Introducing Pianist Holly Bean

This article first appeared in Jersey Jazz Magazine.

For Holly Bean, in her last semester at Juilliard, it was the summit of a long journey that began when, as a three-year-old, she started playing on the piano in her Oak Ridge, TN, home. "I would hop on top of the bench and try to copy my mom, who plays piano and organ," she said. "The first thing I tried to play was 'Part of Your World' from Disney's Little Mermaid. I would hear things I liked and figure them out on the piano. I've been hearing music in my head forever."

Bean started taking piano lessons when she was four or five and "was pretty good at it, but I really got annoyed that I had to play exactly the dots on the page. My teacher didn't like that I wanted to play it the way I wanted, so my parents let me quit."

In high school, Bean had a choir teacher "who turned me off to music," so she went to Clemson University, initially on a physics scholarship, eventually changing to microbiology. She did participate in Clemson's choral program. "Clemson," Bean said, "has a fabulous choral program with a hard core choir. Most of the people in that choir aren't music majors; they're just there because they want to be."

But, in the middle of her third semester, Bean had "kind of a meltdown. My dad, who plays piano, sax, and drums, said, 'I think you should go to music school.' I said, 'I don't have any skills.' He said, 'You can sight read and you can sing.'" Bean explained that she could sight-sing, "but I had no real sight-reading abilities on the piano. I could, however, pick pieces out by ear on the piano."

She transferred to the University of Tennessee, majoring in composition at its Natalie L. Haslam College of Music. "I auditioned on voice," she said, "but I wanted to become a composer. A colleague of mine, who was a fellow composition major, introduced me to Donald Brown (a pianist and Associate Professor who taught jazz history, piano, and improvisation). I said, 'I hear you teach jazz here," and I asked him if I could become a jazz major. I didn't even have my major scales down. I was so clueless. I didn't have anything to show him. He said, 'Go home for winter break. Learn all your major scales and come back.' He also gave me a blues solo to learn.

"I studied with Donald Brown for two and a half years and also with Greg Tardy, an incredible saxophonist, ensemble coach and improv teacher, and Vance Thompson, a trumpeter who taught an analysis of jazz styles class.

"After two years with Donald, I learned so fast. It was so inspiring the way he welcomed me into his office that day. He was so generous with his mind and his time. We would have multiple lessons a week. Most teachers would start you off with scales. Donald would give examples of how you could play something. He would show you a million different ways you could do something. That spontaneity is reflected in my playing." Brown performed and recorded with several jazz legends, including drummer Art Blakey, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, and trumpeter Donald Byrd. Brown's "Theme for Malcolm" was first released by the Donald Byrd Sextet in 1990.

Thompson, Senior Lecturer of Studio Music & Jazz at UT, and Director of the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra, remembered that Bean was "an exceptionally motivated and talented young woman. She transferred to the University of Tennessee from another school in a different discipline and was clearly less experienced than her peers when she first arrived on campus. However, before the end of the first semester, it was clear that she was not only going to catch up; she was going to be giving everyone a run for their money. I'm extremely proud of the musician and person that she has become."

Tardy, Associate Professor of Jazz Saxophone, recalled that Bean "was always very passionate, wanting to improve, always asking a lot of questions, seeking extra help. I expected great things from her, and I'm not surprised she has achieved them."

At Juilliard, Bean is studying with pianist Geoffrey Keezer saxophonist Andy Farber (for arranging and composition), and pianist Marc Cary for improvisation. She believes Wynton Marsalis, Director of Juilliard Jazz, "has a similar code that Donald did. He hires people like Geoff, who has been very positive." The ensemble that performed "Music by the Jazz Messengers" at Dizzy's Club on February 17 was assembled by trombonist/faculty member Jen Krupa. That ensemble, Bean said, "is so special. We have such an incredible musical bond. There's so much musical integrity and musical selflessness." All the members of the ensemble, except the trumpeter, Miles Keingstein, who was going to be out of town, were scheduled to play at Bean's February 28th Masters Recital.

Bean's 'desert island' pianist—"The one person I'd want to listen to forever if I were stranded on a desert island is Bill Evans." But she's also been influenced by Mulgrew Miller, McCoy Tyner, and Ellis Larkins. Among current pianists, it's Christian Sands and Sullivan Fortner.

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