Favourite piano performances by John Williams himself?

[Thor 7,470]

22 hours ago, GerateWohl said:

I didn't know that.

 

Yeah. We've discussed it in this earlier thread.

 

Here's the legal transcript.

 

And here's the composition in question - "Joy".

[GerateWohl 4,339]

39 minutes ago, Thor said:

 

Yeah. We've discussed it in this earlier thread.

 

Here's the legal transcript.

 

And here's the composition in question - "Joy".

Thanks. Yes, I looked it up yesterday. The similarity  is really interesting and not easy to ignore. 

I have to confess, my first thought was, that issues like that can hardly occure with most modern scores, because they mostly use such generic melody patterns which are mostly insignificant and not similar to anything except maybe the scale itself. Maybe on purpose to stay out of trouble.

[Thor 7,470]

So this thread has been dead for a while, sorry. Anyways, today's performance is from one of Williams' earliest album gigs - CONNIE HAINES SINGS A TRIBUTE TO HELEN MORGAN from 1957. As a vocal album, it's all about playing softly in the background, creating soft flourishes and bridges, no spectacular solos. But he does it so well. An example is the second track, "They Didn't Believe Me":

 

 

 

[Thor 7,470]

I was reminded of this thread again, when I saw that "A Powdered Wig" (featured in the very first post) is part of the new 20-CD set from Ecoutez le Cinéma.

 

Today's selection is from the 1957 album CONNIE HAINES SINGS A TRIBUTE TO HELEN MORGAN. I'm not familiar with either Connie Haines or Helen Morgan, sorry to say, but it has some smooth numbers, with Williams skillfully weaving his way around the vocals, as usual. Very rarely any stretches of virtuoso playing, just beautiful accompaniment. Here's the best example from the album:

 

 

[QuartalHarmony 542]

Has someone compiled a list of all the film cues where JW plays piano on his own compositions?

 

Off the top of my head, there’s:

 

Images (the whole score)

Sabrina (one track)

Schindler’s List (?one track)

 

but I would be surprised if there weren’t others.

 

Mark

[GerateWohl 4,339]

On the FSM edition of None But The Brave is a piano recording of the main theme included performed by Williams himself. But it didn't appear in the movie. 

[Miguel Andrade 1,260]

3 hours ago, QuartalHarmony said:

Has someone compiled a list of all the film cues where JW plays piano on his own compositions?

 

Off the top of my head, there’s:

 

Images (the whole score)

Sabrina (one track)

Schindler’s List (?one track)

 

but I would be surprised if there weren’t others.

 

Mark

 

Angela's Ashes main theme.

[Steve 589]

On 07/10/2023 at 8:30 AM, QuartalHarmony said:

Has someone compiled a list of all the film cues where JW plays piano on his own compositions?

 

Off the top of my head, there’s:

 

Images (the whole score)

Sabrina (one track)

Schindler’s List (?one track)

 

but I would be surprised if there weren’t others.

 

Mark

The Long Goodbye

 

 

[pete 905]

John Williams played piano on The Days Between on Keisuke Wakao Plays Music of John Williams. And that's the only track on the CD arranged by Williams. Oh it was mentioned earlier, but here's the track:

 

 

[Marc 758]

Is there a masterlist somewhere of all the scores he played piano on ?
I'm not sure if I actually know all of his performances !

EDIT : Oops, just saw someone actually asked the same question recently ^^

[Thor 7,470]

You can also add THE KATHERINE REED STORY.

[QuartalHarmony 542]

4 hours ago, pete said:

John Williams played piano on The Days Between

 

Thanks, but it was specifically film cues I was asking about. There are a few recordings where he plays piano on his compositions but not for a film cue, and obviously plenty in the 1950s where he played piano on others' film/TV compositions. I'm specifically interested in places I can hear JW playing music he wrote, on piano, on the soundtrack to a film.

 

So far, we have:

• Images (the whole score)
• Sabrina (Theme reprise - is that track 35 on the LLL?)
• Schindler's List (which track on the OST?)
• The Long Goodbye (whole score? Just one track?)
• The Katherine Reed story (whole score? Just one track?)

 

Any more for any more?

 

Mark

[Thor 7,470]

24 minutes ago, QuartalHarmony said:

• The Katherine Reed story (whole score? Just one track?)

 

Whole score, but it's a mix of existing music and original compositions. All performed by a small band led by JW on piano ("Johnny Williams and the Purple Derbys", they're called).

[Jay 37,287]

On 09/10/2023 at 3:36 AM, QuartalHarmony said:

• Sabrina (Theme reprise - is that track 35 on the LLL?)

 

 

John Williams played a solo piano rendition of the main theme as the last thing recorded at the sessions.  It did not go into the film, but instead went onto the OST album, as the opening of track #1 "Theme From Sabrina" and the opening of track #13 "Theme From Sabrina (Reprise)".  For whatever reason, the "Reprise" version contains the entire 3 minute performance he laid down, while the track #1 version edits out the end of it.

