The unknown art of the piano-trio of Herbie Nichols

Absolutely, Monk is not the pianista most singular of the jazz, but yes only mitológico of them. And the art of the piano-trio of Bill Evans - the colloquy between piano, low battery and - is not searched carefully, but yes only most famous. Ok… you, expensive reader, already are to think: " How audacity! Who, thinking, would try to declassify two of the biggest masters of the piano of so categorical form? ". But the explanation goes here: In the question harmonic and improvisacional singularity, the stranger Herbie Nichols would have earnings what more than enough to bribe monge Thelonious, at the same time where he would bribe Bill easily Evans in the question of the emphasis to the style of combo called piano-trio - standing out that these comparisons are not, necessarily, for dispute effect, but yes for analysis. E the reason for which the majority of the jazzófilos still does not know of this is that Nichols was one of pianists of years 40 and 50, fact that resulted in an ostracism that remained since its beginning of career until its premature death in 1963, to the 44 years of age. Consequentemente, Nichols recorded very little times. Between its writings ground they are the set of proper compositions in a total of 3 records for the Blue Note (to confer in the catalogue of box of the Mosaic), edited between the years of 1955/56, beyond a last recorded album for the Bethlehem Records in 1957.

However, at a first moment nobody would say that, during the scene of bebop, Herbie Nichols already appeared between the great musicians who appear in clubs of the Harlem, as the Milton' s Playhouse, for example. In the truth, Nichols started its career in the end of years 30, arriving to reach considerable respect as composer in middle of years 40. By the way, it was as composer who Nichols if assured in the scenes of its time, since, while musician, was not very fond of the climates of disputes between instrumentistas virtuoses, so common fact in the age of beboppers. As much that, in 1951/52, the great pianist Mary Lou Williams recorded a record with its compositions and, four years later, Nichols would compose the great song Lady Sings the Blues in partnership with nobody little than Billie Holiday, affectionately known as Lady Day.

Herbie Nichols seemed to make use itself of approach characteristics to the ones of Monk, as well as this arrived to be influenced by the style " stride" to touch of Mary Lou Williams - and for the little that if she knows, they, Monk, Nichols and Mary Lou, were next colleagues, geniuses who frequent dialogues between itself. However, Nichols firmed its proper style, without being taxed as a mere follower of Monk. In contrast, Nichols arrives to beaultiful sound and so angular how much this, despite less broken up and harmonic.

In relation to the style of combo called as piano-trio (combo composed of piano, low e battery), which Bill Evans was the responsible one for popularizing with incomparable sensitivity, the trio of Herbie Nichols already showed an advanced interaction only e for the years of 1955 and 1956, much before Evans appearing with its power constituted trio of Scott LaFaro in the contrabass and Paul Motian in the battery. E this interactive art to touch in a economic consisting group of only three of the main instruments - piano, low e battery - can be appreciated in one box of three records launched by the Blue Note/Mosaic, intitled Herbie Nichols Complete Blue Note Recordings, where it records 1/3 of its 170 compositions, folloied of a composed trio for musicians as Al McKibbon and Teddy Kotick (revezando itself in the contrabass), beyond Art Blakey and Max Roach (revezando itself in the battery). It is treated, then, of an essential register that it not only shows the singularity of Herbie Nichols as pianista, but it is a precious register with one of the biggest trios of the history of the jazz, despite this is total unknown of the great public. Curiously, one another pianista that would show a singular style and advanced - and also would record for the stamp Blue Note - it would be Andrew Hill that, coincidently or not, initiated its career in 1956 exactly recording the album Alone in Love with piano-trio (constituted of the baterista stranger James Slaughter and the contrastock exchange operator Malachi Favors). Both, Herbie Nichols and Andrew Hill, had molded its styles to improvise with the influences of modern erudite music: Nichols adored Beautiful Bartók and Erik Satie, while Hill arrived to study with the great composer Paul Hindemith. On the comparison between Thelonious Monk, Herbie Nichols and Andrew Hill in the singularity question, the producer Michael Cuscuna soon said in an interview to canal NPR (National Public Radio) after the death of Hill, in March of 2007: " He (Hill) had different way of looking at things. Completely different view point - not unlike Thelonious Monk or Herbie Nichols - people that just develop to their own vocabulary. And like Herbie Nichols or the Thelonious Monk, there was in mistaking four bars of Andrew Hill piano, or the Andrew Hill composition.

There was in mistaking them". Conclusion: while pianists contemporaries, as Brad Mehldau and Keith Jarrett, extend the art to touch in trio as form to show direct influences of it supplies-reverenciado Bill Evans, the most peculiar Nichols lasts more than forgotten in a hundred compositions. He has some exceptions. As it happened in 1984, when the pianist of free European jazz Misha Mengelberg launched the Change record of Season: The Music of Herbie Nichols, with the saxofonista Steve Lacy, the drummer Han Bennink, the contrastock exchange operator Arjen Gorter and the trombonista George Lewis. More recently, the group of composers of the Jazz Composers Collective (Ted Nash, Ben Allison, Frank Kimbrough, Ron Horton and Michael Blake) had created a called project The Herbie Nichols Project, that was one of the main events to rescue the singular compositions of " underrated" pianista. This project deserves, therefore, one another occasion with a summary that makes jus to its care.
www.farofamoderna.blogspot.com