Watch this video clip and listen to the magic music of Arne Jansen and his trio performing a tune called Release. While in our last post with the Arne Jansen Trio the song they performed was a uniformly quiet piece called On the Shore, this composition passes through different moods, from quiet long electric guitar notes while the drummer is playing the cymbals with mallets to parts where the drums become much louder and hammering while the guitar player plays faster runs on his instruments too. Let’s not forget Eva Kruse on the double bass, unfortunately the sound quality of this recording doesn’t allow to hear her clearly (At least not with the poor speakers built into my laptop).
This kind of music reminds me the records that used to appear on the ECM label during the 1970s and 80s, with artists like Jan Gabarek or Terje Rypdal, to mention just two of a long list who all compared a certain sound on these records. Sounds like open spaces.
I cannot avoid to mention that Eric Schaefer recently performed a very convincing concert in Mexico City as the drummer of the Carsten Daerr Trio. Look out for this young german drum talent, we’re sure that he soon will participate in more interesting projects.
The Arne Jansen Trio with Eric Schaefer and Eva Kruse Performing Release
Sunshine of Your Lover Performed by the Jimi Hendrix Experience Band Live in Stockholm
Sunshine of Your Love performed by an exceptional trio of the psychodelic rock epoche: the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Compare this version to the interpretation The Cream performs of the same song. Here we can observe lots of improvisation. The sound quality is not the best and it is kind of annoying on the bass guitar solo, however, this is a great video document of the time and we think everybody should know it.
Glenn Gould Performing Prelude in C Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach
In this little video clip Glenn Gould plays Prelude in C minor from the Well-Tempered Clavier Volume 1 by Johann Sebastian Bach. This clip is an extract from the movie “32 Short Clips about Glenn Gould” and is published on youtube.
Glenn Gould is very famous for his interpretations of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach who wrote a huge amount of compositions for piano solo, with the orchestra and for other ensembles of instruments in different combinations.
The video clip doesn’t show Glenn Gould performing, instead you can see how the different parts of a piano move as Glenn Gould’s interpretation of the tune is sounding.
The Rolling Stones Performing Honky Tonk Woman Live on Stage in the Hyde Park
Watch this video clip from a Rolling Stones concert in the Hyde Park in London from 1969. The band is performing their hit Honky Tonk Woman which later became a song they had to play at every concert they played all over they world, fans just kept asking for it.
Rubinstein Performing Impromptu by Schubert
Watch this video with piano player Arthur Rubinstein performing the Impromptu Op. 90 No. 4 by german composer Franz Schubert. Even though Arthur Rubinstein was already 90 years old when he recorded this version of the Impromptu by Schubert, he still plays very well, I would say he finally plays it the best way he could, after such a long life of playing music, taste must have strongly evolved.
The Cream Performing Sunshine of Your Love
In this video you can see and listen to the legendary blues rock band Cream performing a classic tune called Sunshine of Your Love. The Cream was a non typical rock group since it counted with only three musicians instead of the usual four or five. These musicians were Eric Clapton on the lead guitar and vocals, Ginger Baker on the drums and Jack Bruce on the electric bass guitar and vocals.
The same song was interpreted by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, check both versions and decide which one is your favourite.
Some comment on this video on the youtube site says: “Ginger Baker turned the rock world on its head with this amazing display of musicianship. While every other drummer at the time was busy emphasizing the off-beat, Baker drove relentlessly at the first beat and gave a sense of urgency to what, in other hands, would have been quite an average song. Brilliant!” That is an excellent comment which we fully subscribe.
The Fly Trio Performing a Tune Called Child’s Play
Watch this video with the Fly Trio. This trio counts with Jeff Ballard on drums, Mark Turner on tenor saxophone and Chris Lightcap on accoustic bass. The song is a composition by drummer Jeff Ballard, however, some people think it is kind of a remake of Billie’s Bounce, the famous song by the legendary alto saxophone giant Charlie Parker.
The composition might be influenced by Charlie Parker’s original melody, but the drummer’s introduction is very original: Jeff Ballard playing the drumset with his bare hands. Later he plays with one bare hand and one stick and finally plays the conventional two drum stick style.
This kind of trios require excellent musicians, there are only three instruments in charge of the interpretation. In this case it is especially heavy work for the bass and tenor saxophone players since the band does not include an instrument like the piano or the guitar which can play simultaneously sounding chords. Here the bass player has to perform bass lines that fill the space.
Avishai Cohen Trio Performing Emotional Storm Live on Stage
In this video you can see and listen to the Avishai Cohen Trio featuring Avishai Cohen on the accoustic bass, Mark Giuliana on drums and Shai Maestro on the piano. Avishai Cohen is a recognized jazz bass player who has performed with such great jazz legends as Chick Corea and many others. In this video the band plays a mainly quiet piece which nevertheless is full of energy. Notice the perfect synchronization between the musicians. It is always rewarding to see how the musicians communicate on their field of expertise and what beautiful results they can achieve. Words won’t be enough to fully describe the beauty of the music, or maybe they would do just that: describe the music, but never sound like the music itself. Once again we find out that music is a communication channel of its own, independent from the spoken languages.
The Arne Jansen Trio Performing On the Shore
In this video clip you can see and listen to the Arne Jansen Trio performing the tune On the Shore live on stage. Arne Jansen plays the electric guitar, Eva Kruse is playing the double bass and Eric Schaefer is performing on drums. The song is in a quiet mood with an melancholic feel. Just as the title says, it could be a day on the shore, have the ocean in front of you, get calm with the huge amount of water and the endless rolling waves, maybe some birds flying in the air, a boat or two passing by, just a day On the Shore.
It is remarkable how these great musicians can play such a quiet piece, most listeners won’t appreciate their skills, everybody is expecting them to show what they can do.
However, musicality or musical talent certainly doesn’t have much to do with virtuousity, virtuousity sometimes even kills musicality just because the musician has to perform extra fast runs on his instruments, play them smoothly and don’t make any ‘mistakes’, don’t leave out notes, play wrong notes or anything that could be interpreted as evidence of his lack of talent. Many times, these fast parts don’t sound like music and the performers seem to be like secretaries who can type real fast, regardless of the content they are writing.
David Bowie Performs Heroes Live on Stage
This video shows the legendary David Bowie live on stage performing Heroes, one of his hits. David Bowie is not only a pop music singer, he has also participated in movies like The Man Who Fell From Heaven, where he represented an allien who had come to earth. His androgyne look is part of his brandmark. He certainly belongs to the pop music ambient and has very little to do with the rock music scene. He also reminds some Velvet Underground and Lou Reed music …
Music and Video Guide 