Brad Mehldau interview with Rick Beato

[Peter C]

Highly recommended

[rictroll]

That's a very interesting interview.

Thanks, Peter

[Jonah]

Very nice interview!

As much as I am not a big fan of Rick's video, I really appreciate his interviews.
He is very intelligent and stays aside and really lets his guest to open up very comfortably, not tension, lots of deep-diving and very easy flow as if you just sit with them in the parlour.
He has real gift for that.

I also appreciate that when he chooses guets he does not try to appeal general audience but really goes for the best ones.

I think he should get Bill Frisell)
Bill did a lot of interviews during past years but it could be really interesting to see how he would be in the one with Rick.

[Christian Miller]

Listened to it today. Found it inspiring!

Random thought - The way he emulates singer songwriter style travis picking on piano is funny because it started out as a way to imitate stride piano on guitar…


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jonah]

Listened to it today. Found it inspiring!

Random thought - The way he emulates singer songwriter style travis picking on piano is funny because it started out as a way to imitate stride piano on guitar…


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

To me it is combination of two principles: the idea of doing something different through application of aesthetics and conception of another instrument.... Miles wanted ti imitate guitar on trumpet, guitarists want to imitate horns.

It is interesting per se like: I want to do something for which my instrument was not designed...

And I often notice this kind of 'pendulum' priniciple... the trend can go that everyone seems to play guitar like a horn ... and then the trend comes to play it like a guitar actually (which seems obvious) but eventually it also becomes too common approach and probably again someone will try to play as a horn again...

And it is always funny how often 'a revelation argument' is used... like let's try to play guitar as a piano (conception goes etc) and then: No! We play guitar as a guitar! (the revelation argument, conception may follow but not necessarily))

[Cunamara]

There are some musicians who are so able to verbalize their process and they're always fascinating interviews for the musician to watch (or the interested fan/non-musician). Some other musicians really struggle to be able to put into words what it is that they do. I thought this was a fascinating interview as to how Meldau does what he does.

[wolflen]

perhaps with enough strings, tunings and effects.. the guitar may be able to emulate a piano in a limited way..

the talent than Meldau shows in just playing "bits" of pop tunes..and then adds classical flavors into them
had me mesmerized.

As said above.. also not a fan of Beato but he does get some of the top musicians to interview.

[Peter C]

Beato's interviews with jazzbos are great; the one with Sco is completely off the charts, and what a nice, down-to-earth guy John seems to be. I don't watch his pop and rock content, which appears to be his "bread and butter".

[Cunamara]

The thing about Beato is that he is (1) sometimes introducing jazz snobs into the good aspects of more popular forms of music and (2) introducing pop music fans to some jazz. Is he going to get Swifties into Coltrane? Maybe not, but he might get rock guitar fans into Joe Pass.

[Christian Miller]

Tbh I tend to think Beato’s schtick mostly revolves around giving older blokes complicated justifications for enjoying music they already listen to*, but he really does have a lot more going on. And he is an ideal musician interviewer imo.

(And honestly i think he’s more open minded about modern music than his Reddit haters think haha.)

It does seem like he’s introduced quite a few people to Brads music from the comments.

I know it’s a joke but I doubt many Swifties watch Rick lol.

*and I’m here for it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[pamosmusic]

Tbh I tend to think Beato’s schtick mostly revolves around giving older blokes complicated justifications for enjoying music they already listen to*, but he really does have a lot more going on. And he is an ideal musician interviewer imo.

(And honestly i think he’s more open minded about modern music than his Reddit haters think haha.)

It does seem like he’s introduced quite a few people to Brads music from the comments.

I know it’s a joke but I doubt many Swifties watch Rick lol.

*and I’m here for it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Maybe we should get more Proper High Brow Musician types arranging T Swift songs for their Modern Improvisation Bands then.

[bediles]

Maybe we should get more Proper High Brow Musician types arranging T Swift songs for their Modern Improvisation Bands then.

There's some jazzy postmodern jukebox T swift out there

[Flat]

I like a lot of Beato's videos in general. A bit too deep into the commercial, poppy, music biz, hip-hop stuff at times, but he is well-informed and covers the waterfront.

I'll admit: I'm a bit too guitar-centric. I like everything from classical guitar, jazz, rock, pop, whatever--as long as it's guitar. Very limiting, I know. But I yam what I yam.

This was a really great interview that I would have not listened to otherwise. Thanks for the link, Peter C!

[jackalGreen]

Thanks! I haven't checked in with Beato's stuff for a while, but I agree with some or many that Mehldau is about the most challenging, unique piano picker out there for a while.

No, not the only. Some very good pianists playing today in jazz....some very good players, let's say. But he inspired me to drill deeper into my classical technique that supposedly existed at one point at the keyboard, just to have the *options* that he seems to have on many of his recordings.

Particularly valuable is the guitar-centric part of the discussion: that's been a huge boon and also a real challenge to me to try to reconcile both instruments, particularly since I'm using guitar for the second time in my life, this time not as a way to cover or copy rock and roll or various licks (yes, I still do that as I'm sure most people do, but it's not the real goal or meat), but an instrument that can provide a layer of abstraction in a way that just looking at a piece of sheet music does not (in my case, you just look at a score and hear what it sounds like, pretty much, but without concern for how it can be executed at the fingerboard/fretboard...guitar is more abstract, in some sense I can't explain....but gives me more ideas, keeps me honest about melody vs. licks, and is tailor-made to cueing up any kind of odd interval one desires, without the deep keyboard training that speaks to me in that "well, yeah, but that would be wrong...unless...you add this!" Speaking of jazz/improv, not classical music, really).

[John A.]

