Ed Mascari

Conversations at the Piano

Today marks the final chapter of my Cole Porter blog series. As I mentioned a while ago, this composer was far from being an overnight success. Although Love for Sale was featured in the revue called The New Yorkers, its lyrics were considered much too explicit for society in 1930. Nevertheless, this song composed two years after Cole Porter reintroduced himself to Broadway, has become a popular standard. In fact, many jazz instrumentalists and vocalists continue to include Love for Sale in their performance repertoires.

When I reflect on the collection of songs that I played and recorded for this series on Cole Porter, I certainly can appreciate Porter’s contribution to the American Popular Songbook with a different perspective. There’s something very valuable about getting acquainted with a composer’s musical language. By this I mean his or her manner of creating melodies and harmonic progressions as well as choosing certain chords and presenting these with certain overall and specific rhythmic patterns. In the case of Cole Porter, there is the additional element of his lyrics which definitely have an impact on his musical structure.

During the 16 years when I was actively composing concert music (classical music), I gained a tremendous amount of knowledge by getting to know the lives and works of many classical composers. My pattern was to select a specific composer because I had heard a piece that I really liked. I would buy the CD and purchase or borrow the musical score from the library. Usually, I would be curious about the creator of the particular piece that had caught my attention. This motivated me to find and read the biography which in turn introduced me to the even more of the composer’s compositions. Before I knew it, I was listening to many new (at least to me) pieces of music. This process combined in a way that energized and enriched my musical life.

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When I was young, going to see a movie was a big deal. Unlike the availability of films on TV as well as on DVDs, the Internet and even hand held devices as we have today, the local cinema was the only place to experience Hollywood’s latest motion picture. The characters looked larger than life on the giant screen; the color picture provided a marked contrast to the dull black and white images we viewed on our television at home, and the sound was staggering since we were use to hearing heard voices and music coming from small poor quality speakers.

Because these trips to the movies were infrequent during my childhood, they stood out in my mind. It’s interesting that two of the films that our family attended came to mind when I began preparing to write this post. One of them, which was and continues to be an important part of the American cultural experience, was The Wizard of Oz.  In fact, I recorded and wrote about Over the Rainbow in my blog post nearly one year ago. There I pointed out the fact that this song’s universal appeal is the reason that I often use it to demonstrate a variety of arranging styles to prospective piano students (adults and/or children with their parents) when I meet with them for their free initial interview/consultation.

The other less well-known movie that our family attended featured Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse in the 1957 film version of Cole Porter’s show, Silk Stockings. I can still remember watching this couple dancing effortlessly and gracefully across the screen. Since my mother knew, liked and could play many of the standards from the American Popular Songbook, it doesn’t surprise me to think that she not only wanted to see the film herself, but also wanted to introduce me to this wonderful musical repertoire. Needless to say, I certainly had no idea at the time that I’d be playing, recording and writing about All of You, the song which emanated from this Cole Porter score so many years later.

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A few months a year after beginning my 14 year stint as solo pianist at the Radisson Milford Hotel, I recorded a solo piano album entitled I’m Beginning to See the Light. Little did I know when I began the project, how prophetic the title of that recording would turn out to be. Although we learn from our mistakes and grow from life experiences, the process can be extremely painful.

Despite the fact that many people purchased and enjoyed my cassette album, I was somewhat disappointed by what I heard in my piano playing. After dealing with discouragement and disillusionment with the results of my efforts and investment of time, energy and money, I began to see the light. While listeners had enjoyed my solo piano music as an easy listening background tape for dinner, driving and /or relaxing, I knew that I needed more musical training to better express myself as a pianist.

Remembering the advice of my closest friend, jazz guitarist John Dougherty from several years earlier (I spoke about this in last week’s post), I knew exactly what to do.

Take piano lessons!

Within a short time after deciding to proceed to with the next step on my musical journey, I searched for, located and enrolled in private lessons with composer and jazz pianist William Thomas McKinley. At my first lesson with Tom, he not only introduced me to some new and better ways to understand and play chords, he also encouraged me to enroll in the Master of Music degree program at New England Conservatory. Before I knew it, I was a graduate student majoring in Jazz Studies.

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When I was 30 I had come to a point of crisis in my career. I had already been teaching piano for a couple of years, but I knew that I needed more knowledge. At the same time, I was performing 3 to 6 nights per week as the keyboard player and leader of my commercial trio, Synergy. Although we had started the group for the purpose of playing my original jazz compositions, the need to make a living required us to think much more pragmatically.

As a husband and step-father to three young boys, I was concerned about providing for my family. Nevertheless, it was clear to me that somehow I had to persevere in my career path as both a private piano teacher and a professional pianist. Since I had to make some major changes to manage this somewhat ambitious goal, I consulted my closest friend, jazz guitarist John Dougherty. Previously, John and I had spent a year working together in his quartet which traveled from gig to gig along the East Coast. Since he had always shared his musical knowledge, training and experience with me, I trusted his recommendation.

What did my friend think I should do? You guessed it……..Take piano lessons!

A big part of my philosophy about teaching piano came as a result of following this sound advice. Rather then send me to a concert pianist, John recommended a rather unusual teacher who provided me with a high level of diversified musical training that included classical piano technique and literature, piano pedagogy, church music, jazz composition, music theory, ear training and of course solo jazz piano playing. The great part of all this was that I was able to develop my skills and knowledge in these areas as a result of taking a private music lesson once a week. My piano instructor was a professor from New England Conservatory by the name of Joseph Gabriel Maneri. Despite the fact that he was a jazz saxophonist and a classical  composer, Joe had spent many years studying piano, music theory and composition in preparation for his own professional career.

