When I’m teaching my piano students how to play one of the great standards, it’s easy for me to forget something very important. If you’re like most students, you probably have become familiar with songs, especially the standards from the American Popular Songbook, by hearing vocal versions of them on recordings and/or by going to Broadway shows (including shows of this type presented locally).

So what’s wrong with this? Nothing is wrong! 

However, your acquaintance with a particular song is probably making you think that a song can only be performed one very specific way – the way you heard it.

Here’s the good news…..

There are usually many ways to interpret songs. Such is the case with today’s featured blog selection, Jimmy Van Heusen’s Imagination. I must tell you that during the past week, I felt like my listening relationship with this great piece was more typical to that of my students than to that of my normal overview.

Here’s what I mean…

When I was growing up, my mother would have the radio playing in the house. Many of the standards were sung by Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Jack Jones, Andy Williams, Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme, and others. If my mother heard a song that she really liked, she would go to the piano and play the melody with a make-shift accompaniment. Had this been my only listening practice, I would not have spent the past 40 years as a professional musician.

What happened?

Just before my 16^th birthday, I played my first G.B. gig, as we used to call them. It was a private dinner dance at the Embassy Club (similar to VFW or Italian-American Clubs) in Dobbs Ferry, NY. These folks danced enthusiastically and effortlessly to all of the standards in a variety of ballroom styles. I, on the other hand, stumbled through the songs like the true novice I was. This experience was embarrassing to me, but it also inspired me to make a significant change in my life. In fact, it was one that laid the groundwork for the rest of my life.

The next day, I put my all of my Beach Boys, Ventures and other pop music albums aside. Instead of listening to these as I did on a regular basis, I pulled out the four jazz albums that I had and found some of the songs that I had played (poorly, I might add) the night before. Because I already knew many of songs after hearing my mother play and sing them, I immediately noticed that there was something very different about the way that jazz musicians interpreted these same standards.

And so, it all started there and I never looked back.

Today, when I introduce a piece from the American Popular Songbook to a student, one of my goals is to help him or her see the potential inherent in each tune. Often, I’ll demonstrate some of the possible stylistic approaches to the song on the piano. Sometimes I’ll play a recording of the piece that I have in my Natick or Hudson Studio to serve as another example. Usually, I’ll then recommend that a student look online for different versions of the particular standard that he or she is studying. I’ll also typically provide names of performers who will be wonderful models of what can be done.

And so as I said at the beginning of this article, I was caught off guard by some of the interpretations of Imagination that I listened to.  At first, my idea of the Jimmy Van Heusen music written in conjunction with the lyrics of his celebrated collaborator Johnny Burke (I spoke about this partnership in last week’s blog post that featured Here’s That Rainy Day) was that it would best be performed as the beautiful ballad that it is. This jazz oriented approach, enhanced by colorful harmonies along with a heartfelt melodic interpretation, certainly stands in marked contrast to the commonly played commercial big band style of ballroom ballad that was performed in the 1940s and early 1950s.

Two imaginative interpretations of Imagination particularly inspired me. The first of these is none other than a jazz waltz rendition by pianist Harry Happel, from the Netherlands. His live solo jazz piano performance Belgium’s Pinehill not only works wonderfully well as a surprising stylistic statement of this song, but it also serves as an excellent example of the how to play a jazz waltz. This model matches my method of teaching this musical style so well, that I plan to share it with my students. Happel even extends this benefit further because he finishes the song with one of my favorite types of endings.

The other unique and unusual recording of Imagination came from American jazz vocalist Betty Carter (1929 -1998). Despite the fact that there are several jazz singers who are more well-known than Ms. Carter, she always performed with an improvisational insight that distinguished her interpretations from those of her peers. Since I had heard several of her recordings, I decided to attend her faculty recital at New England Conservatory back in 1973. (Little did I know then, that I would receive my graduate degree 20 years later.) During a brief break from our quartet’s traveling timetable, I wanted to take advantage of my time off. I’m glad I did.

Betty’s trio of piano, bass and drums was positioned in the front of Brown Hall. The large room was dimly lighted and all of a sudden Ms. Carter’s unaccompanied voice resonated from the rear of the hall. As she proceeded slowly up the center aisle, she continued to sing as the instrumentalists added the accompaniment. It was magical! When I heard Betty Carter’s rendering of Imagination, I immediately recalled that concert. Starting with an extended improvisational up tempo swing section, her recording defies identification. Even when she slows down, you’re not quite sure of what’s coming next as she identifies the word “imagination” with a variety of interpretations. She eventually sings the entire standard as only she can.

Hopefully, by now you realize that all of us at the Ed Mascari Piano Studio want to inspire piano students just like you to use their imagination when it comes to interpreting songs.

How about you? Are you ready to learn to play the piano in a way that fits you personally? We’ll show you how.

Contact us today. It’s easy. It only takes 10 seconds to get started.

Whether you live near our Natick Studio or your home is closer to our Hudson, MA location, our patient and encouraging piano instructors will be delighted to help you Learn to Play the Music You Love!.