You'll Hear It: Full Album Deep Dives with Jazz Musicians - The State of the Art of Jazz?

Episode Date: December 7, 2023

Prepare for a journey into Sullivan Fortner's latest masterpiece, "Solo Game," alongside Adam and Peter. Witness the piano player that has garnered acclaim from piano legends, who boldly proclaim it as the epitome of solo piano in this generation. Are you ready to experience the hype for yourself? Share your thoughts on whether it lives up to the acclaim.Links from the pod ↓Open Studio ProFred Hersch's courseSullivan Fortner's Solo GameHave a question for us? Leave us a SpeakPipeCheckout courses from Adam, Peter and more at Open Studio🎹 Head over to our YouTube channel for a better look 👀.Follow us on Instagram

Hey Peter. Yes. Are you a fan of things that are state of the art? You mean things that you might find at a store like the sharper image, perhaps? You're walking through a mall in 1989 and you go into the sharper image. That's kind of what this episode is about. Really? Yeah, but for jazz piano.

Sounds fun. I'm Adamannis. And I'm Peter Martin. And you're listening to The You'll Hear a podcast. Music advice coming at you. Coming at you. And technological nostalgia. you. I am so, I mean, it's like the...

Loki, I used to love the sharper image and SkyMall. SkyMall, it's all good. Now they're like, they're still around, but they've really, they're almost like, like a little bit nefarious. Yeah. The brand name is all it off. You know what's not nefarious, but is state of the art, Peter? What? Open Studio. Specifically, Open Studio Pro. I'm glad you brought that up. Me too. Because we want to welcome everybody to not join Open Studio. No, we got a ton of new members over the

holiday weekend. We have the gate open for just a little bit. Yeah, we did. It's a little bit. It'll open again, but please go to open studio jazz.com slash pro. Because we're getting a lot of questions like, how do I sign up? And I know people were busy. Get on the wait list. The best thing is to get on the wait list because each time, which has only been one so far that we've opened it up, the waitlist folks get priority. So go to open studio jazz.com slash pro. And I mean, it's a lot of great things happening. I think, you know, for next year, too, I'm really excited about the plans that you share, the things that we're talking about. it's just a really cool program.

Folks, you know, we're practicing every day, six days of the week, live classes, the community, you know, the progress, the joy. It's living a musical life with others is what it is. It really is. I love, oh, is that a new slogan? It might be. Living a musical life with others.

It sounds like a sharper image of jazz piano practice. Is it maybe a jazz piano commune? No, it could be. Sharper image of jazz piano practice. You can get a, you can get a sport coat with an FM headset attached to it. The sharp image of jazz piano. You used to be great. Now it just infects your computer with a browser that'll never close. You can get gloves with a Capcom video game for football on.

So today we're talking about Peter, one of my favorite, all-time favorite piano players. Oh, I'm blushing. Well, hang on there, buddy. Now, this is a young pianist. Well, he's not that young, but he's younger than us, which is young in my book. We've talked about him before. And, you know, we always describe him, and this is true. We're going to prove it today.

Yeah. As the pianist, when great jazz pianists get together and talk about who they like, who's younger, this person is usually at the top of the list. I don't know anybody who's doing anything as good or original or with such a strong artistic voice as the great Sullivan Fortner. He's got a new album out called Solo Game and it is a masterpiece, Peter. I don't know if you've heard any of it yet, but it is unbelievable, unbelievable. Like, sounds on the piano that I just, every time I hear, I'm like, I didn't know this was possible. And I'm not trying to blow too much smoke, but it is like, it is next level, this new album.

So I thought we could listen to a track, but don't just take our word for it. We got some, some, in the last few months, there's been some social media posts by some greats about Sullivan, current greats. And so I thought, folks that are kind of representative of what the state of the art of jazz, piano. 100%. Everybody here that we're going to, we're going to, uh, that has talked up Sullivan is a state of the art musician in their own right. Starting with you, Peter, you, I know you spent some time with Sullivan when he was very young. Yes. I do know

amongst other things hopefully, but at a minimum, I gave him his first jazz album, CD. Are you serious? I'm serious. Like I was like, have you ever heard of he came to a summer camp that I was teaching out of New Orleans when I want to say he was like between 8th and 9th grade, something around there? And, um, So in a way, this is you. You did all this. Well, I don't like this. I think this is, I think you can take credit.

