Jazz in 1/7 Comma Meantone

[Billbrpt@AOL.COM]

Dear List,
Last night, I attended a Jazz concert where the piano was tuned in 1/7 Comma
Meantone Temperament.  The technician was perhaps Madison's finest, most
diligent practitioner of Historical Temperaments (HT) and strictly aural
tuner, Daniel P. Eberhardy RPT.  The piano was a beautifully restored (by
Timothy Farley RPT)  Steinway B with Circassian walnut veneer.

The pianist was Dave McKenna.  The setting was in the round and there was a
full house of about 300 in the small venue.  It was a repeat performance of
the same type on Friday night.

He played solo piano but was joined midway in each of his two sets by a
clarinetist.  McKenna plays all of the old (and some recent) standards.  He
typically segues three or four songs together before he ends any particular
selection.  He alternates between a "walking bass" style and "stride style"
playing.  The clarinetist played a kind of New Orleans style reminiscent of
Pete Fountain.  My impression of him is that he could really "root-toot-toot"
that "licorice stick".

Of particular note to some of the members of this List who have made certain
claims, statements and hypotheses:  McKenna played in all keys using complex,
extended harmonies.  He played standards such as "All the Things You Are" and
"Body and Soul" on a piano tuned in a temperament which some have claimed
would "ruin" the music, would be "impossible", "wouldn't fly", "wouldn't work"
or "would sound just terrible".

There was no discussion with the pianist about how the piano was tuned.  There
was no announcement about it either.  No one in the audience made any negative
remarks about the way the piano was tuned.  No one got up and left, being
"disturbed" by the unusual tuning.  No one approached the piano during
intermission or afterwards and started playing intervals on it to test or
analyze the tuning.  No one "banged" on the "wolf" 5th and exclaimed how
terrible it sounded and why this is the very reason that ET is the one and
only temperament appropriate for use today.

In short, the HT used suited the pianist, the music and the audience perfectly
well.  It served the same universal purpose that only ET is supposed to be
able to serve.

There was no need nor desire for the piano to be tuned *back* to ET when the
performance was over.

Only in Madison, Wisconsin.

Bill Bremmer RPT