Daniel Weiß Trio presents “Fragments,” an emotional jazz piano-driven tune as smooth as a tranquil summer breeze. Read our discussion with the artist below!
Describe your sound in 3 words
melodic captivating Pop-Jazz
Tell us a few things about Fragments. What is the main idea behind it?
“Fragments” is based on a small melodic idea (or fragment) I had a few years ago. I somehow rediscovered it while playing around for myself on a nice Steinway Grand Piano and tried to develop ways to spin it further. Somehow ended up with a few chords to the same melody and new melodic lines that felt natural and not too constructed. Found myself in a good balance between free improvising/composing but had in mind the whole time that I wanted to finish the song for a concert I played a week later. Sometimes deadlines help for the creative process (and sometimes they don’t!).
Favourite pianist?
Uuh, too many! Had my phases of Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson and Chick Corea. Lately more into Brad Mehldau (saw him live at the Villague Vanguard in New York 2 years ago), Bill Laurance, Iiro Rantala and Martin Tingvall. Just stumbled upon Nitai Hershkovits and love what he is doing across the Jazz and classical genre boarders.
A song you would pay to hear for the first time again?
Lawrence – “Figure it out”
As a pianist, arranger, and composer, how does working in musical theater differ from your other musical endeavors? What do you enjoy most about it?
Musical theater and being a musical director in theater productions unites many of the activities I did as a pianist and arranger before. You have to have the bigger picture of the music in mind and communicate it to band and cast, rehearse and shape it, make decisions on arrangements, etc. Every musical environment has its own challenges, e.g. in a jazz setting you try to be inventive and spontaneous every evening while in a musical you try to make it sound fresh and on point for every show even if you’re playing the same notes as in the last thirty shows.
And of course in musical theater you’re part of a much bigger production, so in the best case you have very talented people around you and everyone is specialized on what they’re doing. This enables you to focus on working on musical aspects and playing the piano and don’t have to manage the whole thing like you do as an independent artist, where you have to do the marketing/promotion, office/booking work and so on all by yourself.
Jazz music as a genre has been accused as music for snobs. Is jazz music elitist?
Sometimes it can be, yes, especially when it’s very avant-garde, rational or constructed music (what doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be a place for it). For my own music I try to be kind of comprehensible in a way of nice melodies and harmonies that don’t get to complicated or “nerdy”, because that’s the music I enjoy listening to the most, too.
If the music of Daniel Wei§ Trio was a film, which film would that be?
The film you see before the inner eye while listening to it 😉
What isn’t a crime but should be?
Saying someone he or she will never be a musician or artist, just because it’s not fitting into someone’s limited picture of what you should do or be.
Thank you!
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