Steve Elman
I would like to think that there are more composers working today who think of themselves as beyond category.
Time to look at the maverick mavericks, composers with feet firmly planted on either side of the dividing line between jazz and classical.
What makes pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet an ideal interpreter of Ravel’s Concerto in G is his understanding of and appreciation for jazz.
The tradition of hybrids is there, for anyone who chooses to use it. Our modern media world makes that tradition accessible in hitherto unimaginable ways.
What I’ve learned from three years of research and listening is that the piano concerto is an ideal vehicle with which individual composers can experiment
More composers who followed their own distinctive paths when they incorporated jazz into their piano concertos.
More composers who followed their own distinctive paths when they incorporated jazz into their piano concertos.
This first group of mavericks all have their roots in the 1920s, but they demonstrate that George Gershwin’s way wasn’t the only way.
New York and Paris both respected innovation, but Paris demanded that the new have a certain style.
Music Commentary Series: Jazz and the Piano Concerto — The Zebra in the Room
Much more work could be done fertilizing the fields of cross-cultural music, sowing seeds collected from the great touchstones of American culture – innovation, integration, risk, reward.
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