No, it's not about me. Okay. No, but I gave him, I don't know why. I was like, well, I heard him play. I was like, okay, this dude is talented. Yeah. Nice kid. And so I gave him, um, whatever I had my car, it was either Empry and Isles or Maiden

voyage, which to be your first jazz album. But you went out to your car and got a CD for him? I was like, let me, let me, yeah. That's a good teacher there. That's a good dude. But I was like, Peter's a good dude. I was like, have you heard of Herbie Hancock? he's like no and so I was like well now you are and then he went home and like learned all the

stuff over the next couple days I was like okay but no Sullivan is a and I just looked up because I was about to say a great kid he was born in 1986 so would that make him pushing 40 37 yeah but I mean you know having known him for a long time you know it's one of the fun things when you've been around as long as I have and been you know involved with some younger folks at different times to see some of them progress and I got to say like just he is one of the just most interesting kindest funniest uh people that i've been around ever since i first met him even when he was a young man back then and i don't get a chance to see him as much as i like but every time i see him he's just a joy to be around really cool dude and um i wish the best

for him and this new album i mean i've been following him everything he's been doing since he was playing with roy hargrove since he first went to oberland since you know i knew him in high school and stuff but um all of his albums and playing on different with different people i thought was great but I think he's kind of hit this great, beautiful plateau where he's getting the love and admiration publicly that he'd been getting privately from all of us pianists. We all kind of agree that it's just like a love fest. It's a Sullivan Fortner Appreciation Club and rightfully so a love fest. Well, and the new album is called again Solo Game.

It was produced by open studio artist Fred Hirsch. Yes. Which is incredible. Was his real teacher. Teacher to the jazz piano. Who has been a mentor for Sullivan, I know. Yeah. And we will listen.

to a track off of that, the opening track here in a little bit. But go check it out for yourself. Put it on your playlist, have a listen, let us know what you think. But here's some accolades, Peter Akeld, if we can put up on the screen here. I got you. I got you. Thank you. Some social media posts in the last few weeks and months from great. So this is from another open studio artist, the amazing Jeffrey Keeser, another one of our

favorite pianists of all time. Yes. And Jeffrey says, in the 80s, 90s, 2000s, my dear friend and mentor and great pianist himself, James Williams used to lovingly refer to Mulgrew Miller as the state of the art of jazz piano. No truer words were spoken. That baton has now been passed to this person right here. I've been a fan of his for a long time, but Sullivan Fortner, Sullivan Fortner's new solo piano album is fully another level altogether. Simply some of the best piano playing I've heard in my life past or present. That's a big endorsement. Because Jeffrey has

listened to a lot of music and he's got a lot of it under his hands. And then you get Orrin Evans saying, agree. Yeah, Orrin Evans says agreed. James says agreed. James Poyser, you know, like Shedric Mitchell chimes in. But that's not all here. Jason Moran made a post about, I mean, this is very rare for pianists to make a post about someone else's album. Sullivan Fortner, I've known this brother since he walked into my studio at Manhattan School of Music back in 06 or so. And from that point on, he is my ace. This is a master at work presenting a two volume solo recording, two different modes, each brilliant. I've been listening to some of these tracks for a couple of years and couldn't wait for people to hear them. The day has

arrive, go check out Sullivan Fortner Jr.'s solo game. Yeah. Check out Jason Moran's social media. He's got a good game here. Is he doing that as we're watching this? He, you know, he recorded on his, it's not that complicated, Peter. And then none other than Brad Meldow himself back in May.

I got to hear the incomparable Sullivan Fortner tonight at the Benwees in Amsterdam. I'm sure many of you know how unreal his music is. He just blows me away every time I get to hear him tonight with piano solo. Sullivan is deep on all levels. Touch, counterpoint, relaxation, swing, transparency of ideas, no matter how dense the texture, he takes you through

the whole emotional spectrum. Unabashed, unabashed joy included. It's completely rooted and completely original at once, which I think is brilliantly said from there. That's so true. Yeah. You have the chance to hear them. And then finally, the one and only Benny Green. Musicians, musician. Yeah. Pianist, pianist, musicians, musician. Yeah, and again, there's a comparison here. I can, let me read the whole thing here, because it's Benny's such an amazing writer. I don't want to shortchange any of this. Musicians, musicians generally seem to affect no hustle or gimmicks to their speech, persona, or appearance. They generally claim no innovations as their own, don't engage in public announcements of other artists,

