Billy Taylor and Dick Hyman Play Bebop

[flippercanorious]

Way above my head.........what is it all about...........

where is it going?

I find it somewhat monotonous

[TempoPoet]

excuse my language-but pianos are these guys bitches.

[PaintCanJustice]

@TempoPoet uh ur name is tempopoet are u some sort of cafe bitch?

[squeezemahlemon]

music spans genders, ages, eras, races and most other great schisms in our world today.

[JazzVideoGuy]

@squeezemahlemon Amen.

[bhcphoto]

Hyman's harmonic creativity is really great

[JazzVideoGuy]

@bhcphoto I'm hip!

[whatthemeh]

I'd love to see more melodies like this in experimental/ progessive metal :D

[Solars78]

yeah black and white belong together like the keys on a piano !

[losey88]

the song is "hot house"

[Bankallday]

I'm sorry but...His name is DICK HYMAN lol

That's gold for elementary school bullies

[JRNL75]

Dick is great but Billy Taylor rules... It's sad to introduce this competitive aspect but Taylor sounds (even) better...

[JackTheAce1]

Between Billy and Dick... Billy Taylor is probably the all around better pianist. But I gotta give the nod to Dick Hyman for being the better bebop player. His bebop playing is super upbeat and jovial... especially here at 3:05

[Sestrierre]

@JackTheAce1 Billy Taylor could play circles around Dick Hyman. Hyman is great, but Taylor is arguably the greatest, most virtuosic pianist since Art Tatum.

[daveysan]

How do people become so skillful?

[perniciouspickle]

@daveysan smart, mindful, and disciplined practice. a good deal of it, of course; but quality above all else.

[bman3977]

god they cease to amaze me xD

[jgrodnik]

Sounds like the changes to "What Is This Thing Called Love?"

[samskorach]

I love Dick Hyman's quote from Duke Ellington's "Rockin in Rhythm" at 2:02

[Ahash31]

Billy Taylor's smile is my favorite

[IvanBigBad]

HOT HOUSE!!!! I LOVE THIS SONG!

and they play it so well

[Kaalec]

Jazz started out as a very accessible, melodic and exciting form of music. Then it got high-jacked by the jazz dwwebs who made sure all melody and accessibility was sucked out of it. These same jazz weenies dismiss any jazz artists who has a modicum of commercial success (the weenie world's dismissal of Diana Krall is a case in point). Jazz is now so esoteric, it can only be enjoyed by people who like this form. You are purifying yourself into oblivion.

[pyannaguy]

@Kaalec So well put! Boredom and ego and competing for who's the greatest spewer of notes and bender and hider of melody just kept taking the music farther and farther from any chance of connection with most people. I respect the skill required and appreciate Jazz's complexity, but lots of players just plain carried it away, as you say. It has the audience it has, but in The States it's gone a long way toward almost complete marginalization.

[josiah566]

@Kaalec I enjoy the accessible forms of Jazz perhaps more than the next man. The center of my music library is my extensive collection of Fats Waller tracks, case in point. However, I am not so quick to say that Dick Hyman or Billy Taylor in this recording are being "Jazz Dweebs". Their playing is of a very sophisticated form, and it is enjoyable to the last degree. Furthermore, music is music. It shouldn't matter if it is accessible or not, so long as it inspires even a single person.

[Kaalec]

@josiah566 Love Fats Waller, Art Tatum, the Duke and the Count. And of course people are free to like whatever they want. My complaint is that the bebop revolution started a trend that virtually the entire jazz world followed, so that today there is little in contemporary jazz that is melodic or even particularly rhythmic. Jazz has, and continues to, narrow its focus while most other forms of music have broadened theirs.

[Kaalec]

@josiah566 Oh, and by dweebs, I was not referring to the musicians as much as the self-proclaimed arbiters of the form. Most of whom have never picked up an instrument in their lives. These are the people who crap all over jaz musicians who enjoy even a modicum of commercial success. Why is it wrong for jazz musicians to make money? Armstrong did, Parker, Davis, Peterson all did. Jazz "critics" should get over themselves at their earliest convenience.

