalties, but despite having been memorialized in the title, he lost his suit. The piece
was also recorded and featured by Bob Zurke with the Bob Crosby Orchestra. Varia12
tions on the disputed left-hand bass pattern were adapted for numerous early rockand-roll tunes of the 1950’s, often played on baritone sax.
Rollin’ the Boogie is my own potpourri of boogie-woogie devices I learned from
recordings by Albert Ammons, Meade Lux Lewis, and Pete Johnson, who for a time
formed a rhythmic three-piano trio.
Vicksburg Blues was played and sung by its composer, Eurreal Little Brother Montgomery in a recording from 1930. The tune is not in the general repertoire, but for
some time I’ve used the solemn tempo and modal harmonies, performing my own
variations on Little Brother’s eerie melody.
Group IV: FATS AND THE LION
Thomas Fats Waller, Willie The Lion Smith, and James P. Johnson (discussed in Disc
One, Group III) were a stride triumvirate in New York in the 20’s and 30’s, Johnson
and Smith having taken the younger man under their tutelage when Waller was still
a schoolboy. The three played together in various formations, Waller sometimes on
organ. They recommended each other, subbed for each other, and remained friends
until Waller’s early death in 1943. Many of The Lion’s compositions (Echo of Spring,
Morning Air, etc.) took stride in the direction of light classical piano music, or at least
novelty piano, but Fingerbuster is pure virtuoso up-tempo stride, of which Smith
remained a master.
Waller proved to have great ability as a singer, comic, and rambunctious piano performer, but his grounding in stride is clear in Viper’s Drag and Handful of Keys, both
of which were featured eventually in his highly successful post-mortem Broadway
score, “Ain’t Misbehavin’.”
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Group V: ART TATUM: GOD IS IN THE HOUSE
The title phrase was delivered to the audience in all humility by Fats Waller as he summoned Art Tatum to the piano. Tatum’s roots were in the stride piano of Waller, Johnson, and Smith, but his dazzling virtuosity sent him in a highly individual direction,
his unique technical accomplishments the despair, then and now, of his colleagues.
Tea For Two, Tatum’s exquisite arrangement of the 1925 show tune by Vincent Youmans and Irving Caesar, is reproduced here virtually note-for-note until the chiming
codetta, which was borrowed from his recording of Willow Weep For Me (Ann Ronell). I’ve used the other standard song, Body and Soul (Heyman-Sour, Eyton-Green),
as a vehicle for freely improvising in the Tatum manner.
Group VI: TEDDY’S SCHOOL OF SWING
The title is a reminiscence of the mail order course which Teddy Wilson established
under that name in the 1930‘s, following his great public exposure as the pianist in
various Benny Goodman combos. This was at the height of the swing period, during
which Wilson’s clean, fluid style was very much the standard manner of playing jazz
piano. The Harold Arlen-Ted Koehler standard, I’ve Got the World On a String, is a
typical vehicle for improvisation in the Wilson manner.
Wilson and Jess Stacy shared duties in Benny Goodman‘s ensembles, the former featured with the Trio, Quartet, and other small groups, and the latter with the King of
Swing’s big band. Complainin’ is an oddity: it was published as a piano solo in 1939
as composed by Jess Stacy, and is so played in the present performance. Yet, as a song
by Luckey Roberts, it appeared in publication and recording at least as early as 1922.
Roberts was a ragtime and proto-stride player who was active in New York even before
James P. Johnson had arrived.
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Three Little Words, by Harry Ruby and Ben Kalmar, now a standard jam tune, is a
vehicle here for improvisation in the manner common to both Teddy Wilson and Mel
Powell, the latter yet another pianist featured with Benny Goodman. Later, postGoodman, Powell had a distinguished career as composer and academician. Although
he had many personal characteristics as a jazz stylist and possessed a flawless technique,
Powell was overwhelmingly influenced by Wilson, and a joint impression of the two as
one seemed appropriate.
REMARKS ON AUDIO CD DISC #3
Group I: THE DUKE AND SWEETPEA
Duke Ellington and his collaborator Billy Strayhorn, whom Duke affectionately called
“Sweetpea,” were a natural pair. Ellington’s giant stature as a bandleader, composer, and
arranger sometimes eclipses his great skill as a pianist. Although he was often inspired by
the individual talents of his musicians, the keyboard was where his own invention began.
The Clothed Woman perfectly illustrates a solo composition born under the fingers.
Ellington and Strayhorn, together at a keyboard, adlibbed Tonk in four hands at a
party where, fortunately, there was a recorder running. The present performance,
although by only two hands, simulates that occasion. Sophisticated Lady is one of the
great Ellington songs, played here as a waltz with variations. Lotus Blossom, a piece
by Billy Strayhorn, originally titled Charlotte Russe, is another pianistic theme which
suggests, in the present performance, a series of variations.
Group II: SWINGERS: THE COUNT, THE KING, ERROLL AND DAVE
In a loose grouping of a few of the players to emerge from roots in the swing period,
William Count Basie inevitably leads off. Basie began his career as a fully two-handed
stride pianist, but gradually reduced the scope of his playing to a minimalist level,
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relying on his rhythm section to provide the pulse of swing. Basie in Brief is a typical
series of blues choruses with Basieisms sprinkled throughout.