 

On the LLL CD, track #1 of disc 1 is no longer edited, so it is retitled to "Theme From Sabrina (Extended Version)", while the "Reprise" track appears as track 35 on disc 1.  So the John Williams piano performance in all 4 of these tracks (OST 1, OST 13, LLL 1-01, LLL 1-35) is exactly the same, its just edited in OST 1.  The music heard in the track after his solo piano performance ends is different takes of the ending of the "End Credits" cue (which is heard in full for the first time ever in LLL 1-24), which John Williams did not play piano on.

[QuartalHarmony 542]

Fabulous, thanks, Jay. That was exactly the level of detail I wanted.

 

On Schindler’s, is it the first 1:48 of OST 14?

[Tom 4,639]

Has To Kill a Mockingbird been mentioned?  

[Steve 589]

12 minutes ago, Tom said:

Has To Kill a Mockingbird been mentioned?  

It's not a score written by JW.

10 hours ago, QuartalHarmony said:

 

• The Long Goodbye (whole score? Just one track?)

Just one track.

[Miguel Andrade 1,260]

On 07/10/2023 at 11:10 AM, Miguel Andrade said:

 

Angela's Ashes main theme.

 

Quoting myself...

[Tom 4,639]

4 hours ago, Steve said:

It's not a score written by JW.

Neither are many of the others mentioned.  

[ricsim88 244]

Did he not perform the little Rey theme bit on TROS? I know it's not much, but still cool he played it for the movie.

[GerateWohl 4,339]

Wasn't there this story about playing a few notes of The Long Goodbye on piano for the The Last Jedi soundtrack?

[Miguel Andrade 1,260]

54 minutes ago, GerateWohl said:

Wasn't there this story about playing a few notes of The Long Goodbye on piano for the The Last Jedi soundtrack?

Yes, you're right.

[Yavar Moradi 2,590]

Favorite piano performance of someone else’s music? Tie between Bernstein’s To Kill a Mockingbird (beautiful and heartfelt) and Goldsmith’s Studs Lonigan (virtuosic and exciting). They’re kinda apples and oranges.

 

Favorite performance of his own music? Actually this demo… I love it, my favorite track on the whole album even though the score itself is excellent:

http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/store/MP3/1212/19_Piano_Theme.mp3
 

Yavar

 

[Thor 7,470]

It's Friday again. Realizing that I just repeated myself with another track from the Connie Haines album earlier, I had to make a txt file with my own (and everyone else's) picks in this thread so as not to repeat albums too much. At some point, one reaches the end of the albums, obviously, and will have to repeat. But that's OK.

 

Anyways, today's selection is from the 1957 album HOLIDAY IN SPAIN by the Lew Raymond Orchestra. Williams appears as pianist on two tracks, including the show-off number "Malaguana". Just listen to Williams flowing freely across the keys, capturing the Spanish temperament of the music. Goosebump-inducing! Alas, I could find this album neither on Spotify nor YouTube, but I've uploaded it for you here:

 

[Thor 7,470]

Hello! It's Friday again. Let's play another John Williams piano performance from the past, shall we?

 

Today's selection is from the 1958 album ANITA O'DAY SINGS THE WINNERS. I have no idea who Anita O'Day is, but she was probably famous at the time. Williams plays on three tracks here, and my selection is the track "Early Autumn". Do not expect brilliant piano solos here, but it's the track that has the most pronounced piano playing. Connecting and sneaking its way into the soundscape.

 

 

[Thor 7,470]

Good evening! Let's do another old piano performance by Mr. John T. Williams Jr.

 

Today's selection is from the 1958 album BUDDY COLLETTE'S SWINGING SHEPHERDS. I have no knowledge of Mr. Collette other than that he was a jazz flute wizard. That is obviously mirrored in the album, but it DOES leave room for Williams to display some piano skills now and then, as "bridges" between Collett's flute playing. You can hear it particularly in the first two tracks, "Flute Diet" and "Short Story". Here's "Flute Diet":

 

 

 

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

This belongs in the funny covers thread. 

[JTN 2,002]

Could be the poster of the new live-action Snow White and the Seven whatevers. :-D

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

Snow White and the Seven Creepy Flutists?

[JTN 2,002]

Those three guys look evil. Remind me of the monks in The Name of the Rose. 

[Jurassic Shark 12,030]

It's the songtrack from the movie.

[Jay 37,287]

49 minutes ago, Thor said:

Good evening! Let's do another old piano performance by Mr. John T. Williams Jr.