[Ahash31]

can't wait to see dick hyman in person

[atombomb31458]

i think this tune is HOT HOUSE

[pinkieldred]

I agree with pyannaguy......" brainwashed ,dumbed-down public" ..only I'm even more of a pessimist when it comes to having any faith in the "masses" ..95% are happy listening to crap...2 chord noise band that are judged on how loud they play. I As Satchmo said.."there are only 2 kinds of music..Good and Bad..and there's allot more bad than good out there

[hatetotem]

awkward name.....dick hyman

[Memington]

Hmmmm.

Tank! is what I came here expecting...

[jazzpianist120]

whats the name of this tune?

[RyseTheWizard]

ebony and ivory, playing mind blowin' jazz that blows my freakin' mind to no conceivable limits...in harmony

[dannyinternetz]

I first saw this video as I was just starting to get into jazz and it made my jaw drop. Rest in peace Billy Taylor.

[johannhowitzer]

That you can have two people using ten fingers extemporaneously and hear NO sour notes is phenomenal.

[95Galante]

Love the Rockin in Rythum quote by Dick

[RonRizzy]

I think the tune is "Love For Sale"...has the exact same structure.

[dondijazz]

grreat! Hope they would play a pop song and make it into a bebop like "Through the Fire" by Chaka Khan and David Foster! Something contemporary not a song made 50 years ago! That way they could play their own rendition on the spot not like a thousand rehashed jazz standard! Outside playing would be nice!

[OctoberJoe]

@dondijazz  Hyman and Taylor didn't play "Through the Fire", but Chaka Khan recorded this same piece, "Hot House" by Tadd Dameron, in 1982.

[jedimastert0810]

also, billy is SO happy, and dick has the same expression throughout the whole video

[jedimastert0810]

i find it very awesome that he can hear 3 notes and know what song hes talking about. what is that song?

[t1mmytee]

@jedimastert0810 Exactly what I was thinking! I didn't recognize the tune there, but I bet Dick could've played the first three notes of most Beatles tunes and I would've known the song--it's all about what you're used to listening to, I guess.

[OctoberJoe]

@jedimastert0810 The song is "Hot House" by Tadd Dameron, and is based on the chord changes to Cole Porter's "What Is This Thing Called Love".

[giorgiopicker]

wonderrfulllllll

tnx

[LetTheMusicFlow1]

"Hehe...Bebop."

[XionXi]

Wizards, the both of them.

[steelydanbowler]

This is so wonderful! :D

[josiah566]

3 people think they can duet better than these two.

[likemyviolin]

Dick Hyman is an icon. Just this...

[CSMHBH]

Fantastic job. Stretching out without stepping on each others toes. Great counterpoint

[Learnjazzstandards]

Dick Hyman is a musical genius. 

[ANTiRussia1]

Dick, Bravo!

[pyannaguy]

Isn't it a drag how people who can play like this (or even care to) would have the slimmest of chances of making even a modest living at it, outside of Academia?

I know there are working jazz players and x-amount of venues where a good player can still work, but the scene is shrinking and I don't see where a resurgence is in the pipeline. Between Economics and the brainwashed, dumbed-down public... there's hardly a Golden Age on the horizon. A few rays of light, here & there, but....

[JazzVideoGuy]

@pyannaguy I'm more optimistic than you. I know that Jazz has a considerable global audience. Fewer live venues but more and more opportunities via the Internet on the horizon. Shortly, you'll be able to see an entire Jazz festival in surround sound on Internet TV, as well as other concerts and club gigs. I resist labels, so Golden Age doesn't fit. That Golden Age you referred, happened between 1930 and 1967. The music, and the world have changed so much since then.

[JQmusical]

@JazzVideoGuy very true

[rocknrollradioz]

@JazzVideoGuy I agree, jazz is still all over, and real musicians my age repect the genre but haven't taken the time to study it or learn it because jazz has made a name to be a "tough" genre to play. I'm busting my butt to learn the music so I can add spins into my playing as a fusion player.

