Two Women you should know

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Shooshie
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Two Women you should know

Post by Shooshie »

I debated whether to say "women" or "musicians" in the title, but I think it's significant that these are woman musicians, and that I came to them strictly by the ears, which compelled me to look them up, find out more about them, and then to see them on YouTube, and that in the end both were women. It's not like women haven't been among the great pianists, but when I was a kid the "greats" of most instruments were overwhelmingly men, with the occasional woman in there to remind you that yes, women can play, too. The fact that we can all name Clara Schumann, Wanda Landowska, Alicia de la Rocha and Marta Argerich suggests that a great woman keyboardist only comes around about every 50 years. The reality has been a much greater match between the sexes, yet it was a reality not reflected in recording contracts and orchestra dates. It was still very much a man's world in the 50s and 60s. So, it's significant to me that so many of the awe-inspiring performances I hear these days are from women. And it's in the spirit of absolute jaw dropping awe that I name a couple of my new favorite pianists, jazz virtuoso Hiromi and classical virtuoso Khatia Buniatishvili.

Hiromi has been around for a while, but I just learned about her yesterday while listening to Sirius XM radio in the car. Her trio had gone into their studio to play her latest album live. Hiromi is very much a product of our age, with roots I think most of us would recognize from our old idols at jazz, classical, pop, rock and even some R&B. It took a while for me to realize that I was listening to a phenomenon, because she's not trying to lay everything on the line at every minute, but has a fantastic architecture that grows until you are just overwhelmed. The album, Spark, is itself an arc, following life and emotional changes that she wanted to mirror in the music. I'd like to hear her tell us who she listens to. The album, Spark, has just been released, and is something I want to experience as a whole. What I heard in the car yesterday — about an hour's worth — was extremely moving, and this is before I had any idea who or what Hiromi might have been. There are a lot of YouTube videos of her; pick one and start listening.

She has many videos of Caravan, which I think is perfectly suited for her and her trio. In this one, recorded in 2008 with another group, Caravan is a time-scape with multiple tempos superimposed. I'd say hemiola, but it goes much further than that in Hiromi's hands. Her trio manages to focus on one or another of the tempos while keeping the suppressed one(s) peeking out enough that you never lose sight of them. Perfect song for that. This is a wonderful contemporary take on an old classic.

If you've got the time, here she is at Jazz in Marciac 2010 playing solo for 55 minutes. (The left hand bass solo at 51 minutes is a must-hear.)
I can't believe I'm just finding out about Hiromi.

Next up: Khatia Buniatishvili. I'm guessing, but I think this Georgian name would be pronounced boon-YAT-ish-VIL-li. If you weren't convinced by the above demonstration of musicianship, this ought to do the job: Khatia is a young master pianist. I love that she's still trying things out, seeing what works, learning new approaches. Her playing is fresh and full of emotion, but once in a while she pulls out a tempo or dynamic that leaves her nowhere to go. She's exploring, and I indulge in these excursions when they lead to such dynamic performances as hers. Her critics are many and loud, but I think every one of them is full of hot air and BS. They are so steeped in sameness that they simply don't know what to do when someone comes along and plays these old warhorses differently and pulls them off like brand new works.

Of course, a lot of the criticism tossed at Khatia is because she is beautiful. Some people have trouble believing that a woman can be beautiful AND supremely intelligent and musically gifted. It's possible that her beauty is so overwhelming that it almost distracts from her performance; it takes no critic to see that. But you can close your eyes and just listen, proving without a doubt that this lady is all you want her to be on the piano.

Well, I'm taking up your valuable time in which you could be listening to more music by these great musicians. I'll shut up now.

Shooshie
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buzzsmith
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Re: Two Women you should know

Post by buzzsmith »

I'll be checking these players out very soon. Gracias!


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wdegillio
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Re: Two Women you should know

Post by wdegillio »

Thanks, Shooshie, for bringing Hiromi to the attention of the fans of MOTUNation. I've been listening to her for a while now, and the thing that's the most evident about her live performances, along with her virtuosic playing, is the total joy she displays. You clearly get the impression that out of everyone in the concert venue, she's having the most fun.

