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Comments

• [1] Jeff Putterman from Queens May 01, 2009 - 12:16PM

  Thank you WNYC for this broadcast. Bill Charlap is one of our jazz treasures, and hearing him explain what a pianist -- or any musician -- does when he/she improvises is a treat.

  I particularly like what he says about phrasing being exactly what a good singer does with the lyrics of a particular song. As Bill knows, this is what Lester Young meant when he said he could not play a ballad if he did now know the words!!!

  Bravo.

  
  
• [2] Chicago Listener May 01, 2009 - 12:21PM

  Does your guest have any comments on someone like Mal Waldron? He played many of the same songs for decades but, I think, always brought something fresh to his performances.

  Or maybe comment on Charlie Mingus who, I understand, pushed his band mates relentlessly to explore and improvise.

  
  
• [3] Steve Palmieri from Oakland, NJ May 01, 2009 - 12:21PM

  I heard Bill play at a small club in PA several years ago. I needed to use the bathroom and while standing in front of the urinal, Bill walks in to relieve himself. There were the two of us having a whiz while discussing the merits of mixo-sharp four scales versus the "target pitch" approach...only musicians would do this and not find it in the least out-of-the-ordinary. He's a great player who listens at least as well as he plays, and that's saying something.

  
  
• [4] Cano Rojas May 01, 2009 - 12:24PM

  From a non musician music/jazz lover. Many thanks for the amazing class...

  
  
• [5] stanley dorn from g village May 01, 2009 - 12:25PM

  Thanks for having Bill Charlap on - he's a great musician and an articulate teacher. I'm disappointed by your willingness to interrupt him in the middle of an explanation and direct the discussion.

  
  
• [6] yh from brooklyn May 01, 2009 - 12:29PM

  Yes, many thanks to Leonard and Bill for the program. This demystifies, but also re-mystifies the beauty and complexity of what happens in the mind of the improviso! Thank you! It's quite fun to hear the process of progression.

  
  
• [7] Chicago Listener May 01, 2009 - 12:30PM

  Who are your guest's favorite groups from Blue Note and Impulse in the 1960s?

  
  
• [8] David from Manhattan May 01, 2009 - 12:31PM

  Is there a point in improvisation where the intellectual part (knowing what/how you are playing) gives way to the key emotional piece of improvisation? This is a fascinating program.

  
  
• [9] Eric Forman from Brooklyn, NY May 01, 2009 - 12:34PM

  Fantastic segment - Nice work! Can Bill Charlap recommend any jazz piano teachers for a classically trained pianist in New York?

  Thanks.

  
  
• [10] Chicago Listener May 01, 2009 - 12:36PM

  Is what Cecil Taylor plays "improvisation" or should we call it something else? In other words, I think of improvising on a theme, but if there is no theme or melody what is it besides just music? I think Taylor would say that the whole piece of music is the theme, or something like that.

  
  
• [11] Amy from Manhattan May 01, 2009 - 12:38PM

  I'm glad Bill Charlap mentioned Max Roach as one of the greatest improvisers. I heard him in the '70s at Blues Alley in DC, & he played a solo piece on the high-hat cymbals...& nothing else. With drumsticks, brushes, & his fingers, he got sounds out of those 2 metal plates I didn't know were possible. I don't know if it was entirely improvised or how much of a framework he started with, but it was amazing!

  
  
• [12] G. Giraldo from Harlem May 01, 2009 - 12:38PM

  Sounds like Improvisation is a lot like Latin dancing. two people within a structure changing the rhythm and communicating new combinations of steps but always arriving at some point or another back to the basic step structure

  
  
• [13] Burroughs from Harlem May 01, 2009 - 12:39PM

  directly influenced their creativity. Why no mention of this?

  
  
• [14] Burroughs from Harlem May 01, 2009 - 12:42PM

  As an African American, I have lived and still live with racism in this country.

  It was a shame that your guest discussed what Black Jazz artists have contributed to this artform absent any commentary on how they suffered the horrors of racism. More, inexplicably, how living under such conditions could not have influenced their creativity.

  Race consideration is still verboten even in the high arts.

  
  
• [15] Sandra from east village, NYC May 01, 2009 - 12:42PM

  this was the best show I've ever heard, absolutely terrific. thank you.

  
  
• [16] Allison from New Jersey May 02, 2009 - 08:17AM

  Great show - thanks so much for addressing this interesting topic. There is a very good music camp for teens dedicated to the art and skills of music improvisation here in NYC. The Music Improv Camp at Teachers College Columbia University runs July 20-24. They have a Web site - www.tc.edu/improvcamp.

  
  
• [17] Bert Konowitz from Teachers College Columbia University May 06, 2009 - 09:57PM

  Bill is great. Where to begin improv ? Teachers College Columbia University Music Improv Camp for Middle and High Schools students, week of July 24. Check site :

  www.tc.edu/improvcamp

  Call 516-946-8296

  It won't help you to play like Bill right now, but think about the future

  
  
• [18] F. Gominho from Huntington, NY May 08, 2009 - 11:39AM

  Great piece on Jazz Improvisation. Leornard, keep up the good work. After all, Jazz and Blues are the original American art forms.