We've examined a couple of records in which the jazz and classical worlds came together to produce something new. Now here is what happens when a renowned classical pianist shows up at a jazz shrine to play bop.
The pianist is Friedrich Gulda, the place is Birdland and the time is 1956. And the results could hardly be more successful.
Gulda was one of those remarkable artists who was equally proficient at Mozart and Monk. Here he and several well known jazzmen (see back cover below) perform Gulda's own compositions along with Night in Tunisia and Bernie's Tune. Gulda could not sound more at home (except he does not play the Night in Tunisia theme as the man wrote it).
Gulda, who was Viennese, won the Geneva International Competition in 1946, made his first recordings a few years later, and was already well known as a classical artist when this date was taped. At the time of these records, critics tended to lump him together with his fellow Viennese pianists Jörg Demus and Paul Badura-Skoda - but I would have a hard time imagining either of them coming out with Gulda's incendiary improvisation on Bernie's Tune.
Gulda had an unorthodox streak that later led him to mix jazz and classical pieces on the same program, to refuse awards, and to dress casually for concerts. Once he supposedly performed in the nude. I'm not sure if this improved the musical results or not - but in his honor I took my pants off while I dubbed this record, and it sounds pretty good!
Birdland's Pee Wee Marquette introduces him as "Frederick" Gulda. It could be that Gulda was using an anglicized version of his first name then, or it could be that Gulda didn't pay off Pee Wee. Legend has it that Marquette would deliberately mispronounce the names of artists who didn't tip him. Fred - pay the two dollars!
NEW LINK (remastered)
