HELLO, I'M ERIC FUNK.

WELCOME TO 11TH & GRANT.

BOB NELL IS AN AMAZING PIANIST AND FINE COMPOSER, PRESENTING A LOT OF HIS OWN MUSIC THIS EVENING, THAT'S TENDER, TECHNICALLY COMPLEX, AND PLAYFUL.

IT'S BOB NELL, ON 11TH & GRANT.

11TH & GRANT WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY... JACK & DONNA OSTROVSKY.

THE GREATER MONTANA FOUNDATION, ENCOURAGING COMMUNICATION ON ISSUES, TRENDS, AND VALUES OF IMPORTANCE TO MONTANANS.

MUSIC VILLA, PROUDLY OFFERING GIBSON ACOUSTIC GUITARS.

BOB HENDRICKS.

BOB & KARIN UTZINGER.

AND ESTHER NELSON.

ERIC FUNK: I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE WHEN THEY LISTEN TO MUSIC, THEY MIGHT BE MOVED BY A FULL ORCHESTRA DOING SOMETHING, BUT WHEN A PIANO SOLO JUST CAN REACH IN AND TOUCH SOMETHING.

AND ARE YOU AWARE OF THAT FORCE AS AN INTENTION OF YOURS TO TARGET YOUR AUDIENCE, OR ARE YOU JUST PLAYIN' FROM THE HEART, WHEN YOU GO THERE?

BOB NELL: WELL.

I TRY AND PLAY FROM THE HEART EVERY TIME I PLAY, BUT, MY BACKGROUND, YOU KNOW, COMES FROM A LOT OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF MUSIC, CLASSICAL, CLASSICAL REPERTOIRE, AND JAZZ TOO, AND, UM, A LOT OF TUNES YOU WRITE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE WRITING INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC, ARE UH, ARE TUNES THAT ARE WRITTEN FOR PEOPLE OR THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED.

SO A LOT OF THE BALLADS I'VE WRITTEN ARE WRITTEN FOR PEOPLE.

AND, PEOPLE THAT MEAN SOMETHING TO YA, OF COURSE, SO... RIGHT.

THEY'RE VERY EMOTIONAL, AND IT SEEMS A LITTLE BIT EGOTISTICAL, FOR ME TO TEAR UP WHEN I'M PLAYIN' MY OWN SONGS, BUT IT HAPPENS TO ME, AND IT'S HAPPENED TO ME LIVE IN CONCERT BEFORE, WHERE I'VE HAD TEARS COMIN' DOWN MY FACE, AND I THINK, WELL, AM I REALLY JUST FULL OF MYSELF, OR DOES IT SOUND REALLY GOOD, OR IS ANYBODY ELSE HEARING THIS TOO, YA KNOW, BUT A LOT OF THE BALLADS I'VE WRITTEN, I WROTE ONE FOR MY WIFE, THE SOFT AND BRONZE, I WROTE ONE FOR MY DAUGHTER, AND ONE THAT I WROTE WAS FOR MY FATHER WHO PASSED AWAY A FEW YEARS AGO.

SO THOSE ARE ALL VERY EMOTIONAL TUNES FOR ME, SO I REALLY JUST TRY AND POUR IT ALL OUT THERE.

I THINK IT MAKES SENSE, YOU KNOW, I KNOW MY EXPERIENCE, WHEN I JUST THINK ABOUT SOMEBODY THAT I REALLY CARE ABOUT, OR THAT MEANS SOMETHING TO ME, ALL THESE FEELINGS KINDA COME WITH IT, AND IF YOU'RE, LIKE YOU SAY, IF YOU'RE USING THE THEATRE THING AND IF YOU'RE USING THAT TO MOTIVATE YOURSELF AS AN ACTOR AND YOU'RE SAYING, OKAY, WHAT AM I FEELING WITH THIS, BUT, IF YOU'VE CREATED THE MUSIC THAT TRIES TO BE A PORTRAIT FOR THEM, I MEAN THAT'S, THAT'S INTENSE.

YEAH, YEAH IT IS.

I, YOU HAVE TO REMAIN, WELL AS A JAZZ PLAYER, YOU'RE GIVEN THE FREEDOM TO IMPROVISE OF COURSE, BUT, UM, ALSO YOU HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO STAY TRUE TO THE MUSIC AND PLAY WHAT YOU'VE WRITTEN.

SO, IN EVERY TUNE THAT'S A BALLAD YOU PLAY THE TUNE AND THEN YOU'VE GOT A CHANCE TO, YOU KNOW, EMBELLISH ON IT.

