This morning I'm listening to the music of the Hammond B-3 virtuoso, Barbara Dennerlein • See YouTube links below if you must know visually. On her Junkanoo CD she performs with "King" David (aka David Murray) and other fine musicians. It's groove-music all the way down.
I discovered Miss Dennerlein's music through the work of my main piano-man, the late Friedrich Gulda. Mr. Gulda died on January 27, 2000. The Austrian pianist's devotions were Bach, Mozart and Jazz; his Beethoven swings too. Lame connoisseurs of That Music would have us remain in the dark about Bach, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven as improvising musicians - they kicked it too. Friedrich Gulda was a member of the very heavyViennese trinity of pianists, the other members having been Jörg Demus and Paul Badura-Skoda. Gulda's recordings of Bach, Mozart and Beethoven, especially the Beethoven Cello Sonatas with Pierre Fournier, swing. Compare Gulda's recording of Mozart's Sonata in F major k. 332 with that of Mitsuko Uchida, a pianist I also admire. The Gulda has pulse and swing; the Uchida not at all.
It took me a long time getting next to Mozart's art. His string quintets, clarinet quintet and concerto, and a few of the piano concertos were about all I could take of the Great Mozart. Papa Haydn was my man. He was the Duke Ellington of his day, a musician's musician - no fluff, not dainty. What I disliked about Mozart were the performances of Mozart's music -- the music ain't on the page. Mozart was a violist himself, but not many recordings of his wonderful string quartets and quintets reveal his swinging viola writing. When one hears the viola part articulated properly we have a Mozart we can feel.
Have a taste of the YouTube Barbara Dennerlein and Friedrich Gulda linked below -- especially the 1st and 2nd items.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ8QtEzZuoI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmeYEMwrkZM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGVXr4Ji49o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hy_dc8UOjw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcrvnwckKGI
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