Jazz+ Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 Check out the way Don Pullen plays his right hand while the left hand plays chords. That was his trade mark. Maybe he was influenced by Sun Ra. I took some lessons from Pullen and got to hang out with him. He told me funny stories about Jaco Pastorius and the days when he was working for Nina Simone. Like the time they were at a BB King concert and Nina didn't like the piano player's playing because he was white. So she insisted on taking over the piano chair then and there and proceeded to play the whole tune in the wrong key. She was furious by the end of the song and then stormed back off stage. Don thought that was hilarious. The Old Country Part 2 (check out 4:42) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dnTmyNIifM&feature=related Solo Piano: The Old Country Part 1 (check out 4:40) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsdaaRgPlwE Harry Likas was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Find 700 of Harry’s piano arrangements of standards for educational purposes and jazz piano tutorials at www.Patreon.com/HarryLikas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanker. Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 That sound is wonderfully twisted I have a feeling there will be a lot of guys typing left handed tomorrow.... A ROMpler is just a polyphonic turntable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz+ Posted March 1, 2008 Author Share Posted March 1, 2008 When asked about his right hand he would say that people told him he had "cadaver hands". His right hand did look all roughed up and scary, sort of like a karate guy who might have been jamming his hands into buckets of hot sand over the years. He had a dark round callous the size of a quarter on the edge of his right hand and it looked all scratched up with little scars around it. He said often times on some pianos he would get nicked by the edges of the keys and start to bleed. I saw that happen on a number of occasions. Harry Likas was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Find 700 of Harry’s piano arrangements of standards for educational purposes and jazz piano tutorials at www.Patreon.com/HarryLikas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz+ Posted March 1, 2008 Author Share Posted March 1, 2008 Here's more video of Don Pullen On Hammond B3 with John Schofield: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrnzOlm0aGE&feature=related More solo piano after the horn head: Harry Likas was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Find 700 of Harry’s piano arrangements of standards for educational purposes and jazz piano tutorials at www.Patreon.com/HarryLikas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kad Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 The Old Country Part 2 (check out 4:42) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dnTmyNIifM&feature=related Solo Piano: The Old Country Part 1 (check out 4:40) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsdaaRgPlwE Everyone's homework for the week is to transcribe that second clip. Great bass solo in the first clip, BTW... Reality is like the sun - you can block it out for a time but it ain't goin' away... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz+ Posted March 1, 2008 Author Share Posted March 1, 2008 It is impossible to transcribe those swirling back hand passages, but it's not that hard to play that way. I used to sometimes play that technique, the atonal swirling right with the left hand playing "inside", but not much anymore. It can be painful unless you build up callouses, I can only take about 5 seconds of it before I start to get key burn. It's easier when the piano has a fast light action so you can lightly skim the tops of the keys without digging in. Of all the clips, this one shows the best camera angle of the swirling right hand technique at 4:42 The Old Country Part 2 (check out 4:42) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dnTmyNIifM&feature=related . Harry Likas was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Find 700 of Harry’s piano arrangements of standards for educational purposes and jazz piano tutorials at www.Patreon.com/HarryLikas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SK Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 So Jazz+, curious, what did Don show you? Harmonic discussions, concepts, etc.? I thought his backhand technique took a Cecil Taylor element and put a new twist on it (pun unavoidable.) It's dazzling to listen to, because your brain wants to compute it as though it's coming from fingers. I never heard him live, just recordings. Don was from Roanoke, Va. He showed up at a few of my Va. gigs over the years. He'd always invite me over to his table when I took a break, but we never discussed music. So I never got to know him - wish I had. CD: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/stevekessler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridog6996 Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 Pullen's style is definitely unique, for sure. The right hand thing as many of you might have guessed comes from organ playing. Sort of like organ smears adapted for piano. Don played quite a bit of organ as well as piano, so that's probably where it comes from. My YouTube Channel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridog6996 Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 There's also a Henry Cowell piece that requires the player to play in a very similar manner. It's possible Pullen might have been familiar with it and decided to adapt the technique for improvisational use. My YouTube Channel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SK Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 I'd forgotten that he played organ. I'm guessing organ slurs on piano would explain some of it, and why his hands would take such a beating. But the concept leans towards Cecil Taylor - so there was musical intent to it. CD: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/stevekessler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz+ Posted March 2, 2008 Author Share Posted March 2, 2008 Don couldn't really explain what he played harmonically. He said he was intuitively weaving his shapes and rhythms. He did talk about simplicity in regards to melodic development and also showed me his swirling and whipping hand techniques in slow motion. Mostly we hung out and talked a lot. By the way, Don said he didn't get is right hand technique from Cecil Taylor and I don't recall ever hearing Taylor do it that way. I suspect Sun Ra's outside organ smearing might have been the influence but I don't know. Don was clever in the way he kept his left hand still the playing changes while the right hand went way out. Don said he didn't damage pianos, like breaking the keys or strings, although he said some club owners would dread him. Harry Likas was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Find 700 of Harry’s piano arrangements of standards for educational purposes and jazz piano tutorials at www.Patreon.com/HarryLikas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz+ Posted March 2, 2008 Author Share Posted March 2, 2008 Don Pullen live with Charles Mingus in 1974: Harry Likas was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Find 700 of Harry’s piano arrangements of standards for educational purposes and jazz piano tutorials at www.Patreon.com/HarryLikas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz+ Posted March 2, 2008 Author Share Posted March 2, 2008 Good closeups of the hand in this amazing video. Even though he looks ill, he still really sounds in command during this solo. This was his final band before his death in 1995. Don Pullen And The African Connection http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpQQi4FgHLU Harry Likas was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Find 700 of Harry’s piano arrangements of standards for educational purposes and jazz piano tutorials at www.Patreon.com/HarryLikas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SK Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 True, Cecil Taylor didn't do that backhand technique, but I meant Don's clustering and blurring of lines was evocative of Taylor. CD: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/stevekessler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzwee Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 jazz+, now I see where you get those tendonitis problems Hamburg Steinway O, Crumar Mojo, Nord Electro 4 HP 73, EV ZXA1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonysounds Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 I'd like to see him do that on an M1. Hitting "Play" does NOT constitute live performance. -Me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewImprov Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 That clip of Pullen playing organ with Scofield and Smitty is awesome. Are there any albums with Pullen on B3? I have a few things where he's a sideman, but the playing is pretty restrained. Turn up the speaker Hop, flop, squawk It's a keeper -Captain Beefheart, Ice Cream for Crow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byrdman Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 How ever did he not rip up his hand with those moves? That video of Matdor is absolutely splendid! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 I finally have had a chance to watch this. That is sick. Just great. And I think he could have gotten a job at the Steinway factory replacing the "pounding machine." "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SK Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 An advanced version of the fly-away wrist technique? CD: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/stevekessler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz+ Posted March 2, 2008 Author Share Posted March 2, 2008 . Harry Likas was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Find 700 of Harry’s piano arrangements of standards for educational purposes and jazz piano tutorials at www.Patreon.com/HarryLikas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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