[flipadiddle]

@rocknrollradioz i'm always annoyed when people say that there aren't young musicians out there playing/learning jazz. are you crazy? have you been to new york? I myself study jazz at a very well respected jazz school, and i have many peers who are all just as enthusiastic as me, and there are many other jazz schools full of enthusiastic students who practice 5 hours a day.

[rocknrollradioz]

@flipadiddle ok well my bad up in upper new york state its a rarity... and no I'm trying to move to a city after community college to see some good jazz down there I believe it! up here everyone likes crazy heavy metal so I feel left out sorta

[rocknrollradioz]

@flipadiddle and also props to them! thats awesome

[rocknrollradioz]

@flipadiddle can you give me the name of that school btw? id like to take a look at it

[jedge001]

@pyannaguy I agree with you. I respect these two renowned jazz musicians that have chosen to pass on this American legacy. Unfortunately, economics does affect everything. Supply-demand-profit. I doubt that the World planners and the global banking system could care less that jazz musicians eat.

[pyannaguy]

@jpckrd I think you make an excellent point. From the musicians' viewpoint, though, maybe it wasn't so much about eliminating the melody, as it was stating it and then improvising over the chord changes. Creativity morphed into what was seen as self indulgence and the rest was history - and so is jazz, largely.

Although, it's hardly as if all kinds of memorable tunes are gushing out of Pop in recent history. Rap's the obvious example, but there's a dearth of melody in general. Thoughts?

[jpckrd]

Yes, I think the melody was perhaps still there though barely recognizable in bebop. Then avant-garde jazz musicians eliminated it completely such as Charlie Mariano who said, "I don't want to hear pleasant music today. I want to hear screaming and hollering and kicking and biting. That's what the world's about today. And I believe that music should reflect life"

I'm into film music. I've noticed a decrease in melody. However, the best still use them such as John Williams and Hanz Zimmer.

[JamieKayChingching]

@jpckrd this is an interesting discussion. i agree with you that the best melodies today are in film music. it's not hard to realise why - the best talent is going to be attracted to where the money's at. however, unfortunately i think film music is also starting to get dumbed down. you mention john williams and hans zimmer. true, both have come up with terrific melodies, but the richness of JW's music and orchestration far exceeds that of HZ......

[JamieKayChingching]

.... and that's not to disrespect HZ's talent, i just think there has been a "cheapening" of film music in the last couple of decades, as effective as much of it may be (e.g. thomas newman). i think all new musical developments and composers have their place, but with the decline of truly accomplished composers like john williams, and with the way the music industry itself is lacking income, i do wonder where the next bach/bartok/williams will pop up and how they will make a living.

[jpckrd]

Bebop eliminated melody in jazz, hence the natural loss of interest among audiences. "Nothing is so insidious in contemporary attitudes about music and nothing so destructive as the tendency to think of a good tune as somehow inferior, or ignominious...The Great Composers, from Bach to Bartok, knew better. They knew that without a remembered melody, the listener is lost, and further composition futile."

[keysB3P]

@pyannaguy You are not aware of how big jazz , ragtime and classical music are out side the U.S. These genre's are like rock and country are in the U.S. The people in the U. S. still do not appreciate music as it should be. In Europe huge palaces are built just so opera's and orchestra's can be held. Too bad the greater population is so uneducated so they do not enjoy this music. You may be right about the resurgence. How ever, there are plenty of jazz and classics played in the big cities.

[pianOracle]

@pyannaguy the resurgence you seek is right in front of your eyes, buddy. In the days of Youtube and the internet, if you know how play even the damn Triangle well, you can get paid. Even better now is, you can capture a huge niche of fans without even having to travel to world. The world travels RIGHT to your youtube channel! Think about it. Hope only dies when you run out of it. You can only run out of hope if you lose it. You can only lose it if you choose to do so.

[pyannaguy]

@pianOracle  Well, that sounds good, but are you seeing lots of brilliant, accomplished Jazz instrumentalists getting famous via Youtube? Sure, there've been a couple of pop phenoms like Justin Beiber (sp?), who CAN play the drums, by the way. But, while your words SOUND inspiring, I still think peoples's taste, generally, has not been cultivated in the direction of music with the complexities of great Jazz.

