De Franse pianist Richard Clayderman wordt zeventig jaar. In mijn Rode Vaan-tijd ben ik nog eens naar een persconferentie van hem geweest (al zou ik nu niet meer weten waaróm in godsnaam) en in het korte stukje dat ik daarna aan hem wijdde, noemde ik hem “Richard 2,5”. Hieronder leest u waarom, maar u moet niet alles te letterlijk nemen, er zitten nogal wat “wolfijzers en schietgebeden”…
hey winslow, what are your thoughts on frank mills and richard clayderman? are there any contemporary pianists you enjoy?
Winslow: "Yes to both. Nicky Hopkins and Rick Wakeman are also Pianists that I respect the portfolios of. Firstly, they all pull from the right sources, that really deep honest place. Secondly they've put in the time, they've got the training and muscle memory to pull it off. For me, it's about getting your soul out there and on display at the piano, raw, exposed, vulnerable. A lot of people chicken out. Some people have a beautiful one, soul I mean, some people have an ugly one but it's all music. Then you've got some people, like those doo-wop bozos and the Juicy Fruits who regurgitate this stuff that's been eaten and digested a hundred times already. It's not even their honest work to begin with. On that same note, that's also why I can't stand people messing with my music. You take a good honest thing and you change it until it's nobody and nothing in particular. It's not just 'what's the point', it's an insult. It's an insult to the composer. It's an insult to everything music's meant to be. Maybe it sounds technically alright to you and Jane Doe in the record store, but it makes my ears bleed. What people don't get is I'm never looking for 'perfect', I'm looking for honest, pure, channeled, and that's exactly what I heard when I first met Pheonix."
Simmering down some Winslow straightens himself out.
"On a purely nostalgic level I've also got a soft spot for the Vince Guaraldi. The Peanuts comics were really popular when I was a kid and then the cartoon came out later. It was all piano. That one's not about skill, though it's got it. It just hits a really nice part in my heart. Not a Christmas goes by where I don't put Charlie Brown on. Keeps me company."
I hate when classical musicians put their face on the cover of shit…yo yo ma is an exception but I don’t need to see Richard Claydermans face before I go to sleep