Tbh I tend to think Beato’s schtick mostly revolves around giving older blokes complicated justifications for enjoying music they already listen to*, but he really does have a lot more going on. And he is an ideal musician interviewer imo.

Given how much time he spends talking about rock artists I’ve never heard of, I think he’s mainly pitching to younger blokes. Younger than he and I are anyway.

My main pet peeve is that early rock and roll and roots music and Black artists other than Hendrix seem to occupy almost no space in his head. I mean he did a top 20 greatest guitar intros video, and Johnny B. Goode isn’t on the list, a top 20 singer-songwriters without mentioning Buddy Holly, and doesn’t talk about I Want You Back in any of his bass videos.

But overall I like him. The interviews are great.

[Peter C]

Yeah, so this was all about the interviewee. The interviewer is very sensitive to what Brad's art is about and asks pertinent questions, keeps the flow going. Other than that, I have no real interest in stuff like comparing Gibson SGs with other "YouTube celebs", lol. However, as said, I would definitely recommend checking his John Scofield interview, which just came up in recommendations IIRC. The one with Pat Metheny came up in a thread here.

Interesting reply here from jackalGreen, which I will re-read later.

[Christian Miller]

Given how much time he spends talking about rock artists I’ve never heard of, I think he’s mainly pitching to younger blokes. Younger than he and I are anyway.

gen Xers, X-ennials , no one younger than 40 I reckon. Guys old enough to have been into Slipknot, Korn and Linkin Park as teenagers and older. Just going from cultural references in his videos.

The blind spot surrounding black non-jazz artists is quite glaring - even stuff like Marvin, Stevie etc. He knows what he knows I guess.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bediles]

gen Xers, X-ennials , no one younger than 40 I reckon. Guys old enough to have been into Slipknot, Korn and Linkin Park as teenagers and older. Just going from cultural references in his videos.

The blind spot surrounding black non-jazz artists is quite glaring - even stuff like Marvin, Stevie etc. He knows what he knows I guess.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If were talking about Rick himself, he's speaking from his experience, so heavy emphasis on the 80s and early 90s. Lots of 70s Dad rock too. Definitely at least over 40 bc very little Aughts indie rock content.

[Peter C]

Hey, if you want to talk about the interviewer, please start a different thread. Thanks

[medblues]

He has a soft spot for jazz piano especially because he was good friends with Aydin Esen.

[drbhrb]

Beato is a mixed bag, this I really enjoyed. Sometimes he surprises me. I also liked his Metheny interview from a while back

[pingu]

thanks for pointing
this video out

Brads music is normally way over my
pay grade
intimidating and
too advanced for my ear

but he was in fact very open and honest about how he comes up with his stuff and the processes and influences ….

the way he talked about playing
’changes’ based stuff (standards)
the common harmonic language
involved etc
vs playing a neil young tune or
blackbird type of tune
was very edifying and well put

I like him and he’s totally
not a snob !

[Peter C]

Interesting what jackalGreen mentions here about "reconciling" guitar and piano. When making up tunes on guitar, I tend to adopt a rather pianistic approach and if I were to take up piano properly, I can't right now imagine not taking full advantage of having five free fingers on the bass side of things. However, it's also fascinating to hear how Brad uses a guitar-style open string pedal for the development of ideas. At the end of the day, everything he plays is gold

@pingu - yeah, he's way too smart to be a snob.

[Jonah]

Tbh I tend to think Beato’s schtick mostly revolves around giving older blokes complicated justifications for enjoying music they already listen to*,

Haha.... he is a good salesman for sure.


But (maybe it is me...) but I really can't stand how he mimicks in his other videos... is it kind of modern trend that I am not allowed just to see the performer but also have to watch poorly acted blogger's 'reactions' on the screen?

and how he nods his head to the rhythm of the music he listens to no matter which kind of music sounds... especially if the music has kind of non-symmetrical breath...
Like in this interview they listned to some piece of music with quite spacious breath and he nodded rhythmically as if it was a disco... it seems like it visually he goes against the music

Ok.. maybe it is my thing, I am alsways suspicious when listners or musicians begin to move in regular rhythm to the music that is not pure square symmetrical beat.

Yes, I admit, I am a snob, and a bore, and too demanding...

Overall the impact of his vblogs and especially interviews is very valuable and much appreciated

[Jonah]

However, it's also fascinating to hear how Brad uses a guitar-style open string pedal for the development of ideas.

My close friends is a very good classical pianist/harpsichordist/organist and he is very vivid classical improvizer (both authentic and modern in some sense) and last years he also began to play jazz but in a kind of his manner (he cannot really learn conventionally - he is just too advanced for this, he just tries to fumble his own approach)...

So when he played (or we tried together) it is namely in jazz I notice how the nature of the piano really opens up in his playing.

He is using pedals a lot but with a great mastery - he really controls huge resonant qualities of the instrument. Sometimes it is like sheets of resonant sounds, layers, it seems messy but suddenly you hear that it is actually controlled pefectly.
And another thing: he directly says that he wants piano attack to hammer-like with the sound afterwards... and again sometimes you want to say that his attack is too sharp but actually it is not, it is just .. well... an attack of the piano as it is (his playing is a strange mix of Monk, Garner and Peterson to me with some personal input also of course)

Essentially it is very similar to what Brad says in the interview I believe

But recently I began to play piano more again and I had to choose digital one (not expensive) to get in my new place.
He helped me and I noticed that when I tried and chose I treated the tone and keyboard more as if I was playing and organ - as if I wanted to have a resonance reduced.
And he on the contrary was checking hammer-like piano attack and the possibility of kind of conrolobal but big cloud-like resonance (about keyboard action (which is often a big topic for digital piano buyers) by the way he said: 'it does not matter yu get used to everything).

This communication really moved me to a different feeling of the piano and its possibilities