It’s Only a Paper Moon, by Harold Arlen, E. Y. Harburg, and Billy Rose, was a hit for
Nat King Cole. Later, Cole concentrated on his singing, which was applauded by a
vast popular audience, rather than on his delicate but rhythmic piano style.
16 For McKenna is another series of blues choruses, which attempts to capture the
momentum of Dave McKenna’s right hand inventions, characteristically supported by
a steady 4/4-walking bass in the left. Now and then McKenna would punctuate the
left hand pattern with right hand accents, sneaked in between melodic phrases as if by
a ghostly third hand.
Song Without Words, a melody by Tchaikovsky, was apparently never discovered
by Erroll Garner, sometimes known as “The Pixie,” but the present performance is
a reasonable estimate of what he might have done with it. His characteristic playing
manner involved a strumming, guitar-like left hand with running single notes in the
right, sometimes behind the beat. From time to time, he would fill out the melody
with clusters of tones, and occasionally both hands would be employed in screaming
big band chords. His technique in all this was masterful and entirely individual. He
was obviously capable of playing on his own, as the present performance suggests, but
was mostly heard with bass and drum accompaniment. Garner admitted that he sometimes tried to confuse his colleagues with fantastic and deceptive introductions.
Group III: BEBOPPERS
The bebop revolution of the 40’s introduced a new catalogue of phrases and harmonies
as well as a new template for the rhythm section. Other than the traditionalists, who
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held onto conservative values, the bulk of jazz improvisers absorbed the new ways to one
degree or another. Pianists were no exception, and the three presented here were notable
for executing Charlie Parker’s ideas on the keyboard shortly after their inception.
Earl Bud Powell was among the first to become fluent in the new vocabulary, and All
God’s Chillun Got Rhythm, an unlikely vehicle from a Marx Brothers film score, was
one of the standard tunes he applied it to. The present version is freely in his style.
How High the Moon, which seemed for a time the anthem of the beboppers, is presented here in the ornamented, Tatumesque-but-bop style of Oscar Peterson. Lullaby
of Birdland, a highly popular work by George Shearing, begins with a note-for-note
transcription of one of Shearing’s recordings of his tune, a Bach-like arrangement, then
becomes more freely boppish and improvised.
Group IV: LATER BLUES AND FUNK
This group, to be considered in association with the earlier ANCIENT BLUES AND
BOOGIE-WOOGIE, begins with Horace Silver’s Doodlin,’ a bebop blues, and moves
to Funkus Delictus, an original line played here freely in the general style of Wynton
Kelly and many others. It remains the fallback position of medium piano blues to the
present. Bobby Timmons’ Moanin’ extended 50’s explorations into traditional gospel
forms, part of a process in which jazz piano was refreshed with more contemporaneous Black characteristics. Rose Room, a 1918 pop standard, is reconsidered here as it
might have been played by Red Garland, a pianist with Miles Davis, whose melodic
chords in separated hands contrasted effectively with Davis’ trumpet musings.
REMARKS ON AUDIO CD DISC #4
Group I: MONK VARIATIONS
Five Thelonious Monk pieces are offered here as quite varied vehicles for improvisa17
tion, although I perform only Blue Monk in the distinctive Monk keyboard style.
These and other works by Monk have come to be a valuable resource for jazz pianists.
I feel that they have an immense compositional validity of their own, so that they need
not be performed in the exact idiom of the composer.
Group II: NEW DIRECTIONS
The late 50’s through the 70’s saw various individualists striking out in new directions.
Among them was Dave Brubeck, whose Blue Rondo a la Turk (1959) is second in
popularity only to his recording of Take Five. The Rondo is an elegantly worked-out
composition, played here as published and recorded by Brubeck, but with some liberties taken with the blues section.
Kaleidoscope is familiar as a station break in Marian MacPartland’s long-running radio
program. It is used here to present her moody waltz, A Delicate Balance, from 1972,
which I play freely. Similar license is taken with Chick Corea’s Spain, from 1973,
which itself begins with a long quote from Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjues (1939). I
use the jazz pianist’s license again with Herbie Hancock’s Dolphin Dance, a piece dating from 1965.
Group III: LENNY TO BILL
There is a link between Lenny Tristano, whose influential playing and teaching began
in the 1940’s, and Bill Evans, whose universally accepted piano style was in place
by the late 50’s. In this impression of Tristano, overdubbing technology makes the
counterpoint of Topology possible, a second melodic part having been added after the
first solo line was recorded. Bill Evans did this notably in his album “Conversations
With Myself” (1963), but Tristano had made a similar experiment in 1951 with a
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piece titled JuJu. In the present attempt, I base my double lines on the chords of the
standard, Fine and Dandy, using Tristano’s characteristic streams of eighth-notes.
Bill Evans’ Time Remembered, from 1965, presents variations on his highly original
piece. Finally, I’ve played Poor Butterfly, the 1916 pop song, in the somber manner of
Evan’s ballad style, attempting to capture the curves and arcs of his melodies.
