PIANO COMEBACK WITH TRIBUTE TO CHET BAKER!/Fragments from my essay „Chet Baker-THE MAN, THE JAZZ..."
Hi, the World!!!
Now it is OFFICIAL...!!! -
Hereby I am finally announcing my so long ago promised PIANO COMEBACK..., equally, with so long ago promised a program of the JAZZ MUSIC..., which I actually yet planned and promised since January, February... - in the very beginning of this year!!!... - Every live music stages will also be announced here additionally in the future as far as they will come! (I would also not mind to read from my essays as well someday on any live stages..., still currently it isn't yet the case!)
I have to mention here first, that, mainly, as a contemporary classical composer and artist, pianist, I performed all my life lots of the classical, contemporary music, first of all. So, I already can, did, do the classics and contemporary music well and will also proceed to do it in the current and future!
I also compose, research and use the „world“ and world popular music, what is the main part of my „ PERPETUA MELODIA © MUSIC AND AESTHETIC CONCEPTION “! So, I also can this already, was and will be proceeding to do it currently and in the future as well!
And actually, initially I planned a few songs by someone else... for my piano comeback, but then decided to rather leave the younger work for and to analyze by the younger generations and concentrate me instead on my music fathers and grandfathers... where this time it's about JAZZ, with what I equally was busy to different times of my life yet since my childhood, listening to my family's vinyl and improvising it then on piano, further performing the ready jazz pieces, compositions as well as was busy with the jazz music in different forms, and first of all, equally, as a contemporary composer and pianist, with the modern, contemporary jazz music, which I also professionally learnt first yet with my first important and main mentor Georgy Firtich (1938-2016) in Russia and especially during my stay in the USA in 2009-10, which also is one of the main parts of my music conception... and which I could even perform, if someone suddenly awaked me middle of the night!!!...
However, I didn't yet spend enough time for the 'classical' or real, authentic jazz and improvisation..., therefore, this time I decided to and will concentrate me more on these things..., just so as the jazz initially appeared, just to go through it more carefully and be busy with it now seriously!!!...
- A piano comeback with a totally different music style with 42???!!!...
- Why not???!!!... - How some psychologists (and definitely not just they!..) say it; „...Your advantage as musicians, in contrast to the sportsmen..., is, that with the years you can only become better!!...“ And that absolutely for sure!!!...
And it will most probably be one of the last tasks I would like to undergo myself seriously as a composer and pianist, musician, - as an artist, probably, just with a very little exemption of the EDM, on which I also was and will be working parallel and which also is one of the main parts of my music concept!!! -
What I further want to say by this, is, that, also if starting yet from my childhood to play and compose myself the pop songs, what I also do from time to time in my free time just to relax my head and mood a bit from composing contemporary music, - namely, because I am mainly a contemporary music artist..., I believe for sure, I rather wouldn't go deeply into such music directions as, for instance, concretely the pop and rock music studying these ones really!!!...
And thus, my PIANO COMEBACK will occur in honor of the great American jazz trumpeter, singer and composer, CHET BAKER (1929-1988), who could be my grandfather and also is my musical one!!!..., who, mainly, from all of them, in the last time became just my MOST FAVORITE JAZZ ARTIST EVER!!!... -
„ In the last couple of weeks in this summer I learnt more about Chet Baker's life as well as listened and studied most of his so great performances, during what I discovered and stopped my attention on that fact, that he actually lived a very short life of just 59 years... Such an unique artist, who could, actually, still live till now and create yet so much outstanding music and equally great performances after 1988!!!!!!... - So, it interested me why he died so early and I made my researches reading some articles in those times' German newspapers have been published shortly and some years after his death, of the 90ies also, and also other informative sources of that time, after what I was just long shocked once I knew the reasons of his death..., also concidering the fact, that I read about it at night!!!... - The mystic and tragic circumstances of and legends around his death came me across as déjà vu since myself, I was a witness of a similar death case when being yet a conservatory student in St. Petersburg and once suddenly observing with my conservatory friend how one student fell out from the 13th floor of the conservatory housing being in inebriation... - It's just NOT POSSIBLE TO BELIEVE IN AT ALL...!!!!!! - Such a great, an unique and worldwide famous artist – a jazz music legend... of such pleasant singing, soulful playing and such finely an individual performance..., acting on the most leading worldwide jazz music stages during the whole time of his career..., and far beyond them...!!!!!!!!! And such good and nice a person and so very charming a man...!!!!!!!!! - There, where the right jazz music is supposed to be the „black“ one, - its „white“... hope!!! To appreciate oneself and not to „sell“ to „everybody“ as an artist, as a musician!!!... And this all only in order then to 'finish' in such a 'gray' city (of Amsterdam), in which as it already is the drugs are part of everyday life..., to become a victim of drugs like in any mediocre detective novel???!!!... - That's so so incredibly a pity!!!!!!... And why, first of all???!!!... Why the life is sometimes so unfair???!!!... And his life itself... full of jails and expulsions!!!.. And that all is because of these 'fucking' drugs and what these make with good people!!!..., and which he definitely didn't need as he could absolutely perfect act and perform just in his sympathetic way he was..., - authentically and without all them!!!!!!... - His work, life - not without sadness and sorrow... - and such a tragic death!!!!!!... (On that day I was only 13 and about to finish the 6th class of the school, yet living in Russia...) – All this, especially the last..., impressed me very very strong, leading to know more about..., describe as my most favorite in the jazz music world... and consider namely HIM to dedicate my researches to!!!!!!!!!...