 

Today's selection is from the 1958 album BUDDY COLLETTE'S SWINGING SHEPHERDS. I have no knowledge of Mr. Collette other than that he was a jazz flute wizard. That is obviously mirrored in the album, but it DOES leave room for Williams to display some piano skills now and then, as "bridges" between Collett's flute playing. You can hear it particularly in the first two tracks, "Flute Diet" and "Short Story". Here's "Flute Diet":

 

According to the back cover, Williams doesnt play on "Flute Diet" or "Short Story", only "I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me", "Intermezzo", and "The Bad and The Beautiful"

 

[Thor 7,470]

Damn, I was only going by various online sources. One of those tracks, then (although the piano isn't as prominent in those). The whole album is worth having, anyway.

[Thor 7,470]

Aaah....cold December Friday and red wine in the glass. Time for another John Williams piano performance. Now, I apparently screwed up last week, and I can't promise that it won't happen again, but here's hoping my sources are correct this time. I want to highlight Lola Albright's 1959 album DREAMSVILLE, orchestrated by the one and only Henry Mancini, which is indeed quite dreamy in sound and approach. Williams plays on most of the tracks (9 out of 12), according to my sources, including the title track, but that doesn't have a lot of prominent piano playing. What I think is nice about "Brief and Breezy", however, is that it a) doubles the xylophone so precisely and b) allows a little space for some solo playing:

 

 

[Bayesian 1,359]

I'm late to this thread, but I gotta say it's really neat to see how talented JW was as a session pianist! Thanks for sharing these links and vids, @Thor (and others)!

[Thor 7,470]

Thanks for the bump, Bayesian! It's such a wonderful jungle to wade through, the piano efforts (and arrangement efforts, for that matter), I can't believe so few others are into it.

 

It's New Year's today, and I felt Ol' Blue Eyes Frank Sinatra was very New Year's in tone and style. So for this edition, we go to the 1958 album FRANK SINATRA SINGS FOR ONLY THE LONELY. Sinatra and Williams eventually became friends, as you all know, Williams writing the song "The Same Hello, The Same Goodbye" for him (but sadly never performed by him), the collaboration on NONE BUT THE BRAVE and Sinatra's recording of "Dream Away" from THE MAN WHO LOVED CAT DANCING, among other things. According to my sources, Williams plays piano on three tracks here (with Bill Miller), but none of them particularly "solo heavy". Instead, you'll have to let Sinatra's voice wash over you and maybe, if you're very discerning, discover some discrete piano harmonizations underneath. I have to give a shoutout to Nelson Riddle's amazing orchestral arrangements.

 

 

[Thor 7,470]

About a month later, time for another John Williams piano performance from the ancient past.

 

This time, we're highlighting the 1958 album SONGS BY A MOODY MISS GEORGIA CARR. I feel like I should know Georgia Carr's work better, but she's no Aretha Franklin or Ella Fitzgerrald (both of whom Williams has also worked with). I had only heard of her, vaguely. But this is a smooth record, with jazzy evergreens and Carr's vibrato-heavy, but elegant voice carrying things. Also has some stellar talent on display in the Lew Raymond orchestra, including Don Fagerquist on trumpet, Buddy Clark on bass, the one and only Tommy Tedesco on guitar and Dave Pell producing. With that talent involved, Williams' solos sweep beautifully in and out of the others, letting them have their time in the spotlight. Several tracks I could play here, but I've chosen the iconic classic "Pennies from Heaven", especially because there's a prominent solo in it.

 

 

[Thor 7,470]

Time for another piano entry again.

 

This time, I want to highlight the 1958 album HOLLYWOODWIND JAZZTET by the one and only Jerry Fielding. We've played another example of the Fielding/Williams connection before in this thread, a selection from FIELDING'S FORMULA (from the same year). On this album, there isn't a lot of room for Williams to shine as soloist, except the track "Romance", which is what I want to play for you. It's also a nice, almost Bach-ian track. Fielding was always very good at merging jazz and classical (THE NIGHTCOMERS, anyone?), which I think is evident here.

 

Unfortunately, very little of this rare album is available on streaming platforms (and YouTube), so here's my own upload instead:

 

 

[Thor 7,470]

It’s Friday! Today, we arrive at a central album in John Williams’ early piano days – the 1958 Johnny Desmond album JOHNNY DESMOND SWINGS, reissued and renamed in 1961 (I think) as SO NICE! and then finally included – in toto – on the essential 2CD Fresh Sounds album JAZZ BEGINNINGS in 2006. And yes, 1958 was a super busy year for Williams, we're not finished with it yet.

 

Williams is deeply involved here. He arranges all the songs, he conducts, he has his own orchestra AND – importantly  - he plays the piano. Not a lot of shining piano solo moments; it’s all a tight big band sound. But he rears his head now and then, most prominently – perhaps – in the track “I Can’t Get Started”. Johnny Desmond passed away 40 years ago, almost, but Williams still lives on!