Another Steinway In My Life!

So I had the awesome luck of picking out a grand piano for a friend who will be opening a new bar in the East Village. With the help of my piano doctor, the Baron von Penta, I found a beautiful instrument. I settled on a Steinway L from the late 70s.

It has had all of the teflon removed. A new pinblock has been put in, along with a rebuilt action and brand new Steinway hammers, shanks, and flanges. The hammers and action prep work was done by the Baron himself, who also works on my personal piano. As always, his work is superb.

This piano also looks brand new with a nice hand rubbed black satin finish, a beautiful American tradition. I'm looking forward to playing this thing on a regular basis...

Chestnut/Reed 4Tet DOUBLE PIANO

I recently took a friend up to Dizzy's to hear Cyrus Chestnut (p), Eric Reed (p), Willie Jones the 3rd (d), & Dezron Douglas (b) in a straight ahead Jazz setting. It turned out to be a fabulous set. The double piano quartet setting isn't something one gets to hear too often and I was really diggin' it. Everyone played great from the first note and it was a pleasure to be in a room with such refinement.

I think what I liked most about it was just how fucking honest the music and musicianship was. Beyond that, the dynamics and balance were superb. Each player was sensitive to the other, creating a perfect whole. Willie Jones was so in tune with what was happening. I dislike when I don't hear all the instruments. That is the number one thing that will kill a listener's experience and make for a boring concert.

This group was slamming...

Luck, Accidents, & Nothingness

I'm very lucky to know so many great musicians in my life. If I had the resources I would do a record with all of them. Unfortunately I do not have those kinds of resources. That being said, it's very difficult to get anywhere without contacts or resources, and it does get frustrating at times. I have been playing jazz versions of rock tunes in various trio settings for many years, but I've never been able to get my music out there until recently. Other artists have put that out there because they were able to get the help and then, of course, it becomes their concept. Yeah yeah, whatev. I cannot book my group in real concert settings or find any help from management or booking agencies. I understand the situation. What would be the benefit of taking on a nobody like myself?

Too bad, because I will be starting up a new scene in the East Village with a very nice piano and I'm not going to help anyone. Nope. The only musicians that will be allowed to play will be hand selected by me and mostly part of my own circle that I've come to know over the years.

I can't believe the amount of sleepless nights I spend racking my brain, trying to figure out this game. I hear about and see musicians and groups performing in spaces designed for creative music. I know my trio would fit the bill. I know we're good enough at this point. I suppose I'm just not equipped with the proper skills. Maybe its ass-kissing, which is not my forte. Maybe it's better when you're 20 years old. When I was 20 I was pumping gas and chopping ice, trying to figure out what the fuck was going on and how to pay for my piece-of-shit room that I had in some stranger's house. Fuck my 20s! They were terrible.

So now I'm getting into a better position. My record is dong well. I have a trio that just fucking rocks! I play with other musicians that are awesome and I have a regular hit - soon to be more than one. Hard work is slowly paying off in different ways.

I keep practicing when possible and I'm planning another record with the trio.

In the end there is only luck, accidents, & nothingness. Maybe I'm pointing out the obvious here, but hope, fate, karma and all that shit doesn't mean a damn thing. If it did then all those assholes on television wouldn't exist.

I SHOULD'VE PLAYED THE HARMONICA

OK. So I do love the piano. I love everything about it. The way it sounds. The way it's built. The people who work on them and build them. The way it looks (save for those awful baroque art case things), sleek and low-key and still modern. The fact that one still has to come up with something interesting using those same twelve tones (when it's in tune) - what a fucking challenge! The fact that it's basically a big drum. Indeed, I marvel at that peculiar premiere piano that represents a magnificent high point in music and civilization when Bartolomeo Cristofori built his first one in Italy. I wonder if he had any idea of what influence it would have in the future.

The thing that sucks about it is that you can't exactly travel with it. I mean, you can't bring your own personal piano to a gig so you are basically at the mercy of whatever is at the venue. This can be somewhat uninspiring for us piano players. Often, we don't get to play the instrument we fell in love with. Rather, an altered version of it that sounds and feels either like a toy or plain old trash. Staying motivated and aggressive to hunt for gigs becomes more and more difficult. After awhile I suppose I'll probably give up entirely. Not yet.

So where are the good pianos? Well it doesn't seem like there are too many around. Concert halls, Jazz clubs, museums and a few other places I suppose. Some private performance spaces, too. 

One memory of my father is hearing his voice saying "You should've played the harmonica."