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| Michael Wolff On NPR JazzSet 4/1; West Coast Tour In May Acclaimed jazz pianist Michael Wolff's appearance at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. is confirmed for broadcast on NPR Jazzset on April 1st. The performance will air on 119 NPR stations nationwide, and via jazzset.npr.org. Airdates on WBGO in New York will be Sunday, April 4th at 6pm and Wednesday, April 7th at 6:30pm. Wolff recently wrapped up a successful multi-weekend stand at his beloved Knickerbocker club in lower Manhattan (and plans a return for April 23rd and 24th.) Wolff has a great affinity for the room, which he described as the 'only venerable restaurant/jazz joint left in NYC.' In May, Michael Wolff heads to the West Coast for a pair of shows. His live shows have become known for their unpredictability, humor and high-octane punch. In fact, in a live review of a Wolff concert this summer, The San Jose Mercury News raved, 'all of the music felt very full and passionately alive.' At the upcoming concerts, Wolff will continue to explore a new approach to playing he's taken in recent months: 'I discovered a new way of improvising on chords that is actually very simple, but sounds very fresh to me, and, incorporated with my other tools, is exciting to me. I was practicing on one of my older songs, Little M, from my Jumpstart CD, and just outlining the chords and arpeggiating them, and I found a really great way to connect them together and stagger them rhythmically. I don't hear pianists do this much, and it helps to break me away from playing scales, which feel over used, at least by me. So, I'm having fun playing with this new improvisational material, which is not harmonically dissonant, but seems unique. I don't think it's anything earthshaking in and of itself, except as it applies to piano. It's more of a saxophone approach to piano, which is bigger arpeggios. I'm also combining that with something I discovered and clarified about my own playing and approach when I gave a short lecture/demonstration on Jazz and Tourette's syndrome last fall at a Lincoln Center conference on music and the brain. It was how I use my physical impulsiveness in my playing, putting a certain energy into the musical ideas. It's abstract, but demonstrable.' write your comments about the article :: © 2010 Jazz News :: home page |