Also Cool

Frederic Chopin

My favorite classical composer, Frederic Chopin. Born in Poland to a musical family, Chopin was a child-prodigy, performing his first concert at age 7. However, for the Polish pianist, public performances became a rarity with just 30 or so performances by the time he passed away at age 39. He is considered as one of the great composers of Romanticism. He had a love for music, and for Poland. He was very sick with Tuberculosis for much of his adult life, but still managed to compose some of the world's most beautiful music. Some of my favorites of his include:
Nocturne Op.55 No.1
Scherzo No.2 in B flat minor, Op.31
24 Preludes, Op. 28: No.13 in F sharp major
and
Nocturne in C minor
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Bill Evans

On the subject of jazz piano, I wouldn't think of leaving out Bill Evans. As Bud Powell was one of Evan's influences, he paid tribute to him in 1979 saying, "If I had to choose one single musician for his artistic integrity, for the incomparable originality of his creation and the grandeur of his work, it would be Bud Powell. He was in a class by himself." I would add that Bill Evans too was in a class all by himself. Bill Evans integrates some of the most creative and complex chord voicings into his tunes. His sound is unique and contemporary, yet he doesn't abandon the roots or style of old school jazz. Some of his bests in my opinion:
Autumn Leaves
Blue in Green
and
Waltz for Debby
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The Amazing Bud Powell

These next few posts will be "piano-related" as the piano is one of the coolest of instruments. Bud Powell is one of the greats in jazz piano. He is one of the fathers of Bebop, along with Thelonious Monk. His tickling right hand solos earned him the nickname of "the Charlie Parker of the piano." I particularly enjoy the raw sound he produces, along with background rhythmic moans that characterize the passion he puts into his work. Bud recorded many tunes, some of the greats in my opinion include:
'Round Midnight
There Will Never Be Another You
and
I Remember Clifford
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Victory

It's finally set in! In the face of scrutiny and criticism, Real Salt Lake proved that resilience and hard work can win Championships! In the process, the team brought silverware to Utah, which in and of itself is monumental and perhaps may never be duplicated. I can't imagine Utah getting another professional franchise of any sort, and the Utah Jazz came short two years in a row with arguably the best team we've ever had. The Jazz have and will always have the best fans in the world, and hopefully with its recent success, Real Salt Lake will be recognized as a Utah icon for fight, hard work, and now success! With a terrific fan base and a world class stadium, the team has already taken flight, and now should expect the rest of Utah to follow suit and cheer on the claret-and-cobalt as they look to defend their title... Utah's title.

That's right!

In dramatic fashion, Real Salt Lake silenced a sold out crowd in Chicago to secure its first appearance in the MLS Cup Final. Despite outplaying the 3-time champions Chicago Fire, RSL couldn't find the back of the net in 120 minutes of play. The Eastern Conference showdown went to penalty kicks in which each side gets 5 shots on goal from the penalty spot to determine the winner. RSL was first to miss a shot, but Goalkeeper Nick Rimando would make it up with a fine save. In fact, he gave RSL the advantage when the spot kick went into sudden death by making an unbelievable save. With the chance to win the Eastern Conference, RSL forward Fabian Espindola shot high to let Chicago back into the shootout. But Rimando took it upon himself to ensure that the Fire would not burn on. He snuffed another shot. The late RSL substitute Ned Grabavoy had the second chance to win it for RSL and he made no mistake. Chicago keeper Jon Bushe got a touch on the shot, but it had too much pace to keep out of goal. The crowd went silent and Real Salt Lake celebrated as the rightful victors. With 3 saves, Nick Rimando was the clear hero and man-of-the-match. No one believed in the last seeded squad RSL, but finding their form as of late, the squad has proved to be unstoppable, knocking off the top seeds in the East, moving on to claim the West against LA on Sunday!