Group IV: IMPROVS ON STANDARDS
Standard tunes are those understood in the trade to be a common denominator which
a professional player needs to know. Of course there are specialized groups of tunes
which remain in use among particular players—Dixieland, bebop, show tunes, etc.
The first two in this set were composed by jazz people as instrumentals and are in the
working repertoire of most contemporary jazz players.
Django, by John Lewis, was named for Django Reinhardt, the guitarist, and was
introduced by Lewis’ Modern Jazz Quartet in 1952. Giant Steps was John Coltrane’s
great contribution to the repertoire and was first recorded by him in 1959. Its rapidly
changing chordal scheme has ever since been seen as a challenge, even a rite of passage,
for any improviser. Still, this ingenious succession of harmonies is not unprecedented.
The same device can be spotted in the bridge of Richard Rodgers’ Have You Met Miss
Jones? and as far back as Richard Strauss’ Rosenkavalier Waltzes.
What is This Thing Called Love? was written by Cole Porter in 1930 for a London
musical review and has remained in use by most styles of jazz players since. In 1945
Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie paraphrased it as Hot House, and there have been
many other notable recordings.
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REMARKS ON AUDIO CD DISC #5
Group I: UNSTRUCTURED FREE IMPROVS
This sort of performance, untethered to a repeated chord series, often rhapsodic, out of
tempo, and at great length, began to be heard in the 1960’s and 1970’s in concerts by
Keith Jarrett, Cecil Taylor, and McCoy Tyner. Chick Corea favored more brevity and
structure, perhaps, but all greatly loosened the conventions of jazz piano improvisation.
The Venice Concert was, of course, conceived in the manner of Keith Jarrett’s great
Köln Concert, an evening-length improvisation from 1975.
Convocation of the Winds uses the characteristic fourths and other devices of McCoy
Tyner. Three Short Ones were inspired by some of Chick Corea’s early work, while
Corkscrews recalls Cecil Taylor’s rapid percussive technique.
Group II: SPUR OF THE MOMENT
Parable for a Parrot, In the Fullness of Time, Days With Julia, The Last Word, and
Have You Heard? were all more personal improvs. They were based on vignettes, emotions, and dialogue which I found myself encountering in 1997 and were truly spur of
the moment.
Group III: WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM A FRIEND
The Minotaur won unlikely popularity when I recorded it in a multi-tracked performance in 1968 on a Moog synthesizer. I also employed a drum machine of that era.
Much of that performance was improvised, using the swoops and sweeps possible with
a Moog keyboard. For the present Cecil Taylor sort of piano performance, my friend,
Jack Fanning, supplied the ostinato bass figure underpinning the entire four-handed
arrangement.
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Group IV: KEYBOARD PARTNERS
All of the 13 brief pieces in this group are good-natured impressions of the styles of
pianists with whom I had played two-piano performances with up to 1997. I omitted
Marian McPartland, who is represented elsewhere in the project. If I had undertaken
this collection more recently, I would have added such worthy partners as Bernd
Lhotzky, Chris Hopkins, Louis Mazetier, Rossano Sportiello, Paollo Alderighi, Ray
Kennedy, Shelly Berg, Jon Weber, Ted Rosenthal, and Meral Guneyman.
Group V: ETUDES FOR JAZZ PIANO (“IN THE STYLES OF THE GREAT
PIANISTS”)
I composed these Etudes in 1982, and they were subsequently reprinted under the
title, “In the Styles of the Great Pianists.” All of the pianists covered have been dealt
with in previous groups. Unlike many of the other examples, each Etude is a brief but
complete composition, not an improvisation, and may be seen as a concise analysis of
each pianist’s style.
REMARKS ON DVD DISC #6
The DVD presentation consists primarily of “hands-on lessons,” that is, hands on a
keyboard viewed by an overhead camera with self-explanatory spoken commentary.
The 13 lessons are followed by 4 “bonus performances” which conclude with some
informal views of memorabilia in my studio.
A summary of the visual material on this disc will be found following that of the 5
audio CDs.
Credits at the end of this DVD disc display information about my Arbors Records
albums.
21
SUMMARY OF AUDIO CD MATERIAL
CD Disc #1 (TOTAL 56:34)
Group I: RAGTIME: FIRST SIGNS, BIRTH, FLOWERING
1.
Title
Composer
GOTTSCHALK
SAMPLER
Louis Moreau
Gottschalk
All performances are by Dick Hyman
3:03
a. BAMBOULA
(excerpt)
As published 1845
b. PASQUINADE
(excerpt)
As published 1869, substantial variations to demonstrate progression toward
ragtime
2.
MAPLE LEAF
RAG
Scott Joplin
As published 1899, minimal variations
2:59
3.
CHARLESTON
RAG (SOUNDS
OF AFRICA)
Hubert Eubie
Blake
As published 1917 (original composition allegedly 1899) Recorded 1921 by
Eubie Blake as SOUNDS OF AFRICA,
occasional variations
3:15
4.
HELIOTROPE
BOUQUET
Scott Joplin –
Louis Chauvin
As published 1907, additional material
5:24
5.
PLEASANT
MOMENTS
Scott Joplin
As published 1909, additional material
4:41
22
Group II: RAGTIME: THE LATIN TINGE
6.
