Ed Mascari

Conversations at the Piano

The year was 1966 and by then I was thoroughly into jazz. Although my mother had been encouraging me to focus on playing the standards long before this major stylistic shift, I simply had to find my own timetable. Fortunately though, my mother managed to keep those great songs alive and in my ears for several years before I exchanged the raucous sounds of rock’n roll for those of the smooth swinging standards.

Although her vocal training focused more on the classical repertoire, she had a love for great songs. In fact, back in the 1950s, she used to consistently predict which songs would become hit records while watching the Lucky Strike Hit Parade TV show. In addition to the Hit Parade TV show, our household radio was usually tuned into WFAS-AM radio, a that station featured a variety of standards and easy listening favorites the majority of the time.

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Many of us have people in our lives who have given us a special gift that keeps on giving. When I was about 16 and had just become an avid jazz fan, a friend of my parents took note of my interest. Although he sold cleaning systems to corporations by profession and was the father of three boys, he was unique among the adults I knew at the time. The reality was that I had not seen any suburban family men who were such passionate listeners to this wonderful style of music. And so it was with Richard Smith that I attended two concerts, both of which relate directly to the subject of today’s post.

The first occasion has to do with the composer of Summer in Central Park, Horace Silver. I chuckle today when I think of listening to the Horace Silver Quintet at Carnegie Hall and thinking that the jazz they played was “far out”. It just goes to show that familiarity and knowledge of music helps it become much more comprehensible. Listening to Horace Silver’s many “cookin” compositions today; I find them bluesy, swinging and optimistic. You can’t help but tap your foot to pieces like Song for My Father or Sister Sadie.

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If you are a baby-boomer like me, you grew up at the time when watching many of the Walt Disney feature films was part of your life experience. When we took my first grandson to his first movie in the theatre, it was another Disney film, Beauty and the Beast. I remember how impressed I was when I heard the music, because the Disney quality was still there even in this more contemporary style.

There is a major difference, however, between the Disney film scores from the past and those of today. It’s no surprise though, because the music for today’s post Someday My Prince Will Come was composed in 1937. As I have often said the standards from the American Popular Songbook (1920s - 1940s) were composed in a certain style that lends itself to individual interpretation and inspiration for the pianist.

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One of my adult students has often said to me, “I really like songs with lyrics by Johnny Mercer”. Being someone who has always focused more on the music than on the words, I didn’t realize why her comment is so telling. At least until today when I sat down to write this blog post.

For a man who lived a mere 66 years, Johnny Mercer (1909-1976) managed to collaborate with composers from Carmichael in 1933 to Mandel and Mancini in the 1960s and beyond. The standards that feature his lyrics make up a significant segment of the songs are so much a part of our American musical heritage.

It seems surprising to me that I was much more familiar with the 1960s Mercer/Mancini material than I was with today’s selected jazz waltz, Emily, which featured Johnny Mercer’s collaboration with composer and arranger Johnny Mandel. For some reason, the sheet music was not part of my library. In addition, I was unfamiliar with many of the great recordings that I have only recently discovered.

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Whether my student is 6 or 66, she seems to have trouble playing in 3/4 time. You may be wondering why counting “1-2-3-1-2-3, etc” is so difficult for her. I’ve asked myself that question for more than three decades. Yet, I really do know the answer. The counting issue (which is not the real problem by the way) is really about the student’s experience with the waltz itself.

Thinking back to my days of performing in the Catskill Mountains, I still remember the father of a particular resort owner introducing our band in this way: “Presenting the Mascaro (note the misspelling) Trio, they’re damn good if they play a waltz once in a while”. That’s the answer! Many piano students today are not as familiar with the waltz as were those of my parents’ generation.

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I will finish my series on the jazz waltz, I promise. But summer is almost here and before it arrives I want to share with you some of methods I’ve developed to stay interested in music over the beautiful warm summer months. These are tips that have worked for my students and myself over the past 30 years.

Here in the Northeast, when summer finally arrives, you want to spend as much time as possible savoring every moment of the longer days filled with warm temperatures and beautiful weather. It’s been a long year filled with too many commitments, schedules, requirements and far too much rushing around. All you want to do is relax, bask in the sun, have fun and relish the opportunity to slow down your hectic pace.

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I’ve been planning this year’s upcoming Ed Mascari Piano Studio Spring Recital over the past several weeks. So, I thought I’d take time this week to share with you some of the tips I give my students to help them prepare for their recital performance. (I’ll return to the jazz waltz series next week).

Last year’s recital, both the children’s and the adult’s recital, was a great success. It featured performances of Makin’ Whoopee, Dave Brubeck’s Blue Rondo and a duet performance of The Way You Look Tonight.

When it comes to taking piano lessons most students perform in recitals at one time or another. Whether you are a seasonal recital performer or are facing your debut appearance, you probably have questions, concerns and a few butterflies too.

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As I’ve mentioned before, my interest in jazz began during my high school years. One of people who had a tremendous impact on my early development as a jazz musician was my brother’s guitar teacher, Bob Evans.   Mr. Evans was probably in his 50s at the time and highly motivated about his own musical development. As a result, his enthusiasm was infectious.

One of the reasons for this was because Bob was taking lessons from Toots Thielemans. This was about three years after Thielemans had become well-known as the composer of Bluesette. Toots, as he is known, was born Jean-Baptiste Frederic Isidor, Baron Thielemans in Belgium in 1922. After his Paris jam sessions with Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and others in 1949, Toots moved to the USA in 1952 and began gigging and recording with Parker, George Shearing, Ella Fitzgerald and others.

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If you’re like me, the name Walt Disney (1901-1966), is not only familiar, but brings up a variety of associations. Most of us are familiar with Disney characters, films, memorabilia and theme parks that have been part of our American culture for nearly a century. Then how is it possible that I had never heard the song Alice in Wonderland until a few years ago?

Although I may have heard the tune of Alice in Wonderland at one point, I have no conscious recollection of when had heard a recording of it. Nevertheless, when I saw the sheet music for the first time in the mid -1990s, I immediately jumped in and started playing it on the piano. It was great fun! Since then, Alice in Wonderland has been my favorite jazz waltzes, and in fact, one of my preferred pieces.

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Many times when I introduce a song to my intermediate and advanced piano students, I tell them about the first time I remember hearing the song we are about to explore. Almost every time, the recording that influenced my concept of the tune was performed by a jazz musician. You would be amazed at how different my perception of the piece is from that of most of these students.

Today’s featured song, My Favorite Things, is no exception. In fact, today marks the beginning of my Jazz Waltz Blog post series. The traditional um-pah-pah waltz is wonderful for the romantic ballroom dance style that has been popular for decades. Examples of traditional waltzes include songs like Edelweiss, Fascination, Sunrise Sunset, Tennessee Waltz and Daddy’s Little Girl. 

While many jazz waltzes can also work as traditional danceable waltzes, when you play them in this other style, you’ll understand the difference. Hopefully, by the time you’ve read about and heard the six jazz waltzes over the next month and a half, you’ll become as enthusiastic as many of my students are about this genre as well as these six great songs!

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