As promised in Part I, here is a criminally incomplete selection of non-standard, modern folks well deserving the title of Virtuoso.
Jean Luc Ponty is a classically trained violinist and was accepted to one of the premier music schools in France at age 16. Afterwards he had a pretty good gig going with one of Paris’ top orchestras and played clarinet and sax on the side at the local jazz clubs. One night, though, he ended up at a club with nothing but his violin. While an uphill struggle (A violin? Playing jazz? Who does he think he is, Joe Venuti?!) Ponty stuck with it, switched to an electric violin and his style was soon compared to that of John Coltrane.
Clara Rockmore was also classically trained on the violin, and was also accepted into a prestigious music school (though in Saint Petersburg) but at the tender age of 5. Yes, five years old. Rockmore had chronic physical issues that caused her to give up the violin, but being in the right place at the right time got her introduced to Leon Theremin’s odd little box. Not only did she help Leon refine the instrument, but she became its first virtuosa.
Bela Fleck attended a music and art high school in NYC and, while well known for his bluegrass work, he has an extensive history in a wide array of genres. In fact he’s been nominated in more Grammy categories than any other musician – ever. In addition to jamming with Charlie Parker and Chick Corea, Fleck recorded with Stanley Clarke and (drum roll, please) Jean Luc Ponty as part of a trio called…. Um…. It’ll come to me… ! Oh yeah, Trio!
Then there’s Buckethead. No, that’s not the name his parents gave him – or I should say, his birth parents, as he insists he was raised by chickens. Born Brian Patrick Carroll, he pretty much burst out of nowhere in the late 1980’s. Sporting a white costume mask and topped by an overturned KFC meal bucket (since replaced by a plain white one) Buckethead has released almost 30 albums across several genres, collaborated on at least twice that number, and replaced Slash as part of Guns N Roses. Grabbing a handful of Buckethead’s albums is much like Mr. Gump’s box of chocolates, if said box includes sweets made with edible-but-not-generally-eaten things; you don’t know what you’ll get but you can be assured that it will be different…
Want to find more virtuocity at SPL? Well try Guan Pinghu, master of the Guqin (think of a Chinese Sitar.) His recording of Flowering Water (Lui Shui) was included on the “Golden Record” sent off with Voyager. (or V-Ger as it’ll be known when it stops back by in a couple hundred years. But I digress… ) Jake Shimabukuro on the Ukelele rips up everything from Uke classics through to the Beatles and Led Zeppelin. Paul Butterfield took a standard issue Kohler Marine harmonica and with it, introduced us to Black Chicago blues greats such as B. B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, and Muddy Waters. And finally, Art Tatum Jr. played jazz piano at the speed of thought and often used the en-tire keyboard. ~Jay F.
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