SOLACE (A
MEXICAN
SERENADE)
Scott Joplin
As published 1909, additional material
5:45
7.
ODEON
Louis Nazareth
As published 1909, occasional variations
2:55
8.
PORTO RICO
Ford Dabney
As recorded c. 1910 by Ford Dabney as a 3:15
piano roll, substantial re-arranging
9.
THE CRAVE
Ferdinand Jelly As recorded 1938 by Jelly Roll Morton,
Roll Morton
minimal variations
3:22
Group III: JAMES P., FATHER OF STRIDE PIANO
10.
CAROLINA
SHOUT
James P.
Johnson
As recorded 1921 by James P. Johnson
2:58
11.
SNOWY
MORNING
BLUES
James P.
Johnson
As recorded 1927 by James P. Johnson,
minimal variations
3:11
12.
CAPRICE RAG
James P.
Johnson
First recording 1923 by James P.
Johnson, present version based on his
1943 recording, minimal variations
3:23
13.
YOU’VE
GOT TO BE
MODERNISTIC
James P.
Johnson
As recorded 1929 by James P. Johnson,
minimal variations
3:43
23
Group IV:JELLY ROLL, EARL, EARLY MARY LOU
14.
SHREVEPORT
STOMP
Ferdinand Jelly
Roll Morton
First recording 1924 by Jelly Roll Morton,
present recording based on his 1928 trio
recording, occasional re-arranging
3:58
15.
A MONDAY
DATE
Earl Hines
As recorded 1928 by Earl Hines, substan- 1:56
tial variations
16.
NIGHT LIFE
Mary Lou
Williams
As recorded 1930 by Mary Lou Williams
2:46
CD Disc #2 (TOTAL 64:10)
Group I: GEORGE GERSHWIN AS PUBLISHED, PLUS NEW VARIATIONS
17.
RIALTO
RIPPLES
George
Gershwin &
Will Donaldson
As published 1917, occasional variations
18.
LIZA (ALL THE
CLOUDS’LL
SOON ROLL
BY)
George
Gershwin – Ira
Gershwin, Gus
Kahn
Song published 1926, George Gershwin
6:57
piano solo as published 1932, followed by
substantial variations
19.
DO-DO-DO
George
Gershwin – Ira
Gershwin
Song published 1926, George Gershwin
4.53
piano solo as published 1932, followed by
substantial variations
24
2:11
Group II: VARIETIES OF NOVELTY PIANO
20.
KITTEN ON
THE KEYS
Edward Zez
Confrey
As published 1921
2.52
21.
NICKEL IN THE
SLOT
Edward Zez
Confrey
As published 1923, occasional variations
2:16
22.
SOLILOQUY
Rube Bloom
As published 1927, minimal re-arranging
2:55
23.
IN A MIST
(BIXOLOGY)
Leon Bix
Beiderbecke
As published 1927, with elements of
1927 recording by Bix Beiderbecke ,
originally titled BIXOLOGY, minimal rearranging
3:59
24.
LITTLE ROCK
GETAWAY
Joe Sullivan,
composer; Bob
Zurke, arranger
First Joe Sullivan recording 1935.
Present version based on Bob Zurke
recording 1937 with Bob Crosby
Orchestra, occasional re-arranging
1: 56
Group III: ANCIENT BLUES AND BOOGIE-WOOGIE
25.
HONKY TONK
TRAIN (BLUES)
Meade Lux
Lewis
First Meade Lux Lewis recording 1927,
2:59
present version based on 1936 recording,
occasional re-arranging
26.
(PINE TOP’S)
BOOGIE
WOOGIE
Clarence Pine
Top Smith
Pine Top Smith solo piano recording
1929. Present version includes elements
of Tommy Dorsey Orchestra recording
1938, arranged by Dean Kincaid
2:21
27.
YANCEY
SPECIAL
Meade Lux
Lewis
Recorded 1936, published 1938, by
Meade Lux Lewis, occasional variations
3:26
25
28.
ROLLIN’ THE
BOOGIE
Dick Hyman
In the manner of Albert Ammons, Meade
Lux Lewis, and Pete Johnson
3:41
29.
VICKSBURG
BLUES
Eurreal Little
Brother
Montgomery
As recorded 1930 by Little Brother
Montgomery, substantial variations and
new material
3:06
Group IV: FATS AND THE LION
30.
FINGERBUSTER
Willie The Lion
Smith
As recorded 1939 by Willie The Lion
Smith, minimal variations
2:33
31.
VIPER’S DRAG
Thomas Fats
Waller
As recorded 1934 by Fats Waller
2:53
32.
HANDFUL OF
KEYS
Thomas Fats
Waller
As recorded 1929 by Fats Waller, minimal variations
2:53
Group V: ART TATUM: GOD IS IN THE HOUSE
33.
TEA FOR TWO
Vincent
Youmans –
Irving Caesar
Song published 1925. As recorded 1939
by Art Tatum
2:44
34.
BODY AND
SOUL
Edward
Heyman –
Robert Sour –
Frank Eyton –
John Green
Song published 1930. Present version
by Dick Hyman, freely in the manner of
Art Tatum
2:07
26
Group VI: TEDDY’S SCHOOL OF SWING
35.
