Great Piano Player

[cswearingen@daigger.com]

Hello List,

This is really off the topic of piano tuning/repairs but who else could
appreciate the talents of a great piano player than everyone on this list!

I've known pianist Jon Weber somewhat casually for several years and am
still amazed at just what he can do.  The other night, I went to the Four
Seasons Hotel in Chicago and spent 4 hours almost sitting next to him on
the bench, watching his every move.

For those of you who don't know who Jon Weber is in the field of Jazz
piano, it will be a necessity for you to stop by the Four Seasons Hotel
next time you are in Chicago.  Jon has never taken a single piano lesson
and yet, he plays with incredible harmonic sophistication and pummels
through stride, walking bass (ala McKenna), be-bop, and just about every
other style you can imagine.  Listening to Jon for an hour is like getting
a course in the history of jazz piano.  Dick Hyman and Dave McKenna are big
fans of Jon's.

Here are a few ancedotes I thought you would enjoy!

1.  When you name a tune for Jon to play, he will give you both the
composer and the lyricist's name (and usually their birthdays), the year
the tune was written, and the movie or show it was from.  Jon tells me that
he listed out all the songs he knew and the list came to over 20,000.

2.  Jon will normally ask you what key you want him to play in.  If you
don't name a key, he closes his eyes and reaches into the piano to pluck a
string.  He will then play the tune in that key.

3.  Henry Mancini once came in to hear Jon play and Jon proceeded to rattle
off some 25 Mancini tunes - some of which even Mancini didn't recognize.
One of the tunes Mancini didn't recognize was "Blue Satin" which, as Jon
pointed out to him, he wrote for "Mr. Lucky" back in 1959.

4.  Jimmy page of Led Zeppelin wondered in one evening and Jon played him a
standard jazz tune but in the middle, slipped in Page's entire solo from
the song "Heartbreaker."

5.  Once, when Bill Murray was there listening to him, Jon played a sappy
version of the theme to "Star Wars" - a great reference to a skit Murray
did once on Saturday Night Live.

6.  For concert pianist Van Cliburn, Jon played the most difficult tune he
could think of - John Coltrane's Giant Steps.  This tune is difficult
enough but Jon played it in 11/8 time for Van Cliburn.

7.  Rod Stewart came in one evening and sat next to Jon and proceeded to
sing jazz standards as Jon acompanied him.

Again, sorry to be off topic but I thought you would enjoy hearing some of
these stories.  If you are further intrigued, go to www.jonwebermusic.com
and get a lot more info.

Corte Swearingen
Chicago