That's just MY two cents worth....Peace.

[theorygeek00]

@pyannaguy dude, if you think that then you obviously haven't heard contemporary jazz......

[baccdaggthr]

Dick Hyman. That's even worse than Harry Seward.

[Yarden2y]

Now these are real musicians

[ANTiRussia1]

Excuse me, who is the at the right and left? Dick or Billy?

[supahsekzy]

@ANTiRussia1  Dick is white, Billy is black

[TempoPoet]

sooooooo fucking totally bitchin man!-lol-that means its a wonderful song to all the none crazy talkers like me.:)

[grayboy432004]

This is terrific. Both of these guys know more about music and piano than I thought possible. Wonderful.

[zhartable]

Billy taylor is awsome and so is Dick!

[losey88]

hot house is the name of the song

[MrsCow18]

Full respect to Dick Hyman

but what was his parents thinking? Balancing his name i guess. Balancing the femininity of Hyman by adding a Dick in front of it?

[mk181818]

Real American musical beauty. Vanishing together with real American culture. So bad.

[niggerfuckshit]

@mk181818 african.

[Digman2012]

HAHAHAHAHA His names Dick Hyman!

[TimJim333]

Does anyone know what tune this is? It sounds like a Charlie Parker...but I'm not sure!

[JamieKayChingching]

hot house, based on what is this thing called love

[matticulate]

@TimJim333 The tune is "Hot House," composed by Tadd Dameron.

[cricketmunchkin]

Does anyone else think that he sounds kinda like Kermit the Frog?

[supahsekzy]

Every guy that billy taylor duets with, they always know how not to step all over each other. And Dick Hyman is awesome despite his unfortunate name.

[Bergunthera]

What has Dick quoted at 2:05, to make Billy erupt with joy in that way?

[RaceReaver]

He quoted Rockin in Rhythm by Duke Ellington

[Bergunthera]

ah thanks!

[Andreeeiiii]

could be just a phrase how taylor would play it, you know?

check out billy taylors style, than you might get it, but of course it was only my thought

[fjdude]

he quoted a Duke Ellington tune - the ellington cd i have has it labeled as "rockin' in rhythm'

[peter8471]

i enjoy it

and they enjoy it to !

[mrdrums38]

this song sounds like a bird and dizzy song i've listened to before.

[KeithJost]

one can almost here where the upright bass would fit, and the drums as well

[NEDM1991]

fucking awesome man

[webcrawler491033]

holy. oh my god.

i am amazed. absolutely amazed.

effing legends.

[cricketmunchkin]

@webcrawler491033 - I know! They're just like, "Oh, how about this one..." then they play a couple of starting notes and then off they go. How?!

[godelike]

@cricketmunchkin this is a standard piece, so they just have to quote the beginning to know what they are talking about!

[japajew6]

i like how dick hyman just played 4 notes and Billy knew exactly what song it was and busted out this crazy tune :D

[Dihelson]

It would be interesting to see how Billy Taylor would play with the great great Oscar peterson, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Claire Fischer, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Michel Camilo, Keith Jarrett, and Chick Corea. Unfortunatelly NONE of these guys ( the best ones IMHO ) never went to this show...

[twentyflights]

ahhh this makes me smile

[ra327]

"hahaha. Bebop" two greats having fun

[BjorklundSimon]

Classic, Perfect music, the real kind!

[schrpnss]

Friendly guys. Superb playing.

[ChoosyLover2001]

That was beautiful. I love to hear music like this.

I'm really speechless...

[dvnstvn9]

sweet

[ilovesteelydan]

Two national treasures.

[danandmary11]

Dick is of course the technical giant and Billy the stylistic superior. However, because each player demands something of the other during this tete a tete, Dick will pull out something spontaneous sounding while Billy answers very nicely to Dick's technical gauntlet. Each player is growing is this piece.

[trueviolinist]

SWEET

[Surmusicp]

Dick Hyman is a very complete Jazz pianist...

