Whatsa Pianobabbler?
September 06 2009

The Pianobabbler has been babbling pianistically for just under a year.

As we enter the Fall, it's time to re-introduce him. Me. It. Us. The Pianobabbler. What's he about? What's it, the eponymous blog, about?

The Pianobabbler is a professional pianist. Nominally classified as a jazzer. But my influences are varied. Heavy on the classical. Beatles-era rock. Ragtime. Swing.

The music that hasn't influenced me defines the Pianobabbler's sound as well. Bebop is a style I respect and listen to. But it does not inform my playing much.

Ditto for the prevailing piano paradigms of the present: Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock and the like. Respect, yes. Reproductive reverence, no.

So my sound doesn't quite fit in with the jazz Zeitgeist. It tends to be happier than the norm. I am often told that. "Your music leaves people happy." Sometimes, I feel it is a reproach. Sorry!

If only I could be more dour. I would surely have more gigs.

At times, I want to shout out to my colleagues in jazz that the Vietnam war is over. The conditions that gave rise to the anxious, alienated sound in much of jazz no longer prevail.

This, though, is a blog for another day.

My sound is relevant here to the extent that the Pianobabbler blog reflects my place in the jazz world. The Pianobabbler is subtitled A blog in the life of a working musician. I try to offer people at large (musicians too, of course,) peepholes in to the life of one who has chosen to go professional.

There is, in the minds of many, a glory to the music profession. This is no doubt borrowed light from the illustrious careers of the stars out there. But the bright stars are scarce, relative to the less luminous ones. There are billions of stars, but only one Sun. There is only one Herbie Hancock, for billions- at least it seems like billions - of pianists.

It is a challenging profession. Challenging, as in freakin' tough. Why this should be so, is the subject of long-standing debate. Suffice it to say, though, that many musicians do struggle to make ends meet.

In addition to shining some light on the life of a musician, the Pianobabbler offers up opinions on music issues. The view from here is so often different from the view outside of music.

Yet, many people on the outside have strong views about the business. About how we do business. How we should do business. About awards. About what awards mean. About copyright. About many things in music.

The Pianobabbler is an insider's voice meant to complement and inform those voices on the outside. It is also meant to engage debate with outsiders and insiders alike.

So, soon to enter a second year, the Pianobabbler will go on babbling. Thank you for being at the receiving end. Please tell your friends to check it out. Add the Pianobabbler to your RSS feed. Please keep coming back, and offering your comments.

May we all thrive in the Blogo- and Babblesphere.

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