and assume no self-aggrandizing platforms. They never seem to actually talk themselves up, but they openly acknowledge and extol praise of others. Generally speaking, these musicians drives thoughts and energies seem to be more focused on the music, seeking a good sound, embracing, studying, absorbing, and metabolizing the language of the songs and conscientiously minimizing their own ignorance to the past, that they might tread lightly with minimal blind reinforcement of redundant sleepwalking cliches. Such artists are often, such artists often value clarity of expression over athleticism. These are the musicians who other musicians seem to admire, respect, seek to learn from, and maybe even to emulate in terms of their

attitude and practice. For those who would honor a truthful path and desire not to become distracted by materialistic pursuits of fleeting, illusory, relevance to corporate and social media, these artists quietly become unpretentious role models and even heroes to the rest of us. Is Benny Green the real William Shakespeare? What's the whole going on? Is it an incredible writer? It's the audience and the musicians who uphold the glorious truth of our Mulgrew Millers and Sullivan Fortners. I mean, that's in the same phrase. That's high phrase. history of those who love music and care about its players mustn't bank on the industry to support or really to do anything

for such unassumingly brilliant people as they, while they're alive, healthy and strong. And then he says, I'm excited to be around in the same lifetime as someone such as Sullivan, while there are many fantastic musicians remembering Mulgrew and seeing the same things that others do in this life. For what it's worth, I know with absolute certainty that we're never going to meet a person who plays more piano or is more humble than he. I think that's so beautiful. And, you know, again,

this is not to praise someone who is still around here and younger than us too much here, Peter, but pretty incredible high praise from some masters of the piano. We're talking about Jeffrey Keiser, Jason Moran, Brown-Meldow, and Penny Green doesn't get much better than that. Absolutely. Hortet of pianists and understandably, understandably. Really fun, really fun to have new music from Sullivan. Maybe we can have a little bit of a listen. We were talking about the Stevie track on there. That one I have heard.

And that's fun. Well, let's have a listen to that. Yeah, I definitely want to listen to that. Okay, so here is Sullivan Fortner's solo game, 2023. Let's listen to Don't You Worry About a Thing. All of it, the counterpoint, the orchestration, the touch, the feel, it's playful, it's heavy, incredible. Like, as Brad Meldon mentioned, it's rooted and fresh at the same time. It's rooted in history.

and fresh to the moment. How great is that? Can we listen to one more? Yeah. So this is a double CD, by the way. This is two discs. And I was just thinking, like, to me, to describe, not only the way he does that Stevie Wonder composition,

but I've heard him do this on several other solo things for a while, I'm going to coin his style of that, of that arrangement. Effortless deconstruction. Effortless deconstruction. Right. Because, I mean, he's definitely deconstructed. what we would say, like, with his arrangement of the tune. But it feels effortless.

It feels organic. It feels fun, playful, all these different things. You know, and I think that he really, besides just the specific, you know, elements that we could get into pianistically that he's applying. Which is there so many. Which are so many. But Sullivan, just in terms of like the music and I think how it can reach the listener if you're open to it.

Like he said, rooted and fresh at the same time. That was what Brad said. Like that's the way Sullivan's personality is. I know. As a human. So like it's very, he's an old soul, but he's an old soul.

There's a spark in the eye. But his music, it exhibits and matches his personality in a way that really makes him an old soul because normally that's like later in your, like that's sort of the destination you're moving towards. It's like how can you match up your humanity with the humanity of your music?

And he's kind of been there for a while. He has crazy. Which is, that is the amazing part because anybody who's been around for a minute. knows that that's the most difficult thing to do. Yeah. And, you know, like his chops, his understanding, his nuances, his control, of course, you see that progressing.

But, like, what has been there, and I think that's the reason so many of these great artists are so excited publicly and have been privately, or maybe we're just, you know, kind of seeing it coalescing around as it should be, a release of an album like this, you're seeing that kind of common acknowledgement of that. So it's not just like, oh, man, he's got the burning his chops. He used that sharp nine, flat through, so doeply.

Like, no, no, it's, it's, those are just elements that he infuses. I'm realizing,

I haven't actually heard this whole album. You know, I've been treating it like, you ever get, you ever, uh, I don't know if you've ever read any poetry,

Peter? Yeah. You ever read, like an amazing book of poetry. My friend. And you, oh, interesting.

Well, we have to have to have some of that on the pot at some point. You'll hear it. But you know, when you, like, find a poet that really speaks to you and like,

it takes forever to get through a book of poetry because you just keep going back. Yeah, you want to take your time, you want to keep like reading. Yeah. So I want to maybe listen to a couple more. This is Neil Hefti's cute. What do you know about cute?