[cattymanly]

The fluidity and ease of playing, just amazing. Straight out of their minds, htting those keys, great sense of touch, sensitivity.

[OscarLaredopianist]

Great post !!!

[FuriousGopher]

These two are just loving it! So awesome!

[lexinicoleee]

Wow.

Dick Hyman is a very unfortunate name.

[theroyalpriest]

Yes it is!! I was thinking the very same thing!!

[Luuksterr]

Why is it?

[lexinicoleee]

Dick. Hyman. Haha.

[jonnybogue]

Not as bad as his brother,

Buster Hyman!

[lexinicoleee]

Hahahaha.

Oh my gosh, I laughed at that forever. :)

[jonnybogue]

glad to give you a giggle!

[lexinicoleee]

Haha. Oh, you did.

[Saxation1]

does anybody know the changes/form to hot house (what is this thing called love?)

[jonnybogue]

Yes, it IS on the changes of What is This Thing Called Love, AABA form.

[brougham917]

ombb

[Bearwithmeplease]

This is whats up!

[holygroove2]

Hyman played with Bird on TV... this is the same Dick Hyman right?

[JazzVideoGuy]

Yes, that was in the early 50s, this is more than 30 years later.

[holygroove2]

I just find it interesting that Taylor says people think that Hyman is a specialist in the older styles when he played with Bird.

Seems like Hyman can't be locked into one style if that's the case.

[madmusicianmax]

what's the name of that tune?

[miltonc321]

Hot House based on What Is This Thing Called Love, as quoted in the out chorus last four bars.

[Pianostool]

hot house, i put in a cycling video of mine, but arturo was doing it, same tune though

[madmusicianmax]

the arturo bigband seems to struggle with this one. it sure is a hard tune though.

[klavier1us]

JVG: I'm thrilled that the good Dr's collection is getting digitized. I hope a DVD will also result.

RE: any talk of what is "contemporary": Jazz may have time line but it no more defines what is deserving of attention than it would to Classical music- it ain't a thang but a calendar date. The best of anything is timeless. Thanks for more timeless beauty.

[fireislandcats]

i love billy taylor

[DanOstler]

What a wonderful clip!! Keepon digitizing :-)

[donotclickonthis]

lol, since when was bebop a contemporary form?

[crtune]

Be Bop is contemporary based upon all Jazz History ever published; the study of this usually divides Traditional or "roots" oriented jazz from "Contemporary" jazz by putting the swing era in the middle;

Of course everyone knows there are very much newer styles; it does not mean we have to be ignarant of how the older styles fit in to the overall history

[IzzyIsou]

Thanks for posting! You're helping keep Jazz alive!

[cilcsster]

Enjoyed Dick a couple of years back in Toronto....such a thrill! Thanks for this great posting!

[fetsyam]

Amazing.How to learn ?? Here it is.

[EverythingPiano]

I love it, Billy and Dick! Two Incredible Educators, keep archiving and interviewing Bret great stuff! Incredibly Impressive output too

[aerofredywr]

Oh My! (can´t find the proper words to say how much I like this)

[JazzLegacy]

where do you get this material? it's great!

[JazzVideoGuy]

I work with Dr. Billy Taylor and we're in process of digitizing his video archive, so all of the Billy video comes from his personal collection.

[pandadance]

Wow

[TaipeiDawg]

Great job to have. Keep up the good work!!!

[lilbits]

So much fun.

[junka22]

Yay, bebop! The word 'bebop' didn't mean anything to me just a few years ago, it just sounded funny... that was until I heard the music, cheers :)

[PianistaItaliano]

Fantastic Music- Video, thanks for posting!

[BocaFriend]

Amazing how Dick Hyman looks like a CPA. Such a low-key, elegant style. But all who've heard him at the legendary 92 St Y, know he's not there to crunch numbers! (At least not the mathematical kind!) Wonderful to see two icons together in a gentleman's jam!

[oober349]

man this tune's all over your recent stuff

[das499]

What is this tune? I don't recognize it.

[MagicRain505]

Hot house.

[unibomber111]

Good stuff.