I’VE GOT THE
WORLD ON A
STRING
Harold Arlen –
Ted Koehler
Song published 1933. Present version
by Dick Hyman , freely in the manner of
Teddy Wilson
2:15
36.
COMPLAININ’
Charles
Luckeyth
Roberts – Jess
Stacy
Recorded by Luckey Roberts c. 1928
Present performance as published by
Jess Stacy 1939
2:41
37.
THREE LITTLE
WORDS
Harry Ruby –
Ben Kalmar
Song published 1930. Present version
by Dick Hyman, freely in the manner of
Teddy Wilson and Mel Powell
2:32
As recorded 1947 by Duke Ellington
2:59
CD Disc #3 (TOTAL 55:53)
Group I: THE DUKE & SWEETPEA
38.
THE CLOTHED
WOMAN
Edward
Kennedy Duke
Ellington
39.
TONK
Edward
As recorded 1946 by Duke Ellington &
Kennedy Duke Billy Strayhorn, occasional variations and
Ellington & Billy re-arranging
Strayhorn
5:44
27
40.
SOPHISTICATED LADY
Edward
Song published 1933. Present version
Kennedy
by Dick Hyman, freely on theme of Duke
Duke Ellington – Ellington
Mitchell
Parish – Irving
Mills
6:14
41.
LOTUS
BLOSSOM
(CHAROLETTE
RUSSE)
Billy Strayhorn
2:57
Original recording 1947 by Johnny
Hodges as CHAROLETTE RUSSE.
Present version by Dick Hyman, freely on
theme of Billy Strayhorn
Group II: SWINGERS: THE COUNT, THE KING, ERROL AND DAVE McKENNA
42.
BASIE IN
BRIEF
Dick Hyman
Recorded 2007 by Dick Hyman, freely in
the manner of Count Basie. Bass: Mark
Neuenschwander
1:58
43.
IT’S ONLY A
PAPER MOON
Harold Arlen –
E. Y Harburg –
Billy Rose
Song published 1933. Present version
of Nat King Cole’s 1945 recording, some
re-arranging & variations
1:34
44.
16 FOR
MCKENNA
Dick Hyman
Dick Hyman, freely in the manner of
Dave McKenna
3:43
45.
SONG
WITHOUT
WORDS
Peter Ilyitch
Tchaikovsky
Published 1877, by Peter Ilyitch
Tchaikovsky. Present version by Dick
Hyman, freely in the manner of Erroll
Garner
7:04
28
Group III: BEBOPPERS
46.
ALL GOD’S
CHILLUN GOT
RHYTHM
Bronislaw
Song published 1937. Present version
Kaper & Walter by Dick Hyman, freely in the manner of
Jurmann – Gus Bud Powell
Kahn
4:35
47.
HOW HIGH THE
MOON
Morgan
Lewis – Nancy
Hamilton
Song published 1940. Present version
by Dick Hyman, freely in the manner of
Oscar Peterson
3:08
48.
LULLABY OF
BIRDLAND
George
Shearing –
George David
Weiss
Song published 1952. Dick Hyman’s
present 2007 version begins as performed by George Shearing, thereafter
substantial variations. Bass: Mark
Neuenschwander
5:05
Group IV: LATER BLUES AND FUNK
49.
DOODLIN’
Horace Silver
Piece first recorded 1955. Present version by Dick Hyman, freely in the manner
of Horace Silver
2:26
50.
FUNKUS
DELICTUS
Dick Hyman
Piece recorded 2007 by Dick Hyman,
freely in the manner of Wynton Kelly.
Bass: Mark Neuenschwander
2:01
51.
MOANIN’
Bobby
Timmons
Piece first recorded 1958. Present version by Dick Hyman, freely in the manner
of Bobby Timmons
4:54
29
52.
ROSE ROOM
Art HickmanHarry Williams
Song published 1918. Present recording 2007, Dick Hyman, freely in the
manner of Red Garland. Bass: Mark
Neuenschwander
1:31
CD Disc #4 (TOTAL: 72.41)
Group I: MONK VARIATIONS
53.
‘ROUND
(ABOUT)
MIDNIGHT
Thelonious Monk
– Charles Cootie
Williams –
Bernard
Hanighen
Piece published 1946. Present version
by Dick Hyman, freely on theme of
Thelonious Monk and Cootie Williams
4:35
54.
WELL, YOU
NEEDN’T
Thelonious
Monk
Piece published 1947. Present version
by Dick Hyman, freely on theme of
Thelonious Monk
4:38
55.
MISTERIOSO
Thelonious
Monk
Piece published 1948. Present version
by Dick Hyman, freely on theme of
Thelonious Monk
5:41
56.
BLUE MONK
Thelonious
Monk
Piece published 1954. Present version by Dick Hyman, in the manner of
Thelonious Monk
1:40
57.
EVIDENCE
Thelonious
Monk
Piece published 1947. Present version
by Dick Hyman, freely on theme of
Thelonious Monk
4:34
30
Group II: NEW DIRECTIONS
58.
BLUE RONDO A Dave Brubeck
LA TURK
Piece published 1959, occasional variations
4:18
59.
