Dylan Her will be entering the eighth grade at the Aspire Performing Arts Academy in Lacey this Fall, playing mostly piano but also viola and trumpet. A dedicated jazz lover, he is the KNKX School of Jazz guest DJ for August.
Her celebrated the art of live performance with concert performances from Joao Gilberto and Clark Terry’s Big Band in his playlist. He recalled his first chance to see live jazz in Olympia was a show by renowned Seattle drummer D’Vonne Lewis’ band. He said, “Being able to experience that lets me incorporate what they’re doing when I’m jamming with some of my peers at school.”
It’s a musical family affair at the Her home. He said his big brother has been hugely influential in his own passion for music. “We were at church, and he was playing piano, and he looked so cool, everybody’s looking at him. I thought, ‘I want to do that too!'”
Chick Corea and Thelonious Monk are also big influences on Her’s piano playing, particularly their rhythmic concepts saying, “You can feel every little intricacy and thought behind what they’re playing. That’s something I want to do."
Listen for modern singers Brian Eng and Caity Gyorgy in fresh-yet-classic-sounding original songs on Her’s show; also, modern takes on Miles Davis and Charlie Parker tunes from pianists Omar Valenzuela and Jesus Molina.
Barely a teenager, Her is excited to share his favorite jazz with KNKX listeners and looks forward to opportunities to play more piano, trumpet and viola, as his life in music is just beginning.
Which instrument do you play and why?
I mainly play piano; however, I also play viola, and I recently picked up trumpet.
When I was about six years old, I always saw my older brother playing piano and I always thought he looked so cool doing it. That was the main reason why I picked up the piano. For the first four/five years, I was playing piano just to play it. However, only recently have I started developing an actual passion for music (and jazz) when I started taking lessons at Tuned-In Academy under Mr. Sean-David McGoran, who has helped me tremendously.
The thing that I think makes the piano so special is its versatility. On piano, you have two hands playing different things. You have the ability to play a melody, as well as accompany yourself (something that most other instruments can’t do). You can play entire symphonies with just your 10 fingers. That is really special to me.
Although when I was six, I wasn’t thinking about all of that. I was just thinking about how cool it looked.
As for viola, I picked it up because I always saw my older brother playing his violin and I wanted to join my fifth-grade orchestra program.
And for trumpet, I wanted to play an instrument that was more ‘jazz-oriented.’ However, what really captivated me about the trumpet was its sound. The trumpet's sound is different for every person because everybody’s mouth is different, and everybody’s approach to the horn is different. For piano, you are really only limited to what type of piano you have. I just liked that everyone had their own personal sound and tone on the trumpet.
What's your all-time favorite jazz piece?
This is a hard question. Jazz is such a wide genre of music, with many different styles and sounds in each of its subgenres. However, the tune that is my favorite is Miles Davis’s "Solar".
"Solar" is a relatively simple tune. It has a fairly simple melody and an easy-going harmony. However, that allows for room to add your own sound to it. It can be as busy and complex as Keith Jarrett’s interpretation of Solar on his album The 100th Performance in Japan or it can be more laid back like in Miles’s original release. It could even be something in between, like Omar Valenzuela's solo version. The room for interpretation in "Solar" is what makes it great.
Who is your jazz hero?
My jazz hero is Thelonious Monk. His sound is so unique and is a big inspiration when it comes to my own playing. Monk was one of the pioneers of bebop, as well as complex harmonic ideas. His approach to the piano was different from the other pianists of his time technically, and harmonically. Monk used his hands in a more percussive way, hitting the keys hard and fast, giving it a sharper sound and with more attack. Furthermore, his harmonic approach was different from the other musicians, aiming to add more notes to chords (tensions) rather than omit or take away from the chords.
Although Monk was a bit of an eccentric character, that is what you heard in his playing. His own personal sound. But that’s what makes him so great. Monk was the first person that I personally transcribed. I transcribed "Blue Monk" from his solo album Alone in San Francisco. "Blue Monk" was a simple 12-bar blues, with a simple (but catchy) melody. Monk then added his own ideas to it and his own quirky style.
I quickly came to love his sound. It was different from what I was used to (Bill Evans, McCoy Tyner, etc.), but again, that is what made him so great.
Why jazz?
Jazz is such a large genre. It encompasses everything from Big Band, like Duke Ellington, to modern funk, like Snarky Puppy. It truly is so diverse and there is something for everyone.
In Jazz, everyone has their own unique style and sound. The diversity in genre, as well as the diversity in individual sound, go hand in hand. The room for interpretation, innovation, and creativity is what makes jazz special. Also, it just sounds good.
Dylan's playlist:
- "Malaga" Joao Gilberto
- "Solar" Omar Valenzuela
- "Little Happy Song" Kevin Oliver
- "When You're 23" Brian Eng
- "I'm Confessin'" Thelonious Monk
- "Windows" Chick Corea
- "Donna Lee" Jesus Molina
- "Una Mas" Clark Terry Big Band
- "Colloquially" Caity Gyorgy
- "Yesterday" Christian Sands
YouTube: dy1@N - YouTube