I mean, it's a... I'll be afraid to play the solo piano. Wing at that volume level, man. What's funny is you can hear both Fred Hirsch and Jason Moran. I was just thinking that. He studied with both of them, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally. I mean, he's played in his own...

Yeah, a lot of Hirsch, a lot of him. The sense of melody to route all these tunes never loses it. You always know where the head is. Hyper aware. I don't know. What's exciting for this? Implied swing and groove on this. It's kind of off the charts.

It's off the charts. Considering what he's playing. This could be, his style of these sort of like short, quippy things, phrases. Quiping. I think in other hands could be corny. Right. But his absolute grounding to the, like we said, to the history of the music and his sense of swing. it ties it all together in a way that you can make something that like

you play most people play in this transcription this would sound corny and you can make it sound this hip and adventure is what's exciting to about this Peter is that young pianists are going to hear this as they're developing yeah you know what I mean and in 10 15 years we're going to get to hear a crop of young pianists we were first along with Fred Hirsch and Jason Brandon yeah no but we get to hear them distill this into their playing hear other geniuses get to do the same thing. Amazing. So great.

I want to hear one more track here because I haven't gotten to the end of this album yet. Okay. But there's one here that's called, it's very short. It's called Fred Hirsch Notes on Solo. I guess we could listen to both these. They're both kind of short. Fred Hirsch Notes on Solo, Jason Moran, Notes on Game. Wow.

I first heard Sullivan and Fortner in 2009 at a master class that I co-led with Jason Moran. Oh, cool. As the class was breaking up, I pulled Jason aside and asked him, Was he as good as I think he was? To which Jason replied, yes, he is the real deal. In the subsequent few years,

Sullivan started out as my student, then mentee, and now he is a valued colleague and friend. When I approached Sullivan about doing a solo album, he agreed to trust me to produce it, for which I was honored. He is one of the best jazz pianists in the world today, and he has all the musical attributes I love,

creativity, technique always in the service of expression, joy and humor, fearlessness, and pianistic mastery. For the session, I asked him to make a list of as many tunes that he thought he might want to play. Once we had the recorded sound, I sat in the control room and asked him to play whatever tune I selected from the list. We recorded them in four sets of about six tunes each. the only rule was no second takes. In a couple of cases, I suggested a particular approach to his interpretation. For myself, I always feel that I play my best,

the less I think about it in advance. So I wanted to create that atmosphere for him. Out of 24 performances, fully 20 could have been included on this album. Afterwards, I let him make the selections and we work together on the sequence of the tracks. What you hold is a remarkable set of music from one of the handful of brilliant musicians of his generation. I hope you enjoy listening as much as we did in the creation of it. That's pretty cool.

Imagine like hearing Teo talk about recording with Miles or what the philosophy was behind it. When I asked the pianist Sullivan. That's Jason Moran, yeah. Let's just say quick, well first, shameless plug, Fred Hirsch, if you want to learn how to play like Sullivan Fort, Guaranteed. They want to study with... We have two courses in Open Studio. We have thoughts and experiments with Sullivan.

We are incredibly fortunate to have... In the art of the duo by Fred Hirsch. Link below! Fred Hirsch's only video piano instruction is here at Open Studio. It is an unbelievable course that you can get here as an open studio member. When you become a member, just ask for the Sullivan Fortner guarantee. So go check out Sullivan Fortner's notes on game. We can listen to Jason Rand thing once we're off there here, Peter.

Yeah. And I would imagine, too, like, go find a way to actually, if you're a jazz pianist and you really like this. You know, Sullivan's out here doing it and, you know, to Benny Green's writings on sort of the corporate element of this that is usually not go, that doesn't usually go in hand in hand with music that's on the cutting edge like this. Right. Go see if you can buy this from Sullivan directly or from somewhere where he's going to get a little bit more scratch than even just streaming it on. That's right. Spotify. You can even stream it on Spotify.

Go to Apple music and stream it is what you're saying. No, no, no, go buy yourself a copy and then stream it all you want, but give a little bit to that artist. Absolutely. Agree. We'll have a link below for that. Yeah, exactly. 100%. Well, this was super fun.

Should we go out on a little bit of, uh... What was that, uh, oh, there was a, what was the other track that was, we were checking it? Put on whatever you want. It's all so great. How about a little, uh, invitation? Ooh, okay.