I think I’m a pianist. Others seem absolutely sure of it, and so I am eternally grateful for the critic’s raves, audience accolades, and both academic and personal honors I have received in my career as both a jazz musician and, more recently, a concert pianist. One of my “lights”, Glenn Gould, said “I have no great love for the piano, but it seems the instrument I am best suited for.” In my own case, my love of the piano has increased as my age has likewise (I was born back before the Internet, in 1948)… in my earlier years as a bandleader doing mostly trio work with bass and drums, I tended to “think like a saxophonist”, and in my case the saxophonist was always John William Coltrane. Lately, I think and hear more as a pianist, and attribute much of this conversion, strangely enough, to Glenn Gould. What goes around comes around. I dedicate this particular blog to the spirits of Trane and Miles and Monk and Mingus and Garner. Elvin and Max and Tony and Philly Joe and Blakey and Airto. Ella and Sarah and Abbey and Flora and Carmen. And, as always, Glenn Gould.
Tags: art, composer, Glenn Gould, jazz, Jessica Williams, john Coltrane, music, pianist
