What is a jazz-man? How does one pick out a jazz-man? Are there identity criteria for jazz-men and jazz-women?, for jazz-persons? A jazz-person is a person who wears a hat or a cap when he or she performs music. Yes, Bucket-head would fall under the heading jazz-person, even though he wears a Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket on his head when he performs. (Did anyone see Bucket-head on PBS's Austin City Limits with Pharoah Sanders and Hamid Drake?)
Friedrich Gulda wore his jazz-man's cap when he performed Bach, Beethoven, or Mozart. He wore this emblem of honor when he conversed at the piano with the great musicians of the remote and recent past - the aforementioned trio of composer-performers and today's composer-performers: Miles Davis, Horace Silver, Chick Corea, Herbie Handcock, Barbara Dennerlein, Cecil Taylor and other creative master-musicians.
This morning I'm listening to Gulda's Bach, The Well-tempered Clavier Bk I & II (1972-73 4-Philips CDs). Gulda's wonderful Complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas are available as budget-priced Brilliant Classics CDs.
To my ears Friedrich Gulda's most swinging recordings are the Beethoven: Complete works for cello & piano on DGG that he recorded with another favorite musician of mine, cellist Pierre Fournier. According to the DGG notes, Gulda suggested to Fournier that his Beethoven might be somewhat too 'French', to this Fournier replied, "My playing wasn't too 'French' for Schnabel." With that exchange, Gulda and Fournier became instant friends.
Fifteen years or so ago, I was listening to The Ohio State University's 'public' radio station WOSU-FM. WOSU reckons itself to be a 'classical music' radio station - these are scary-quotes not exactly scare or raised eyebrow quotes. Anyway, that day the DJ played John Coltrane's recording of his composition Alabama. After playing Coltrane's recording the DJ apologized to the station's listeners for departing from the station's professed-fund-raising-format. I called the station's programming director, and suggested to her that station should apologize, not for playing Coltrane; but for playing Classical Top 40 bits and pieces all day. Needless to say WOSU is still Top 40. Tune in to Columbia University's Great Radio Station instead. See its link on the sidebar.
Friedrich Gulda was one of the great pianists and musicians of the 20th Century. Classical Music Radio Stations - especially stations representing public universities! - should take a Gulda or Ellington stance, presenting both European and American music, letting the music take its listeners. Public radio, except in rare instances, has resigned from any Enlightenment Project.
Classical music, ah yes! - Coltrane, Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and Friedrich Gulda in his cap.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFXL4J-oKw4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaCErlW-3p8
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