KALEIDOSCOPE / A
DELICATE
BALANCE
Marian
McPartland
Pieces published 1972. Present version
by Dick Hyman, freely on themes by
Marian McPartland
2:16
60.
SPAIN
Armando Chick
Corea
Piece recorded 1973 by Chick Corea.
(Contains a quote from Rodrigo’s
“Concierto de Aranjuez,” 1939.) Dick
Hyman, freely on theme of Chick Corea
5:42
61.
DOLPHIN
DANCE
Herbie
Hancock
Piece recorded 1965 by Herbie Hancock. 7:54
Present version by Dick Hyman, freely on
theme of Herbie Hancock
Group III: LENNY TO BILL
62.
TOPOLOGY
Dick Hyman
Dick Hyman, with overdubbing, in the
manner of Lenny Tristano
2:46
63.
TIME
REMEMBERED
Bill Evans
Piece published 1965 by Bill Evans.
Present version by Dick Hyman, freely
on theme of Bill Evans
5:10
64.
POOR
BUTTERFLY
John Golden –
Raymond
Hubbell
Song published 1916. Adapted by Dick
Hyman in the manner of Bill Evans
4:50
31
Group IV: IMPROVS ON STANDARDS
65.
DJANGO
John Lewis
Piece published 1952. Present version
by Dick Hyman, freely on theme of John
Lewis
7:01
66.
GIANT STEPS
John Coltrane
Recorded 1959 by John Coltrane.
Present version by Dick Hyman, freely,
different approaches to theme of John
Coltrane
4:29
67.
WHAT IS THIS
THING CALLED
LOVE?
Cole Porter
Song published 1930. Present version
by Dick Hyman, freely on theme of Cole
Porter
7:07
CD Disc #5 (TOTAL 67:16)
Group I: UNSTRUCTURED FREE IMPROVS
68.
THE VENICE
CONCERT
Dick Hyman
Dick Hyman, free improvisation in the
manner of Keith Jarrett
8:27
69.
CONVOCATION Dick Hyman
OF THE WINDS
Dick Hyman, free improvisation in the
manner of McCoy Tyner
4:30
70.
THREE SHORT
ONES
Dick Hyman
Dick Hyman, free improvisation in the
manner of Chick Corea
4:28
71.
CORKSCREWS
Dick Hyman
Dick Hyman, free improvisation in the
manner of Cecil Taylor
2:53
32
Group II: SPUR OF THE MOMENT
72.
PARABLE FOR
A PARROT
Dick Hyman
Dick Hyman, free improvisation
5:26
73.
IN THE
FULLNESS OF
TIME
Dick Hyman
Dick Hyman, free improvisation
3:17
74.
DAYS WITH
JULIA
Dick Hyman
Dick Hyman, free improvisation
2:05
75.
THE LAST
WORD
Dick Hyman
Dick Hyman, free improvisation
2:00
76.
HAVE YOU
HEARD?
Dick Hyman
Dick Hyman, free improvisation
0:58
Group III: WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM A FRIEND
77.
THE MINOTAUR Dick Hyman
Piece recorded 1968 by Dick Hyman.
Present version recorded 1997 by composer and Jack Fanning in four hands
5:34
78.
THE CHARLAP
LINE
Dick Hyman
Recorded 1997 in the manner of Bill
Charlap
1:56
79.
IMPROMPTU
FOR TWO
PIANOS
Dick Hyman
– Sir Roland
Hanna
Recorded 1997, arranged for piano solo,
in the manner of Sir Roland Hanna
2:36
80.
WALTZING
WITH HANK
Dick Hyman
Recorded 1997 in the manner of Hank
Jones
1:17
33
81.
ROGER’S 21ST
CENTURY
FUNK
Dick Hyman
Recorded 1997 in the manner of Roger
Kellaway
1:20
82.
A LITTLE BIT
OF JOHN
Dick Hyman
Recorded 1997 in the manner of John
Sheridan
:59
83.
DEREK CHEWS
IT UP
Dick Hyman
Recorded 1997 in the manner of Derek
Smith
:29
84.
RALPH,
STRIDEMEISTER
Dick Hyman
Recorded 1997 in the manner of Ralph
Sutton
:41
85.
ELEGANT DR.
BILLY
Dick Hyman
Recorded 1997 in the manner of Billy
Taylor
:51
86.
A SMALL
MEMORIAL TO
WELLSTOOD
Dick Hyman
Recorded 1997 in the manner of Dick
Wellstood
:31
87.
IS HE BLUE?
Dick Hyman
Recorded 1997 in the manner of Mike
Lipskin
:48
88.
KANSAS CITY
DREAMIN’
Dick Hyman
Recorded 1997 in the manner of Jay
McShann
2:52
89.
JOE’S SPECIAL
THING
Dick Hyman
Recorded 1997, in the manner of Joe
Bushkin
:35
90.
CHRISTMAS
WITH PAUL
Dick Hyman
Recorded 1997 in the manner of Paul
Smith
:33
34
Group V: ETUDES FOR JAZZ PIANO (“IN THE STYLES OF THE GREAT PIANISTS”)
91.
DECATUR
STOMP
Dick Hyman
Published 1982, composed in the manner of Jelly Roll Morton
:35
92.
