The Piano Man Cements my Cynicism

I ran across a pretty enjoyable video in Facebook the other day featuring one of my favorite artists, Billy Joel, appearing at Vanderbilt University in Nashville earlier this year.

I’ve always liked Billy Joel. I grew up listening to “Just the Way You Are,” “Movin’ Out,” She’s Always a Woman,” “Only the Good Die Young,” “Big Shot,” “Honesty,” “Allentown” and his many other hits. (My all-time favorites include “Goodnight Saigon,” “She’s Got a Way” and “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” which came later.) Joel is one of those artists who’s more than a singer or piano player; he’s part of my life, and hearing certain songs takes me back to places I left far behind and sometimes miss.

So when I stumbled upon this clip on my newsfeed, I clicked on “play” right away. As you can see from the video – reposted below – Joel’s taking questions from students in the audience when one guy stands and asks if he can accompany Joel on one of his (the student’s) favorite songs, “New York State of Mind.” Joel considers the question for a few seconds, shrugs and says, “okay” and the kid joins him onstage and sits down at the piano.

The next six minutes are heaven to people like me: people who love it when singers from their childhood prove they still have their sound, their talent, and when noteworthy interactions between artists and their surprisingly talented fans occur. (I’ll never forget attending a Patti LaBelle concert at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan – now called “DTE Energy Theatre” by some but not by me – sometime in the late 1970s when she invited a fan onstage to join her on a song who, to the audience’s pleasant surprise, had a great voice.)

It turns out that the student, Michael Pollack, is one of the best piano players I’ve ever heard in my life. The way he tickled the ivories so naturally, with such skill and talent and prowess, is really something to see. He’s stunningly good. (“Guy’s got chops,” Joel declares after their collaboration.) He and Joel sounded great together too: their talents combined as if they’ve shared stages for years. To me, it seemed like a rare and magical moment.

After the clip ended, I scrolled down to read some of the comments posted by previous viewers, a smile still on my face. “I love this” and “Bill Joel’s still got it” were mixed with “That kid is amazing” and “When can we buy their record?” Then I read the comment that I wish I’d missed. The meeting was likely a set up rather than the organic crossing of paths of two significantly talented strangers.

Pollack is pals with Joel’s saxophonist, Richie “Rico” Cannata – which he apparently admits during the Q and A, although I can’t hear well enough – and is an experienced and not-unknown prodigy who has his own official website. (The video clips at the site are fun to watch.)

I never cared that Joel dated Elle McPherson and was married to Christie Brinkley from 1985 to 1994. It didn’t matter that he’s battled substance and alcohol abuse (he spent time at the Betty Ford Center in 2005). I wasn’t especially impressed when I learned that he’s an Obama supporter and an atheist who’s received honorary degrees and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. (Read critic Mark Deming’s 2011 guest post on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame here.) To me, he’s always been just an amazing musician, a raw and honest singer and piano player, a real human being whose songs are part of the soundtrack of my life.

So I’m just a little disappointed that he might have pretended in front of an audience of Vanderbilt students to not know of Michael Pollack. It’s not important in the whole scheme of things, of course, but I prefer it when surprise encounters are genuine and I’m seeing what I think I’m seeing.

The Piano Man and Kid Pollack do sound good together.


Update: My friend Jim Callahan just told me about the time he attended a Billy Joel/Elton John concert, then met the Piano Man afterward, spending 30 minutes chatting and drinking coffee with him. It was good to hear that Joel's just as gracious and cool as I thought he was.


Here's the page with the comments to which I refer above.