Feldman's piano

[Allen Wright]

Anne,

I think I can imagine what Madison is like - perhaps a bit like Ann  
Arbor? Also, I'm not surprised by the quirky aesthetic you mention.  
That seems to be what the show is about, and one of it's charms. Off- 
the-cuff, out of left field...

The duo (sorry, I mistakenly said trio before) has that sort of  
lounge-y sound, like you've wandered into a club where the piano  
doesn't get tuned very often. It's a pretty old school style of  
playing, and yes I agree, a bit of a spikey style (good word for it).  
I can see why Feldman and his producers might like it. I mean, they  
might want to seem sort of downhome, friendly and approachable (given  
the format of the show), but in a hip way. And I would imagine that  
classic piano jazz format by now has a basically unthreatening sound  
to most people, but by putting the piano in meantone, it adds a bit  
of edge. It does make sense that would be a conscious choice, in an  
environment like that.

Best regards,

Allen Wright, RPT
London, UK





On 25 Mar 2007, at 12:49, Anne Acker wrote:

>
>
> If you know Madison, Wisconsin, you would understand.   There it is  
> not an imposition, it is a request.  The pianists love it.   This  
> used to be my scene years ago, and I remember how much they loved  
> it when they first heard and had the tuning done for them.
>
> I would also blame the sound quality partly on the room miking and  
> overall acoustic, since Feldman's voice isn't too well covered  
> either.  I suspect they like the feel of it.  One of my old friends  
> is one of his facts researchers, and the aesthetic all around is  
> quirky by design.
>
> Besides,  I hate the way that pianist plays, and come to think of  
> it THAT is why the piano is out of tune all the time.  He has a  
> particularly "spikey finger" style of playing.  .  I always have to  
> turn the show off during the music sections, home town or no.
>
> AA
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Wow, the mind boggles. That's so interesting; the dealer imposes
> meantone temperament (on a jazz trio, no less - with all the
> chromatic haarmonic stuff going on) and nobody thinks that's odd, or
> questions it?! I wonder how the pianist feels? (Who knows, maybe he's
> an adventurous sort of jazzer, and thinks it's bizarre and
> interesting - he does sound like an easygoing sort, when Feldman
> engages him in conversation). I'll definitely have to listen to that
> show again   : )
>
> Now I'm really wondering whether it was the tuning or the temperament
> that I heard as being "off" somehow.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Allen
> On 25 Mar 2007, at 02:44, William R. Monroe wrote:
>
>> The dealer likes it.  No other reason I know of.
>>
>> William R. Monroe








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