Critics Corner

[Wolfram]

Got something you want critiqued?  This is the place to put it....

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I am a Jazz music scholar. I had no idea that Bill Evans the pianist was left handed until I read it here in your posting.

He was in the Army Band at Fort Sheridan. I add that because I know it to be true. You did mention he was in the Army Band however you did not say which one.

Fort Sheridan in a little North of Chicago like going to Evanston. It is where I auditioned for the Army Band myself in 1981. I was stationed as a piano player with the 26th Army Band out of Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn, NY. from 1981 to 1983.

I knew Bill had a short life but I did not realize the extent of his addiction to heroin and then cocaine. I learned a lot that I did not know and I know a lot already.

Thanks

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I wanted to say one last thing about handedness. Even handedness I think would be prefered by all of us who play keyboards. It is best for developing the brains hemispheres as well. But we who are not even handed tend to favor one hand over the other. I am right handed and tend to voice from the top down and think harmonically from the right hand. My left hand serves as a filler or establishes the root tonailty. I can play the four-way voicings with my left hand and solo over them but my mind tends to gravitate towards my lines rather than the left hand voicings because I am right handed it means I am left brained. There really is a difference between how leftys and rightys conceptualize and play.

Richard "Groove" Holmes was a lefty. Notice his bass lines on the organ. They were unique. Bill Evans thick left hand voicings and his thinking in the making of choices as to which voices to include or exclude had a lot to do with the fact that he was right brained and left handed.

As a church or gospel musician I use right hand voice leading for parts. This kind of voice leading is not nearly as important in Jazz Piano playing. It is critical in teaching voice parts to singers and in accompanying voices so as to keep the voices organized properly.