Jazz Notes with Honor Heffernan

I came to Jazz by a circuitous route. Since 1970 I had been singing Folk, Blues and Rock and by 1983 I needed a challenge. I began singing Jazz standards and, almost by accident, the world of Jazz opened up to me. Of course I was aware, indeed in awe, of singers like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee but in my ignorance I thought of them as singers of songs from another era. I loved these tunes and the moods they evoked. I suppose I've always been an old fashioned girl at heart! Singing those songs was like second nature to me, another story to be told in another style. It was the musicians who played them who seemed to understand truly the nature of the music, as they improvised and moved seemingly effortlessly through the tunes and turned them in to living, changing things. No longer just songs but expressions and explorations. This improvisation is the very backbone of great jazz and great players.

Last year Brad Mehldau, a young American piano player who is universally acclaimed as a great jazz musician, played in Vicar St. This was not his first visit to Ireland: a couple of years ago he won the most promising newcomer at the Cork Jazz Festival. However, this was the first time I had seen him. Alone on the stage at the piano he played for at least two hours to an astonished audience, ranging in age from seventeen to seventy. It seemed to me we breathed as one, hanging on to every note and nuance,= as he played modern popular tunes, jazz standards, and some of his own compositions. The range of emotion and intensity emanating from him was tangible. We were happy, sad, thoughtful, comfortable uncomfortable, moved, and touched to the core by the energy of his interpretations. Leaving the venue, I carried with me the elation and joy I felt at being privy to this person taking huge leaps of faith and trusting his instincts to such an extent. Of course he has studied and practised and honed his craft. He has wonderful technique, but all the technique in the world does not equal heart and soul. This is what he gave to us, his audience that night.

Of course this is just my personal opinion, and I am sure there are many people who will disagree with me. But music is perhaps like a painting, what appeals to one will mean nothing to another. What moves us is personal. There is so much wonderful jazz going on here at the moment and all you have to do is get to those gigs and get listening. Don't try to analyse - just try to feel. These musicians are tuning in to their instincts and letting go of inhibitions to bring the creative side of jazz alive right there in front of you. Enjoy it!

Honor

Brad Mehldau records on Warner Bros available all good record stores.