STRUTTIN’ ON
A SUNNY DAY
Dick Hyman
Published 1982, composed in the manner of Earl Hines
:36
93.
CUTTIN’
LOOSE
Dick Hyman
Published 1982, composed in the manner of James P. Johnson
1:09
94.
IVORY
STRIDES
Dick Hyman
Published 1982, composed in the manner of Fats Waller
:59
95.
PASS IT
ALONG
Dick Hyman
Published 1982, composed in the manner of Teddy Wilson
:30
96.
SOUTH SIDE
BOOGY
Dick Hyman
Published 1982, composed in the manner of Jimmy Yancey, Albert Ammons
and Meade Lux Lewis
1:44
97.
OCEAN
LANGUOR
Dick Hyman
Published 1982, composed in the manner of Duke Ellington
1:10
98.
ONYX MOOD
Dick Hyman
Published 1982, composed in the manner of Art Tatum
:49
99.
BOUNCING IN
F MINOR
Dick Hyman
Published 1982, composed in the manner of Erroll Garner
:54
100.
BIRD IN THE
ROOST
Dick Hyman
Published 1982, composed in the manner of Bud Powell
:41
101.
DEEP GROOVE Dick Hyman
Published 1982, composed in the manner of Oscar Peterson
:41
35
102.
ROSES &
CREAM
Dick Hyman
Published 1982, composed in the manner of George Shearing
103.
TIME PLAY
Dick Hyman
Published 1982, composed in the manner of Dave Brubeck
:41
104.
PASSAGE
Dick Hyman
Published 1982, composed in the manner of Bill Evans
1:38
1:12
GRAND TOTAL OF AUDIO DISCS 5:16:34
SUMMARY OF VISUAL DVD MATERIAL
DVD DISC #6
INTRODUCTION
Hands-on lesson #1
RAGTIME, FROM LOUIS MOREAU
GOTTSCHALK TO SCOTT JOPLIN
Pasquinade … At a Georgia Camp Meeting …
Maple Leaf Rag
Hands-on lesson #2
JELLY ROLL MORTON
Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag … Morton’s Maple
Leaf Rag … The Pearls
Hands-on lesson #3
BOOGIE-WOOGIE
Basses … Pine Top Smith … Jimmy Yancey
36
… Honky Tonk Train
Hands-on lesson #4
STRIDE PIANO
Maple Leaf Rag as stride … stride bass
Hands-on lesson #5
EARL HINES/TEDDY WILSON
trumpet style … irregularity … Wilson’s single
note lines … pentatonic runs … tenths
Hands-on lesson #6
THE RHYTHM SECTION
basic oompah … fill-ins … Count Basie and
swing … Indiana … bebop and comping …
bop harmony
Hands-on lesson #7
ART TATUM
G turn … pentatonic runs … neighboring
tones in Db … diatonic devices in C … sextuplets…broken arpeggios … odd keys and
contexts
Hands-on lesson #8
ERROLL GARNER
Song Without Words … strumming bass …
filling in the right hand … placing solos …
brass section … rubato
Hands-on lesson #9
BUD POWELL AND BEBOP
Bop lines … single notes … the bop revolution
… left hand comping … Indiana … chromatic
harmony … sonority … Shearing … Peterson
Hands-on lesson #10
GEORGE SHEARING, BLOCK CHORDS,
AND ORCHESTRATION
Lullaby of Birdland … Milt Buckner … block
chord harmony … Shearing’s touch …
Shearing Quintet … block chords for sax
section … for brass … diverging sections …
wider voicings … Shearing’s sound
Hands-on lesson #11
ANOTHER LOOK AT BLOCK CHORDS
Harmonizing a C scale … Theme from
Polevetsian Dances … “drop 2” … sax section
… swinging the melody
Hands-on lesson #12
BILL EVANS
Poor Butterfly … impressionist harmony …
Evans’ rootless chords … reharmonizing Poor
Butterfly in 3/4 time … polychords … shaping phrases … triplets … preferred range …
diminished scales … plaintiveness
Hands-on lesson #13
NICHOLAS SLONIMSKY TO McCOY TYNER
Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns …
John Coltrane … McCoy Tyner … pentatonics
… 4ths … washes
Bonus performance #1
SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME
(George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin)
(… while thinking about Art Tatum)
Bonus performance #2
VARIATIONS ON HELIOTROPE BOUQUET
(Scott Joplin/Louis Chauvin)
Bonus performance #3
VARIATIONS ON ELITE SYNCOPATIONS
(Scott Joplin)
Bonus performance #4
CAROLINA SHOUT
(James P. Johnson)
37
Memorabilia:
Rosebud Ragtime Festival – Ralph Sutton, Dick Wellstood, Dick Hyman – Willie the Lion Smith,
Eubie Blake – Birdland opening night handbill
Navigating the DVD:
Most DVD Remote Controls have buttons to return to the main menu and sub-menus. These
buttons are labeled with different names depending upon the manufacturer of your player.
