I like to ask classical musicians what they listen to to relax. The answer is rarely our own music; stepping outside the classical world allows our critical facilities to switch off, which is blessed relief. My after-work tastes are hip hop, R&B, house, pop and a relatively small amount of jazz. Over the past few weeks I’ve been thinking about what makes some of this music so great. Today I’m writing about some of my favorite jazz: John Coltrane’s masterpiece A Love Supreme, recorded in 1964, and Brad Mehldau’s Art of the Trio vol. 4 from 1999. John Coltrane was one of the greatest saxophonist of his generation. Born in 1926, the same year as his friend and colleague Miles Davis, he led a complicated

Continue readingColtrane and Meldau

I’m often asked about the music I listen to outside work. When I was announced as music director of the Jacksonville Symphony five years ago, there were plenty of embarrassing headlines like “conductor likes Britney and Beethoven”. People tend to think that there is something amusing or even faintly scandalous about a classical musician enjoying other music. We musicians are also guilty; when we talk about dipping into a little jazz or pop now and again it’s often with the patronizing implication that these genres are less meaningful than classical music. Needless to say, this is nonsense, and a reflection of the dangerous fracture lines running through our society today. Over the next two weeks I’m going to write about the music that I love

Continue readingMusic from my father