from the collection "BEYOND"
Mark Kramer
"My road as a jazz pianist has now been long. The trip so far has gone quickly. I'll never know what might have been if I in the 80s initially associated my jazz identity with natural inclinations (as are represented in this recently recorded example.) After all, stuff like Position #1 has always flowed through me with no effort. It blows my mind.
"My road as a jazz pianist has now been long. The trip so far has gone quickly. I'll never know what might have been if I in the 80s initially associated my jazz identity with natural inclinations (as are represented in this recently recorded example.) After all, stuff like Position #1 has always flowed through me with no effort. It blows my mind. In the early days (except for a minor portion of an initial album) I would not permit this approach to jazz to be published, concerned that it would not communicate, and therefore not help as a jazz pianist. Back then 80s and 90s one had to play fluently in a modern, yet authentic jazz style. (For this, I chose a kind of metamodern impressionism). I had just not accepted that my natural predilection, despite only having primitive piano chops, had been to play at the extremes: i.e., of repetition, contrapuntally, polymetrically, polyrhythmically, and polytonally. Despite having an inkling, I could not have fully realized early on that this “natural me” style would in just two to three more decades embody the most prized attributes of jazz piano playing. I understand only now that my natural instincts had been consistent with both core original and evolutionary jazz values, including individualism. Because of being so busy in several careers in life, I never had pressure to rediscover, remarket or reinvent myself as a musician. Thus, my core jazz muse had never been resurrected. So, it is only now, that I am happy to present this kind of work along with the rest. It's a setting free of what should have been set free all along. This is, of course, a highly personal confession. What this means in the greater scheme, I am not sure. To be cynical, the field at this level of minutia only matters now to a few of us. If you get what I am saying, drop me a line. OK? "
Mark Kramer