Ignacy Paderewski was a Polish pianist who was born in 1860 in Kurilovka, a village which at the time was part of the Russian Empire (but is now part of Ukraine), and died in 1941 at the age of 80. He was one of the great pianists of the 20th Century. He was known for his stage presence, his looks (especially his incredible hair), and his charisma. Paderewski was the first musician to perform in Carnegie Hall. He recorded many piano rolls in the early 1900s before making recordings on LP records. These early recordings (like many early recordings) have a lot of background noise in them, but musicians in the early 20th century took more risks in public performance and tried to tell a story when interpreting the music they played or sang, which isn’t always the case today with competitions and music schools churning out note perfect musicians who forget that music isn’t about perfection but about conveying emotion through sound.

Here is a recording that Paderewski made of Chopin’s Nocturne in E Flat Major, Op. 9, No. 2 in 1930. He plays the piece very differently to how a pianist today would play it, and instead of playing it in at a strict speed throughout, he lingers on notes in the melody, and plays the LH accompaniment like a melody. The two hands are not playing together at the same time, and he wouldn’t win a competition if he played like that today, but I think there is an expressive musicality and charm to his playing. Today’s pianists could learn a lot if they only listened to earlier players like Paderewski. Enjoy.

Rex Stewart and his Feetwarmers was a jazz group formed by Trumpeter Rex Stewart. It featured Rex Stewart on Cornet, Barney Bigard on Clarinet and Drums, and Billy Taylor on the Bass. The members of the group were all part of Duke Ellington’s Orchestra. The guest artist is guitarist Django Reinhardt (of the Quintet of the Hot Club of France). These rare recordings (made in 1939) are swing jazz at its best. This recording comes from an album called “The All Star Sessions” which features Django Reinhardt on 4 out of the 16 tracks.

Here is a piece called Finesse (Night Wind) which contains wonderful ensemble playing and some great solo work by all of the musicians. Enjoy.