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Many people I know have said that they were glad to say goodbye to 2009. With the economy, the political situation and the general morale being less than upbeat, it certainly seems like the title of today’s selection That’s All is spoken with a tone of relief. When he wrote the words to That’s All in 1952, lyricist Alan Brandt (born 1923) probably had a different thought in mind.

There is an element of humility in Brandt’s lyrics when they say, “I can only give you love…. I can only give you country walks….that’s all, that’s all.” Perhaps as we move forward into 2010, we can take solace in the fact that last year could only give us what it gave us. If we let it go, we can look ahead with a more positive outlook.

What better way is there to feel more joyful, more hopeful and more enthusiastic about life than by playing and listening to music? That’s All is the kind of a tune that leaves room for a variety of interpretations. Its composer Bob Haymes (1923-1989) was the younger brother of the singer and actor, Dick Haymes. Also known under the stage names Robert or Bob Stanton, Bob Haymes is best remembered as the composer of That’s All.  However, during his long career, he also worked as a singer, actor, radio host and television emcee.

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During my final year at Holy Cross College, my deepest desire had been to perform full-time as a jazz musician. However, due to my need to make a living, I pursued what I then thought was my secondary career, that of working as a music teacher. In order to continue performing with the Ed Mascari Jazz Quartet as well as hosting my jazz radio show on WICN-FM (both based in Worcester near the college), I accepted a teaching position at Clinton Jr. Sr. High School. Little did I know at the time that I would later establish the Ed Mascari Piano Studio’s Hudson Studio location just a few miles away from there.

Interestingly enough, it was during my first month as a brand new teacher, that the music of the Charlie Brown television programs became the way that the junior high school students related to my jazz piano playing. During those days, jazz education was in its infancy and there was little interest on the part of students for this style of music. However, when I played Herbie Hancock’s Watermelon Man on the piano these young people immediately and enthusiastically responded “That’s Charlie Brown music.”

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Every year, just before Thanksgiving, I start working on Christmas and other holiday songs with my piano students. For the student who has become familiar with the basic I-IV-V-I chord progression by learning how to play selections from my Six Simple Songs collection, including When the Saints Go Marching In, This Old Man and Michael Row the Boat Ashore), the most sensible seasonal selection for her to learn is Jingle Bells.

I would venture a guess that, over the years, most piano students, regardless of their playing level, have included Jingle Bells in their repertoire of holiday songs. In addition to the simplicity of learning the refrain, this song is one of the most well known Christmas holiday standards. It seems to me that whether my piano student is 6 or 66 or any age in between, he is familiar with Jingle Bells. This is no accident, especially in America.

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For those of us who live in the Northeast, snow storms are part of the winter season. I suppose it’s where you are during the storm and in the 12 to 24 hours that follow. When I was a boy, as with most children, I found that snow storms signaled school closings, sleds, snow balls and fun. Things haven’t changed very much since then. When I ask my school age piano students how they felt and what they did during and after a recent snow storm, they share similar stories.

If you’re old enough, you may remember the Blizzard of ‘78. The roads throughout Massachusetts were closed for nearly a week. My commercial group, Synergy, was scheduled to start a week’s engagement at the Marriott Hotel in Newton. After several hours of shoveling, I realized that my efforts to get to the gig were futile. This disappointed both the hotel management as well as the booking agent who had lost his 10% commission.

One of the tough things about being a full-time performing musician is that a “no play - no pay” week adds to the normal struggles of “living on the edge”. However, I enjoyed spending some unexpected time with my wife Brenda and the kids and got some much-needed rest during that week.

Needless to say, there was a sense of a Winter Wonderland during that week as we all encountered, experienced and enjoyed the beauty of the white stuff that was all around us. Nevertheless, there is a much more picturesque image that I remember when I think of a Winter Wonderland.

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As most of you know by now, I usually go to Rhapsody Music Service to locate tracks of the featured song selection for my current blog post. Having taught piano for more than three decades, I am thrilled that today I can simply tell my students to look for musical examples on the Internet. One of the best ways that a piano student of any age can find inspiration for practicing and learning a new song is to listen to a variety of performances of the particular piece being studied. I do the same myself.

Sometimes the available assortment of recordings is good, occasionally it’s disappointing and once in a while there are some real gems. I have to tell you that recently when I was working on my Beguine blog posts, I was somewhat disenchanted by selection of tracks offered for the Cole Porter standards that I had selected for the series. As a result, I was not overly hopeful when looking forward to researching versions of today’s selection I’ll Be Home for Christmas.

Boy was I surprised….. Read the rest of this entry »

As I’ve mentioned in several of my blog posts, my musical preferences shifted from popular music to jazz while I was in high school. In my efforts to develop my skills at the keyboard, I sought out musical models by listening to records as well as jazz radio stations. Because I grew up in Westchester County, I lived close enough to the Big Apple that it was possible to get to New York City by car or train within about an hour.

One of the benefits to being near this cultural hub was that my early exposure to jazz included some transformational experiences that have had an impact on my entire musical career. Sometime between attending the two concerts that I wrote about in my Summer in Central Park Brings Memories of Great Music blog post, a friend of mine introduced me to the music of the Dave Brubeck Quartet.

In addition to sharing some of his Brubeck LPs with me, he and his father invited me to attend one of the Quartet’s concerts held at Lincoln Center during the ensemble’s Take Five heyday period. Needless to say, as an impressionable young pianist, I was blown away by the performance.

What I didn’t realize at the time was that Brubeck (often with long-time partner saxophonist Paul Desmond) had an extensive discography that featured interpretations of the standards of the American Popular Songbook. Even though two of my three Brubeck records fit into this category, it was only much later that I realized how important this contribution was.

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