Selecting the button on your remote labeled “Title,” “Title Menu,” or “Top Menu” will return the
DVD to the primary or main menu. You can access the sub-menus from the button choices on
the main menu. Selecting the button on the remote labeled “Menu” while playing the program
will display a sub-menu listing either the Lessons or Bonus Performances. You may always
return to the primary menu by selecting the “Main Menu” button on the bottom of the sub-menus.
The music under the DVD credits was Cheek to Cheek (Irving Berlin) by the Dick Hyman Trio
with Bob Haggart and Howard Alden from the CD of the same name, Arbors Records ARCD
19155.
The following titles composed by or arranged by Dick Hyman are copyrighted by Eastlake Music, Inc.: Gottschalk
Sampler; Maple Leaf Rag; Heliotrope Boquet; Pleasant Moments; Solace (A Mexican Serenade); Odeon; Porto
Rico; Rialto Ripples; Basie in Brief; 16 for McKenna; Song Without Words; Funkus Delictus; Rose Room; Topology;
Poor Butterfly; The Venice Concert; Convocation of the Winds, Three Short Ones; Corkscrews; Parable for a
Parrot; In the Fullness of Time; Days With Julia; The Last Word; Have You Heard?; The Minotaur; The Charlap
Line; Impromptu for Two Pianos (co-published with Rahanna Music Company); Waltzing With Hank; Roger’s 21st
Century Funk, A Little Bit of John; Derek Chews It Up; Ralph, Stridemeister; Elegant Dr. Billy; A Small Memorial to
Wellstood; Is He Blue?; Kansas City Dreamin’; Joe’s Special Thing; Christmas With Paul; Decatur Stomp, Struttin’
on a Sunny Day; Cuttin’ Loose; Ivory Strides; Pass it Along; South Side Boogy; Ocean Languor; Onyx Mood;
Bouncing in F Minor; Bird in the Roost; Deep Groove; Roses & Cream; Time Play; Passage
38
THE CREDITS
Produced as a CD/ROM in 1997 by Joel Simpson, JSS Productions
Produced as a multiple disc set of 5 audio CDs and 1 DVD in 2009 by Dick Hyman and Rachel
and Mat Domber for Arbors Records, Inc.
Original recordings 1996-7 at the studio of Dick Hyman Music, Inc., Venice, FL with additional
sessions at Yamaha showrooms in New York City.
Subsequent recording sessions 2007 at Piano Distributors of Sarasota, Steve Trawford,
manager.
2007 recording engineer: Gary Baldassari. Piano: Yamaha Disklavier. Piano technician:
Justin Elliot. Supporting musicians: Mark Neuenschwander, Jack Fanning. Mixing: Gary
Baldassari at Audio Images, Bradenton, FL. Mastering: Bryan Shaw at Digital Brothers, Costa
Mesa, CA. DVD editing: Ron Dabbs, Lucas Fazzary at Evatone, Clearwater, FL. Cover
photograph: Bob Haggart, Jr. Cover design: Luke Melton. Book layout: Vic DeRobertis and
Jerri Brigandi.
Two visionary people saw the promise in this project, and I am grateful to them both: Joel Simpson, who conceived the idea of transforming my concert/lecture on the subject into the original
CD/ROM and worked with his brother, Mark Simpson, to achieve a result that was far beyond
my imagination; and Mat Domber, who envisioned a new medium for the material, so that it
came to be assembled in its present multiple disc set. And, of course, I am greatly beholden
to Yamaha Corporation, whose marvelous reproducing technology made the entire project
possible. – Dick Hyman, 2009
WRITE ARBORS RECORDS FOR A COMPLETE CATALOG
Arbors Records, Inc., 2189 Cleveland Street, Suite 225, Clearwater, FL 33765
Phone: (727) 466-0571 Fax: (727) 466-0432 Toll free: (800) 299-1930
E-mail: [email protected] Internet address: http://www.arborsrecords.com
39
Dick Hyman’s Century of Jazz Piano
ARCD 19348
A survey of jazz piano as recorded by Dick Hyman in 121 audio performances
plus a DVD with 13 hands-on lessons and 4 video performances.
Audio CD Disc #1
Ragtime: First Signs, Birth, Flowering; The
Latin Tinge; James P., Father of Stride Piano;
Jelly Roll, Earl, Early Mary Lou
Audio CD Disc #2
George Gershwin as Published, Plus New
Variations; Varieties of Novelty Piano;
Ancient Blues And Boogie-Woogie; Fats And
The Lion; Art Tatum: God is in the House;
Teddy’s School of Swing
Audio CD Disc #3
The Duke and Sweetpea; Swingers:
The Count, The King, Erroll and Dave;
Beboppers; Later Blues and Funk
Audio CD Disc #4
Monk Variations; New Directions; Lenny to
Bill; Improvs on Standards
Audio CD Disc #5
Unstructured Free Improvs; Spur of the
Moment; With a Little Help From a Friend;
Keyboard Partners; Etudes for Jazz Piano (“In
the Styles of the Great Pianists”)
DVD Disc #6
Hands-On Lessons
Bonus Performances
Memorabilia Pictures
Credits and other
CDs on Arbors
Dick
Hyman
Instructions for navigating the DVD are on page 38
Produced by Dick Hyman and ARBORS RECORDS, INC.
© 2009 Arbors Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable law.