Marcus Roberts’ pianos:
First, very nice clips by Roberts. Which is the Chang upright?
Interesting question. At first I thought, way too easy. Jelly Roll’s "The Crave". Why? Jelly Roll would probably have played on an upright. More importantly, the piano played on "The Crave" has been detuned; and in a big way. Listen to how it was made (tuned) to sound like a honky-tonk piano; which would, almost by definition, be an upright. Some of the right hand notes are deliberately and seriously out of tune and the piano seems to have, AT TIMES, a lighter and less weighty sound than the other two as a result of the detuning. There is, in fact, a technique used by specialty piano technicians called "Honky-Tonk". This would leave the Steinway Concert Grand for the other two tunes. But wait! The piano on the Ellington and the Monk sound like two different pianos. Hmmm.
On the Ellington, the piano sounds weighty, full and rich, extended left hand and very sophisticated sounding; befitting the music of THE DUKE. On the Monk, the piano sounds lighter, both lighter sounding and a little muffled at the same time, different timbre, almost a little nasal, a little more nimble; like someone forgot to turn on the subwoofer. Dilemma:
I know what logic tells me; but, I know what my ears tell me. If I get it right I will be forced to listen to several Bey Sisters CD’s. If I get it wrong I will be giving ammunition to some in certain quarters who are desperate for ammunition. Either way, a no-win situation 😥
Final answer:
The Chang upright is played on Monk’s "In Walked Bud".
Listening done on an IPad.
😁
First, very nice clips by Roberts. Which is the Chang upright?
Interesting question. At first I thought, way too easy. Jelly Roll’s "The Crave". Why? Jelly Roll would probably have played on an upright. More importantly, the piano played on "The Crave" has been detuned; and in a big way. Listen to how it was made (tuned) to sound like a honky-tonk piano; which would, almost by definition, be an upright. Some of the right hand notes are deliberately and seriously out of tune and the piano seems to have, AT TIMES, a lighter and less weighty sound than the other two as a result of the detuning. There is, in fact, a technique used by specialty piano technicians called "Honky-Tonk". This would leave the Steinway Concert Grand for the other two tunes. But wait! The piano on the Ellington and the Monk sound like two different pianos. Hmmm.
On the Ellington, the piano sounds weighty, full and rich, extended left hand and very sophisticated sounding; befitting the music of THE DUKE. On the Monk, the piano sounds lighter, both lighter sounding and a little muffled at the same time, different timbre, almost a little nasal, a little more nimble; like someone forgot to turn on the subwoofer. Dilemma:
I know what logic tells me; but, I know what my ears tell me. If I get it right I will be forced to listen to several Bey Sisters CD’s. If I get it wrong I will be giving ammunition to some in certain quarters who are desperate for ammunition. Either way, a no-win situation 😥
Final answer:
The Chang upright is played on Monk’s "In Walked Bud".
Listening done on an IPad.
😁