Jazz musicians are jazz musicians. And classical musicians are classical musicians. Or so one might initially think.
When Anthony Molinaro takes the stage for his trio’s first ever performance on Feb. 12 at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, the classically trained and accomplished pianist will defy the notion that a musician must be restricted to a single genre.
“I’ve always wanted to play in a trio setting,” says Molinaro, who earned his Master’s at NU in 1997. “The way my career has progressed as a classical musician, I’ve just wanted to do things gradually so I can get a good handle on everything.”
Molinaro will be joined by bassist Eric Hochberg and drummer Paul Wertico, who is a lecturer in the School of Music’s Jazz Studies program. Though Pick-Staiger’s Web site indicates that the trio’s program includes compositions by Miles Davis, John Coltrane and George Gershwin, the players stress that even they can’t predict the nature of the music they will create.
“The audience is witnessing the discovery as it’s happening,” Wertico says. “There’s a little bit of danger and risk involved, but that’s exciting.”
The danger that Wertico speaks of is perhaps exacerbated by the fact that the trio practiced for the first time less than a week ago. According to Hochberg, only one or two additional practices will take place before the performance. But the bassist notes that minimal practice time before a performance is common and that the players are confident.
“We’ve all got years and years of experience speaking the language of this kind of music,” Hochberg says. “We take that ability and get together and make it work. It’s a matter of just listening and responding in the moment to what’s going on.”
The unpredictable element of the performance will include, according to Molinaro, several new techniques that have not been done by anyone, including the use of the left hand in an improvisational manner.
“From a technical standpoint, the left hand is the accompaniment to the right hand,” Molinaro says. “I’ve been trying to get away from that and think along the lines as one performs as a classical musician. It’s a very scary proposition.”
While Molinaro might be scared about certain aspects of his trio’s debut performance, fear did not stop him from getting to his current state of success.
After studying with NU professor Ursula Oppens in 1996, Molinaro prepared for several competitions in the hopes of launching his career. Molinaro won the Naumburg International Piano Competition in 1997 and then began to record for his own label, Nineteen-Eight Records. His debut CD, “The Bach Sessions” was followed by “New Blue,” a collection of Gershwin compositions that featured Molinaro’s take on “Rhapsody In Blue.”
“He was maybe of the first and most famous to take the jazz element both rhythmically and harmonically to the symphony orchestra,” Molinaro says of Gershwin. “I think always with music you take what’s been done in the past and add something to it. To me the biggest thing about being a jazz musician is creating and spontaneously improvising.”
Molinaro, like Gershwin, has demonstrated through his work that jazz and classical stylings can work together in influencing a musician. According to Molinaro, the approach one takes to playing the two genres differs, but they do have certain unifying characteristics.
“In classical music you’re playing what’s on the page,” Molinaro says. “In jazz if you have someone else’s music its just sort of a blueprint, a rough outline of what’s possible. In that sense they’re incredibly different. (But) otherwise for me, music is music and good music is good music.”
For Molinaro, “good music” is often inadequately taught to young students. The pianist, who gives lessons to students individually and has coordinated a music program for physically challenged children, sees a fundamental deficiency in standard music education.
“To me the biggest fault in music education is that it’s instrument education,” Molinaro says. “You could be studying the piano 10 years and not know who the best pianists are because nobody tells you. I like to sort of spread the word about music in general, beyond the piano.”
Molinaro’s desire to educate is mirrored by the intensity with which he performs. During Molinaro’s solo performance at Pick-Staiger in April of 2003, the pianist could often be seen playing with his head bent over the piano keys, and his eyes locked on the instrument. According to Molinaro, the focus and intensity of his style plays an integral part in performance.
“(The music is) very difficult technically, so you have to sort of be locked in to make it happen,” Molinaro says. “The improvisational element and the emotional element adds to (the intensity).”
While some of Molinaro’s past work has involved improvisation, Saturday’s show will undoubtedly be unlike any performance he has given.
“This is the beginning of a new part of my career,” Molinaro says. “You could do anything, but to do it at a super high level is a whole other thing.”
Weinberg junior Sam Weiner is the PLAY music editor. He can be reached at [email protected].