Another great reason to listen to her recordings (and watch her DVD's, for that matter) is the phenomenal bass playing of Anthony Jackson, who is in her current trio. I'll bet many readers of this board are already familiar with his body of work, but for any younger readers who aren't, I strongly recommend checking out his bass lines. I heard him play live here in LA with pianist Michel Camillio several years ago. After the show, there were people lining up to talk to him, and as much as I wanted to meet him, I almost didn't, since in many print interviews he comes across as quite serious and stern. I glad I did though, since he was actually quite friendly and down-to-earth. (And of course, drummer Simon Phillips is no slouch either. Anyone that can play great straight-ahead jazz and then play with Toto gets my respect!)
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Shooshie
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Re: Two Women you should know

Post by Shooshie »

I just love listening to Hiromi. If I let my mind wander, I hear a number of pianists in her.
If I were to guess at some of her influences, I'd say, in no particular order:
Keith Emerson
Keith Jarrett
Ralph Towner - especially compositional architecture, harmonic roadmaps
Chick Corea
Johnny Costa
(sometimes I expect to hear the Trolley Song :lol: )
and Oscar Peterson

Of course, Hiromi is very much her own master. Some of the resemblances may be coincidental to their styles. Her trio playing is wonderful in its own way. You get that feeling with her trio that they are doing that special something that ONLY musicians can do, and very fine ones at that. It's something you'd hear in Oregon a lot: that improvisational conversation where everyone gets on the same wavelength and things start happening that couldn't be written or planned, and yet they are anything but random or accidental. I live for those moments, both as a player and a listener. Makes me feel connected to them.

Don't miss out on listening to Hiromi for a while. One song ain't gonna cut it. She's got material that will keep you enchanted for hours, probably lifetimes. On the other hand... you can burn out on anyone. Just sayin'.

Shooshie
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Phil O
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Re: Two Women you should know

Post by Phil O »

Thanks for those links, Shoosh. It made my day!

Are you familiar with Helen Sung:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRbxbVAbVo8

She's a close friend of a close friend, but I have yet to meet her. Not the technician that Hiromi is, but I love her style.

Philippe
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Re: Two Women you should know

Post by philbrown »

I had seen Hiromi in a video with the Stanley Clarke band. Her trio is incredible! Words fail... thanks for the links, Shooshie!
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Re: Two Women you should know

Post by Shooshie »

Oscar Peterson, interviewed before a live audience by Andre Previn, 1974

If you want to get back to the roots of all these people, this will take you almost there. To get any further, you'll have to search for vids of Art Tatum, Errol Garner, Nat King Cole, and those folks. Art Tatum is pretty much the "Horowitz" of that type of playing. Interestingly, Peterson tells a story of Horowitz, who loved Tatum's playing, in which he decided to play Two for Tea, Tatum-style. So, he spent months working out an arrangement of it, then called up Art Tatum to come hear it. After he played it, Tatum said "very nice," then asked "you want to hear me play Two For Tea?" Horowitz assented, and Tatum began playing variations of it endlessly until Horowitz stopped him. Horowitz asked "when did you work that out?" Tatum replied "oh, just now." And that was of course the sad difference between playing like jazz and playing jazz.

Anyway, it's a great show. Peterson is as wonderful talking as playing, which is saying a lot. Previn, poor fellow, wisely avoids the piano as much as possible, but when they play duets at the end, Peterson blows Previn out of the water, and you can see Andre all but stop and scream "enough! I give up!" But he's a good sport and keeps going.

Great show.
Shooshie
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buzzsmith
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Re: Two Women you should know

Post by buzzsmith »

Phil O wrote:Thanks for those links, Shoosh. It made my day!

Are you familiar with Helen Sung:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRbxbVAbVo8

She's a close friend of a close friend, but I have yet to meet her. Not the technician that Hiromi is, but I love her style.

Philippe
She was in Houston (pre-flooding!) last week.

I didn't get to see her performance, but I did watch a video. Really liked.

Buzzy


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