While the 30th anniversary since his death will only come in less than just 8 months, - on May the 13th 2018, of whose celebration I am in a very big need as his great devotee..., I ALREADY WISH TO CELEBRATE IT NOW WITH MY PIANO COMEBACK!!!!!!!!!... And despite the fact, that Amsterdam with that its hotel, where all that happened at that night on 13th May 1988..., and Chet Baker died at those mystic circumstances..., lies just in 4 hrs. of driving distance from my city..., it's not possible, of course, to say for sure to this time point now, whether at all the life circumstances to that time would allow to travel extra there to attend that place personally during the round anniversary in the next year... - To travel there again, where once I already was just as a tourist, didn't yet knowing about those mysterious happenings..., to go now again to..., but this time with the special goal..., namely to travel on the trails of that 'dark' a story!!!!!!!!!... - This just to try to imagine not only upon reading the newspapers..., but also right there, on that place..., - what it would be like to be there in that time..., - and just to celebrate or cry... on this day with him... by laying down flowers to his memorial at that hotel...
Though, if the daily routine will not allow to travel to right on that day next year..., then, hopefully, it would be realizable to attend the place of those events definitely in any other time in the future..., what also is, without any secrets..., my very next goal!!!!!!!!!... „
Selecting the song for MY PIANO COMEBACK, I stopped on Chet Baker's performance of „JUST FRIENDS“... by John Klenner, which in the last time became my most favorite of all his so splendid performances!!!!!!!!!... Therefore, I also recorded this song now as a little preview of MY 'LIVE ON STAGE' PIANO COMEBACK, just in MY „OWN“... INTERPRETATION!!! of it in order TO DEDICATE IT EXTRA TO HIM!!!!!!!!!..., thus, performing it now as a „FACEBOOK LIVE – VIDEO“ on my Official Facebook Artist Page..., where you can find and watch it under this link:
https://www.facebook.com/OlgaVirezoub
So, take a look on this LIVE-VIDEO and also be very welcome now to mark this page with your „like“ and subscribe to as your „BEST favorite“...!!!
As well as I am enclosing below this recording of his performance of this song... from his concert together with Stan Getz and their such a wonderful band in 1983 in Stockholm, so, one of his last performances and only 5 years before his death...:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_viy_MGQtI&list=LLT9Ap1mn2fjK9H_egyKPdbA&index=42
„ He played, sang (or smoked...) and smiled
And suddenly he died...
The story ends... -
You died really much too early, DEAR CHET...!!! But there's absolutely no reason to be sad because of that for us at all!!!... - This as you left us YOUR GREAT WORK...!!! And also AS WE ALL LOVE YOU!!!... AND YOUR BEAUTIFUL MUSIC AND PERFORMANCES!!!..., WHICH WILL FOREVER REMAIN „LIVE“... FOR US ALL!!! AS WELL AS BE ALWAYS A HUGE PART OF OUR HEARTS AND MINDS.........!!!!!!!!! „
I hope, my choice of this song for my piano comeback has met your taste well... And see you the next time here again!!!
–
Olga Virezoub, Hannover, September 25th-26th 2017.