Larry Young, part II

A little article from the New Yorker, Larry Young’s Self-Questioning Jazz offers this tidbit:

“But, in the booklet, John Koenig offers a remarkable sidebar regarding Young’s piano teacher in New Jersey, Olga Von Till, a native of Hungary who, in her own youth, had studied with Béla Bartók and “had been exposed to two other important Hungarian composers, Ernő Dohnányi and Zoltán Kodály”—and who also the taught the pianist Bill Evans.”

Olga Von Till taught in Highland Park, NJ. Olga also taught Barry Miles. I can imagine Larry Young taking NJ Transit down to New Brunswick or Edison from Newark and walking to her house. I grew up down the road (Rt. 27) in North Brunswick years later.

More on  Larry Young’s Tragic Genius

 

Keith Emerson (1944-2016)

Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake and Palmer at the Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Canada, February 1977. photo Michael Putland.

my notes from Facebook…

I’m just shocked as anyone else to hear of Keith Emerson’s passing. His music was part of my teenage years, lying between the stereo speakers in the middle of the band listening to The Barbarian, Trilogy, Tarkus, Brain Salad Surgery, Knife Edge. Keith had the most amazing sounding keyboards and the heaviest compositions.

I heard my hero play three times.* Once with ELP on the Works tour in Princeton after they dropped the orchestra, Emerson, Lake and Powell at the Meadowlands arena and about 10 years ago at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville with his band.

Rest easy Keith Emerson, your suffering is over.

 

• edit: make that four times, I caught the Black Moon tour at the Garden State Arts Center.