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07/30/2009
Another response to Chris Donnelly
06/20/2009
This is in response to Chris Donnelly's post here.
Chris,
Upon thinking more about it, I feel this really comes down to the difference between those who specialize and those who do not. As information is easily accessed these days, how can society be faulted for a person of your level and discipline not having knowledge of something pertaining to your craft? Of course you can partially blame cultural changes on the fact that MOST people do not know of James P. Johnson. For instance, I never hear anyone talk about the great baseball player Honus Wagner, so it is likely that the average person is not going to be familiar with him. But, what of a Major League Baseball player who does not know about Wagner? Can he blame his lack of knowledge on a society that has "moved on"?
Earlier today, I watched a clip of Bill Maher's show where Meghan McCain blamed her not knowing the details of a particular political event on the fact that "she wasn't alive then". Given that she has put herself in the limelight and is essentially a politician, can she use her age as an excuse for not knowing something? Is there not a point when, if you decide to specialize, you become solely responsible for the depth of your knowledge? Does it really require a compromise for specialists to become experts?
Just to be clear, I was not saying that you are not doing enough to educate yourself, but that maybe this is what Ethan was trying to convey. I can't really have an opinion on this, as I do not know you, nor was I there when the "incident" occurred. Honestly, when is a person "doing enough" of something? You are obviously doing something right, as you are a great pianist, and it is quite clear that you do not need to know about James P. to make great music! Who even cares what you know if you are killing it? I know that I could never give my favorite pianists a hard time if they told me they were unaware of James P. Johnson.
Still, it does seem appropriate to me that you were criticized about a knowledge gap, as you were in a classroom environment. Ethan's opinions were hardly unsolicited. The way he went about making his point may not have been appropriate, but I do know that some people respond well to harsh mentors. Passionate artists and teachers usually cross the line at one point or another, but that is only natural and can sometimes be a positive catalyst for thought and creativity. Since everyone responds to things differently, I think it may very well be good for classrooms to have a wide range of personalities/teaching styles.
I am curious. What do you think is the most significant result of your experience with Ethan?
In response to Chris Donnelly
06/14/2009
Update: Chris posted a response here.
This is in response to Chris Donnelly's posts here and here.
Chris,
I come at this issue from a slightly unique perspective. I am a 27 year old jazz pianist, and I have been playing the piano for about 19 years. Where I differ from most jazz pianists of our generation is that, I have been playing Ragtime and Stride piano for pretty much all of those 19 years. I was playing Carolina Shout before I had even heard of Oscar, Bill Evans, Art Tatum, Herbie, Keith, etc. Essentially, my growth as a pianist has followed the history of jazz. My first two musical heroes were Scott Joplin and Eubie Blake. Given my background, I was naturally intrigued when someone informed me of your post.
The first thing I will say is that there ARE young pianists who are checking out stride piano. Since I play a lot of stride, I tend to bring it up around other musicians, and I find that many people are familiar with James P. Johnson. I have never had someone tell me that James P. is irrelevant because his stuff is so old and no one really plays that way anymore. On the contrary, most people have a profound appreciation for James P., even if they don't actually study his music.
That being said, it is believable that nobody in your class knows about Carolina Shout. James P. Johnson is not someone that people talk about as much as, say, Brad Mehldau, Keith Jarrett or Herbie Hancock. However, I can see why Ethan reacted the way he did, particularly if he was there to educate you.
Given the fact that every jazz history book(at least the ones I have read) covers James P. Johnson, how is it that nobody in your class has checked him out? Is it REALLY due to lack of exposure?
We are lucky that we live in an age where information is abundant. If a person wants to learn about jazz piano, he or she can go online and research. We don't even have to go to the library anymore! How convenient. Yet, with all of this immediate access to knowledge, not a single pianist in your class has any basic knowledge of James P. and his music. Is it because they have not read about the history of jazz(although, I know you state that you've read history books. Exactly what books did you read? I've never read a jazz history book that did not cover James P. Johnson)? Or, perhaps they have read about but did not care to further investigate the most significant players in the story? Is it their elders' fault that they did not pursue, or at least come in contact with, knowledge of one of the greatest and most influential jazz pianists?
One of my former piano teachers told me a story about his trips to the library in NYC back in the 70s. It was there that he would regularly see Keith Jarrett checking out piles of books. Is it possible that all of Keith's research had something to do with him becoming one of the greatest pianists of our time? Do you think someone "exposed" him to every book he read? Is it possible that he read many of them out of sheer curiosity? I wonder if he ever thought "well, no one has really told me anything about this book, so I might as well ignore it".
In your follow-up post, you blame the ignorance of young jazz pianists on the fading of "the culture of Carolina Shout", but the thing is, that culture faded along with the cutting contests. You cannot blame your lack of historical knowledge on the fading of a culture that was gone long before you were born. If you are interested in becoming a master of a particular field, you cannot expect to be spoon-fed information about that field. Like Keith, you have to go get it yourself.
It seems to me that this is exactly what Zoltan Kodaly is saying. You cannot blame anyone but yourself for your lack of knowledge(well, unless you literally do not have the freedom to access knowledge, which, unfortunately, is the case for some people).
The primary responsibility of an educator is to teach students how to educate themselves. Exposing students to specific knowledge is important, but not as important as engaging curiosity and debate. In this regard, it appears that Ethan has likely been one of the best teachers you will ever have. He, quite bluntly, drew attention to the fact that, just maybe, you have not been doing enough to educate yourself. Or, maybe you have been taking steps to educate yourself, but are looking in the wrong places and talking to the wrong people.
I understand that it sucks to be chewed out about not knowing. However, it is precisely these moments that fire people up and cause them to really think about things. If Ethan had said "Oh, you don't know Carolina Shout? Well, it's really great. You should check it out sometime." you would not have written the blog posts, and you very well may not have actually checked out Carolina Shout(you have by now, right?). I believe that, down the road, you will look back on this situation and thank Ethan for chewing you out. He did you a great service.
Note: I'm sorry there is no spot for comments. I just redid this site and haven't built it in yet. Feel free to email me at ridenhour@gmail.com, and I will gladly post your thoughts here.
New Music
05/20/2009
I have uploaded some music. Check it out!