Recorded live at Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee, with Steinway artist John Medeski and host Ben Finane.
In this conversation:
- Spontaneous composition: listening closely, sharing the lead, and knowing when not to play.
- Bach’s clarity, Oscar Peterson’s swing, and the repeated listening that helped Medeski connect with John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme.
- How Medeski Martin & Wood developed a shared language across jazz, funk, classical music, and free improvisation.
- The distinction Medeski draws between admiring a musician and being influenced through playing or studying together.
- Composing at and away from the piano, and why acoustic touch matters to his sound.
- Making space for personal expression and experiencing music as a meditative, restorative practice.
Thanks to the East Tennessee Historical Society for hosting the interview. Opening and closing music: Philip Glass’s Mad Rush, performed by Ben Finane on a Steinway Model M.
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About this podcast
Soundboard features conversations on artistry and craftsmanship between Ben Finane, Director of Content at Steinway & Sons, and distinguished pianists, musicians, artists, and creatives. Soundboard seeks out inspiration, hones in on the creative process, parses influences, and attempts to diagnose artistic greatness.
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