Erik Satie:
- Short Pieces for piano
Jan Kaspersen, pianist and composer, was born on the 22nd of April, 1948. He studied piano under Herman Koppel and Duke Jordan; and he studied jazz theory with George Russell.
Kaspersen has led his own groups since the end of the 1970’s and has made many recordings, chiefly of his own compositions. In the 1980s he emerged as one of the most original personalities on the jazz scene – as pianist, composer and, not least, as orchestral leader.
In this CD, we can hear Kaspersen’s own compositions, as well as short pieces by Erik Satie:
Kaspersen:
- Portraits (5) d’un oiseau rare, Op. 5, No. 5
Satie:
- Croquis et Agaceries d’un Gros Bonhomme en bois
- Six Gnossiennes
- Trois Gymnopédies
- Heures séculaires et instantanées
- Véritables préludes flasques (pour un chien)
Performed by Jan Kaspersen (piano)
Mr. Kaspersen tells us that:
“I first became acquainted with Erik Satie’s piano music at the beginning of the 1970’s. It captivated me immediately so I went out and bought some records, which I listened to with growing interest. It was fascinating and inspiring music, ranging from the meditative to the more expressive, with a generous dash of madness… With the help of a biography and anything else I could lay my hands on, I began to get some insight into Satie’s world. And what a world.
There were beautiful lyrical melodies, meditative sequences, dance movements, cockeyed chorales and much flouting of convention. There was humor, irony and parody… And then there is Satie’s compositional techniques, where, also here, he has anticipated much that came to characterize music in the 20th century. In short, he was a deeply original personality, an eccentric.”
Here is Jan Kaspersen in “Over the Rainbow”
And next, here is “Dark Horse” by Jan Kaspersen:
Finally, here is the Kaspersen Septet in “Sixteen Bars”
Tags: Jan Kaspersen, Erik Satie, Jazz