Well last week the trio went over to Dubai to play a gig as part of the Jazz Festival there. We had a great time, and were very well looked after by the organisers, who drove us all around and put us up in some lovely accommodation. (Although apparently our hotel was just 10 days before the scene of the death of a senior Hamas figure – some say in suspicious circumstances! I’m glad I only found out about this upon our return!)
Everything in Dubai seemed to remind me of the struggle between man and nature – a city of 4 million where there’s not usually drinkable water, hundreds of skyscrapers sprouting up seemingly out of the sand, and let’s not forget the manmade islands rising up from the water! Everything in Dubai also seems to be BIG – the highways, the rail lines, and not least the new tower there which is apparently 900m high (give or take). Let’s just say I couldn’t fit the whole thing into one digital camera shot. (Maybe that’s the idea – the only way to see it for yourself is to come in person!)
The gig itself was well received – we benefited from having good playing conditions: a very nice outdoor stage to play on (located halfway between the swanky local main drag and a beach) and a good crowd which created a nice atmosphere.
To see a couple of tracks from the gig, check out the ‘video’ section of my website, which has been updated.
Cheers!
Daniel
Hi folks
I wasn’t intending to commence my blog by talking about piano competitions, but as it happens my Canadian pianist friend Chris Donnelly (check out his site from my links page) has a recent detailed entry about the solo piano competition at the Montreux Jazz Festival, where he was a participant in July of this year.
As I did the same competition in 2007, I thought I’d leave a comment on his post. This entry is a modified version of the same.
The prestige of the Montreux Jazz Festival, coupled with the formality of the competition’s setting (ballroom of the Montreux Palace Hotel) certainly gave me experience in performing in “pressure” situations (I didn’t do it particularly well or anything, but I think I learned something for next time). The learning experience of the whole thing, as well as being able to meet some cool and talented people from around the world who also play jazz piano, were definitely positives.
First of all, the idea of a competition in any artistic art form does seem paradoxical. As it is often said by way of example: imagine trying to choose a “winner” out of Monk, Tyner, Tatum, Evans, Peterson, Mehldau, Hancock, Corea, Rubalcaba, Jarrett, etc.
Apart from this inherent problem, an issue I have with these competitions is that they all seem to operate to set criteria. Invariably, one of these criteria is “technique.” What this term should mean is: “performer’s ability to convey their music exactly as they hear it.” But in reality (let’s be honest), this means something more akin to “ability to play a lot of piano.” Immediately this criterion favours certain players ahead of others.
I think competitions would be more useful and honest if criteria were thrown out the window – at the end of the day judges will manipulate the criteria in order to come to the decision that they want to anyway. Why make them do this? Why not let them choose the person whose music simply spoke to them the most?
And yes, as always, there were controversies in the selection of the eventual finalists and winners (although I should point out for clarity that neither I, nor anyone else to my knowledge, considered my non-selection controversial!) but that’s competitions for you. They’re entirely subjective.
HOWEVER (and now I come to the controversial part of this post) there was one particular selection that stuck in candidates’ throats – and it had nothing to do with musical opinion. One candidate (who, for completeness, was clearly an excellent player and well and truly at the level required for the competition) was added to the initial selection of finalists despite not having submitted materials in time, and despite being above (if only slightly) the age limit maximum. I heard murmurings and whispers about why and how this occurred, but as I am not fully appraised of all confirmed facts, I will avoid the risk of saying anything defamatory at this point. In any case, I think practices such as this are to be avoided, as they will eventually damage the credibility of the competition.
Another aside, if I may, from my Australian/French perspective – the French seem to love a good competition! This tends to be generally in the context of academic achievement (for example, sitting entry tests to the ‘grandes ecoles’ i.e. the French equivalent of Ivy League schools in the US). This tradition has most definitely translated itself into music in that country as well (whether this is for the better or for the worse is open to debate – perhaps a bit of both I suspect?). I look forward to peoples’ input on this…
Finally, I note that in the competition, two of my fellow competitors that were non-selected for the finals – both of whom are fantastic pianists – are currently playing with some of the world’s leading musicians. Having recently discussed the whole competition thing with a NYC-based jazz musician, he said he’d rather be doing gigs and tours with leading musicians than winning competitions.
Do these two things have to be mutually exclusive, as it appears from my Montreux experience? Does being a “competition” player shape your playing in an un-musical way that may pre-dispose you to NOT get hired by leading players? Or was this apparent tendency from Montreux 2007 simply a coincidence (I note that in National Jazz Awards in Australia the winners and finalists are very often players who do the most work with leading local and international musicians)?
Welcome to my blog!
Please make sure to check in regularly to this blog and to my site at www.danielgassin.com for new posts and updates.
Cheers!
Daniel
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