THE UNIVERSAL MIND OF BILL EVANS — 1966 “People tend to approach the whole problem approximately, instead of taking a small piece of it and being real and precise about that.” — Bill Evans, The Universal Mind of Bill Evans, 1966 In 1966, Bill Evans sat in front of a camera for an unusual 45-minute…
FROM STEVE LACY’S HANDWRITTEN LIST, 1960 “What you don’t play can be more important than what you play.” — Thelonious Monk In 1960, saxophonist Steve Lacy spent 16 weeks playing in Thelonious Monk’s band. Throughout that period, he kept a small notebook in which he wrote down the phrases, observations, and instructions Monk gave him…
PORTRAIT & LESSONS “I don’t try to be better than anyone else. I try to be better than my last performance.” — Hank Jones Hank Jones (1918–2010) isn’t the first name that comes to mind when you think about the history of jazz piano. He doesn’t have the revolutionary force of Bud Powell, the virtuosity…
“It’s not enough to play correctly. You have to play in a way that makes someone feel something — otherwise, you’re just pressing keys.” — Oscar Peterson I once asked a student to describe what moves him when he hears a great pianist play. He struggled to find the words. “It’s got… something,” he said….