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 About Dan Knight |
By the time he was three years old Danny Knight could sing any melody he heard after hearing it once. He began playing keyboard instruments at age four by singing the melodies he knew and matching the pitches on his older sister's chord organ, which he had been forbidden to play. His ability became known to his family when they visited an aunt who owned a piano. As his older sister and cousin attempted to play the "Dragnet" theme on the piano, with no success, Danny walked to the piano and played the theme. Correctly.
His parents went home and bought a piano.
Dan's early studies were in the classical tradition. His teacher, Tillie Maither, a former student of Paderewski, even called him her "little Paderewski." She discovered his interest in jazz after he heard Brubeck's "Take Five" for the first time, and ran to her house to ask if it was possible to have five counts in a measure. As she lectured him regarding the evils of jazz, he determined to learn to play it on his own.
And learn to play it he did. Composer, pianist, educator Dan Knight has built a worldwide reputation as "one of the finest solo pianists in the world." A protégé of jazz legend Dr. Billy Taylor, who himself was a protégé of jazz legend Art Tatum. Knight has performed with some of the legends of jazz including saxophonist Bobby Watson; trumpeter and Duke Ellington "alumnus" Jimmy Owens; percussionists Victor Lewis and Charli Persip; trumpeter/composer Wynton Marsalis; and a host of others.
Dan Knight is one of only 30 jazz Steinway artists. He is the only artist to have performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival three years in a row. He performed August '06 for the fourth consecutive year at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival, in conjunction with the world-famous Edinburgh Festival.
As an educator, clinician and private instructor, Knight is an expert. He is a master teacher, both in relating to students his experiences with some of the modern masters of the jazz world. He instructs and inspires them individually in their own journeys toward personal mastery. His musical "heritage" informs his teaching in a fusion of the best of both the classical and the jazz worlds, combining the passion and technique of Paderewski with the improvisational virtuosity of Art Tatum.
He continues to pioneer the creative use of jazz in liturgical settings, restoring this musical form to its place of proper origin - the church - in the style and manner of his predecessor, Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington. As a composer, pianist, and improviser, Dan Knight continues to expand the boundaries of style and composition in his performances of classical, jazz, and improvised music.
Sonny Rollins may have summed up Dan's virtuosity best "Man you're great."
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| About the Walt Whitman Suite |
Being the product of two musical "worlds" (that of Paderewski and that of Tatum), I realized these two musical "worlds" often didn't speak to each other.
For much of my musical life this dichotomy was a problem. But after years of thought and study, I now embrace both "worlds" with passion and intensity. My compositions of the past few years reflect that change. The Walt Whitman Suite reflects the totality of my musical life to date.
In doing so it includes music that is both thorough-composed and improvised.
The term "improvisation" often carries with it the connotation of "just making it up as you go along." The common inference is that the product of improvisation, because it is seemingly offhand or spontaneous, must therefore be second rate. This understanding of improvisation has at times been used by many inside the tradition of classical style music to trivialize the use of improvisation in music, since 'anything offhand must therefore be of little value.'
Being the product of two musical "worlds" (that of Paderewski and that of Tatum), I realized these two musical "worlds" often didn't speak to each other.
However, the classical tradition itself proves the art of improvisation is anything but trivial. Bach obviously improvised prodigiously and proficiently. Mozart was himself an outstanding improviser. So was Liszt. The list could go on and on.
In turn, "improvising" musicians often wrongfully criticized the "non-improvising" world for its apparent "paint by numbers" approach and a seeming lack of imagination implied in playing it in the same way every day in a serious canon.
My interest as a composer is in merging the finest aspects of the traditions of classical and improvised music in new explorations of creative potentials in composition and performance. I believe The Walt Whitman Suite successfully fuses these two traditions in ways that amplify the best qualities of each.
I hope the performance of this Suite, and others like it, will begin to bridge the gap between classical and improvised music, and that a passionate new tradition may begin to emerge.
