The joy of YouTube, MySpace, and Google Video... and whatever else I run across...gone mad.
I know lots of good stuff...trust me...I do... I'm old enough now to know
the difference between virtuosity and posing... between mediocrity and inspiration... sometimes even genius. And throw some laughs in as well.
Let's hope so anyway, at least most of the time. Enjoy.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Jean-Michel Pilc - One Helluva Pianist
In the summer of 2006 I was poking around some jazz Web sites looking for club info in New York City...and saw a number of raving reviews for a French pianist named Jean-Michel Pilc. Which isn't something I'm used to seeing from New York reviews. I found some snippets of him on the Web, and decided I needed to go to NYC to see him. A couple of weeks later he showed up in Philadelphia at Chris' Jazz Cafe with the drummer Ari Hoenig. The kind hostess at Chris', who had gotten used to seeing my face, seated me next to Pilc's right hand at the piano. I was, frankly, boggled. Especially by the left hand. The most ambidextrous playing I have ever seen - the fact he's self-taught, like Allan Holdsworth of guitar fame, may help explain his radical approach. I talked to him outside between sets, and he's a very interesting guy with some not surprisingly very independent thinking. There are links below to his Web site and to one of his song videos, a Monk medley. And the video doesn't do him justice. If you can find this guy, go listen, and watch.
With Wynton Marsalis, 2002, in conjunction with a newspaper feature. His trumpet by Monette, my tie by Peter Max
Why We're Here...
Well...I wanted to try a blog out for the purpose of sharing audio, and especially video, that I enjoy.
And adding a few words as well...
sometimes even wax, perhaps...
coffing here...
yes...I know...
most of you already know better...
If you need to get a towel...I understand...
get a glass of water too while you're up...
I said water...
yes...
water...good job.
You can do this...
if I can...so can you...
see...relax... breathe...
there...feeling a little better now???
Sooooooooo...we'll see how this works...in the meantime... enjoy! Comments are always welcomed...encouraged even...
just don't do anything stupid, please.
I have a delete key and I know how to use it...
About Me
I first started fiddling in media at age 11 or 12, riding my bike several miles at night to the studios of WIOT-FM, which was then an "underground" station located in a cornfield in Berkey, Ohio. I got to pick records, or program, for the late night DJ, Dorian Paster, because I asked if I could and he was kind enough to consent. I then handled sound and lights for the Catacombs Coffee House in Sylvania, Ohio, where I got to play hundreds of records at very loud volume levels for hundreds of often-stoned teens on a weekly basis, and heard the best of our local bands, one of which grew up to be The Bears, touring and recording with noted guitarist Adrian Belew. While I was still in high school I began producing for WSPD-TV, Toledo, and eventually as a college student at WUFT-TV in Gainesville, Florida. From there I went on to write, edit and produce hundreds of television programs and thousands of program segments for WFTV-TV and WOFL-TV in Orlando, including news, documentaries, music and information. A documentary on HMO's won an award at the New York International Film and Television Festival. Working in said fields has allowed me to meet many politicians, musicians and other people of note. In the year 2000 I began writing for The Gainesville Sun, a member of the New York Times regional group. I write about include high-tech, new media, computers, the Internet, music and other areas. To date I have published in excess of 350 columns and features in magazines and newspapers. Etc, etc.
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