Dan Knight
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| About the Recording |
| Christopher Huston engineered and produced The Walt Whitman Suite. Originally the lead guitarist for the Liverpool group "the Undertakers" Huston later decided his talents were in capturing the music as an engineer and later as a producer. Huston has worked with legendary bands from the Who to Led Zeppelin and greats like Eric Burden, James Brown, Patti LaBelle, and Van Morrison with over 80 gold and platinum records to his credit. From engineering and producing he later began designing recording studios, like the world famous Sound Kitchen in Franklin, TN, where the vocals for this recording were done. Huston now continues to work with Rives Audio designing high end media rooms and recording studios around the world. He has captured every facet of music, from performer and songwriter to engineer, producer, studio designer, and now music reproduction through media room design and engineering. Following are comments from Chris Huston on the recording of The Walt Whitman Suite: |
| What a great experience. I've done more than my share of Rock, R&B, Blues and Classical over the years, but I had never done anything like this. When I first heard the recording that was made when Dan performed The Walt Whitman Suite for NPR (National Public Radio) I was intrigued. What I heard was a wonderful musical composition with an equally wonderful story based on the writings of Walt Whitman. I listened three or four times, keeping the volume at a moderate level while purposefully doing something else - working on the design for a 2 Channel Listening Room as it happens. As a producer I was initially trying to find out what caught my ear and my attention. Right off, I found the music compelling with a huge dynamic and emotional range. The narration was also compelling, but I knew that there was work to be done to make it the best that it could be. |
| When we arrived at Blue Heaven Recording Studios in Salina, KS, we found that the Salina Symphony had moved in a beautiful Steinway 9'-0" D grand piano; still wrapped in its protective moving blankets. The thunderstorm outside created a damp heavy air in the church. I immediately asked that the piano be opened up and a preliminary tuning done. The next day, after a second tuning, Dan and I decided we would try to record the whole suite at one time; music and narration. We did so because it was the most that we could hope to accomplish, if it were even possible. In any recording session, the first hour or so is given to a certain amount of 'housekeeping' - selecting microphones, getting sounds and, more importantly, allowing the artist to get comfortable. As Dan played I would position the microphones and go back into the control room and see how everything sounded. In order to make sure that the microphones were in phase with each other I panned them both to the center (Mono) and listened to see if the high frequencies sounded the same as when the piano was in stereo. A trick I learned 40 years ago. All through this I was waiting for the right time to start working with Dan on piece, both the music and the narration. |
| I noticed the music occasionally detracted from the narration and the narration, at times, 'pulled' on the music. |
| In a live venue, where both are performed at once, this interaction would not be as critical because the artist has a live audience to play to and any natural interplay between piano and voice is a part of the performance. With a smile at the audience, any 'mistake' would pass critical evaluation or criticism. In a studio setting, there is a different set of conditions where any slight time fluctuation is there for all to hear. As a professional, Dan was expected to play as if for the first time - every time. A daunting task under the best circumstances. After allowing Dan to work through the piece, we worked together changing and modifying sections. It quickly became apparent that we were going to have to approach this in a different way. I suggested that we go to "Plan B", which we had already considered in a pre-project discussion. We would record the piano first and then tackle the narration. This worked perfectly and we were able to make multiple takes with each take being a complete and uninterrupted take of the whole suite, until we knew we had everything we set out to accomplish. What a joy! |
| Later that evening, we began work on the narration. Having worked earlier that day trying to complete both the music and narration at once, I had an idea how to achieve the best that Dan could give with the narration. Dan does not have a speaking voice per se. He's not a Gary Owens or James Earl Jones whose rich resonant voices are their calling cards. The key was to find the storyteller in him and let his heart do the rest. We did just that and it worked. We later finished the narration for The Suite at The Sound Kitchen, in Franklin, TN. Dan became a storyteller and gave a wonderful and sensitive performance. |
| In deciding how the final mix would sound it was important to listen to the voice and piano set at varying degrees to each other. Originally, when I set the microphones, my objective was to capture every complex musical nuance that took place within the piano's framework. The natural depth of the instrument, both in frequency and in dynamics is wonderful and I count myself lucky to have achieved it. In contrast, the voice is that of a simple storyteller who sits close to the listener's ear in order not to shout and spoil the impact of what he says. The human voice is also limited in its frequency response and, when used in a hushed whisper can be as thin in frequency as it is powerful in intent. So, in its simplicity it works. A simple blending of a dynamic musical piece and a simple, softly told story intertwined. |
| Christopher Huston |
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