AND REALLY LET YOURSELF GET OUT THERE AND, YOU KNOW, TELL YOUR STORY, BUT, THE ORIGINAL STORY, IS, IS JUST LIKE PERFORMING CLASSICAL MUSIC TO ME, BECAUSE YOU WANT TO PLAY IT JUST RIGHT, JUST RIGHT, AND THEN DURING YOUR SOLO, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER YOU FEEL LIKE THAT DAY, IF YOU FEEL REAL FLASHY, OR A LITTLE EMOTIONAL, OR YOU WANNA PLAY OUT, OR WHATEVER YOU'RE GONNA DO, BUT THE TUNE ITSELF REALLY GIVES YOU THE SPRINGBOARD FOR WHAT YOU IMPROVISE.

THE PIECE THAT I WROTE FOR MY DAD, WHICH IS CALLED ELEGY FOR ELEPHANTHEAD, ELEPHANTHEAD IS, IS A PEAK OVER IN PARADISE VALLEY, AND THAT'S WHERE WE SCATTERED HIS ASHES, BUT IN THAT PIECE, FIRST OF ALL I WROTE IT IN A HARD KEY 'CAUSE I DIDN'T WANT JUST EVERYBODY PLAYIN' IT.

THAT'S WHAT YOU SAID.. YEAH, IT'S GOTTA BE SOMEONE SPECIAL.

B, OR F-SHARP... F-SHARP, YEAH.

BUT, THERE'S SOMETHING, KIND OF, MARCH-LIKE ABOUT IT, BUT YET FOLK-LIKE.

AND UH, YOU KNOW, MY DAD WAS AN EX-MARINE, BUT HE NEVER TALKED ABOUT IT.

HE ALWAYS HAD THAT IN HIM.

AND, YOU KNOW, BEEN A TOUGH GUY AND HE'D BEEN IN WAR, AND, HE HATED IT.

I KNOW HE HATED IT.

AND HE NEVER TALKED ABOUT IT.

SO, SOME PEOPLE ALWAYS SAW HIM WITH A GRUFF EXTERIOR.

RIGHT UNDER THAT, YOU KNOW, HE WAS A TEDDY BEAR.

HE REALLY WAS.

SO, I TRY TO CAPTURE THAT IN THAT PIECE.

YOU KNOW YOU MENTIONED IN PASSING THE DEWARS AWARD, AND WHAT A LOT OF FOLKS DON'T REALIZE IS THAT THE DEWARS AWARD IS ONE OF THE MOST PRESTEGIOUS AWARDS FOR SOLO JAZZ PIANO PLAYERS.

IT'S LIKE WINNING AN ACADEMY AWARD OR AN EMMY AWARD, OR A GRAMMY AWARD, I MEAN, IT'S A BIG DEAL.

AND YOU WON A DEWARS AWARD, BACK IN THE MID NINETIES?

'NINETY-ONE, IT WAS ACTUALLY MY FIRST TRIP TO NEW YORK, AND ALL MY EXPENSES WERE PAID, AND I WALKED AWAY WITH A NICE CHECK AND AN AWARD AND A BOTTLE OF DEWARS SCOTCH I STILL HAVE.

DON'T EVER OPEN THAT ONE.

OH I'M NOT GONNA.

WHO, WHO GETS TO GIVE YOU THE PRIZE?

AH WELL, THE THREE JUDGES WERE ELLIS MARSALIS, BILLY TAYLOR, AND JOANNE BRACKEEN, SO BILLY TAYLOR WAS PRETTY MUCH THE MC OF THAT PART OF IT, SO... WOW.

IT WAS GOOD COMPANY.

HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO COMPOSE?

WELL, YOU DON'T ALWAYS NEED TIME, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, FOR ME COMPOSITION COMES DIFFERENT WAYS.

SOMETIMES PIECES JUST COME TO ME, AND UH, PARTICULARLY ONE THAT SOME OF MY LISTENERS KNOW IS A PIECE I WROTE, ACTUALLY I DON'T EVEN FEEL I WROTE IT, IT'S JUST WRITTEN AND IT CAME TO ME WHILE I WAS DRIVING FROM HEEBS BACK TO MY HOUSE.

AND EMILY HAD DIED A COUPLE WEEKS BEFORE AND IT JUST CAME TO ME.

THIS IS EMILY REMLER?

EMILY REMLER.

GREAT SINGER.

GREAT GUITARIST.

AND UH, YOU KNOW I HAD A CHANCE TO PLAY WITH HER A NUMBER OF TIMES, SHE WAS TAKEN FROM US WAY TOO EARLY.

BUT THAT ONE JUST CAME TO ME.

THE OTHER PART IS WHEN YOU SAY WELL TODAY I'M GONNA WRITE MUSIC, AND YOU MAKE YOURSELF SIT DOWN IN FRONT OF A BLANK PIECE OF PAPER.

THINGS COME THAT WAY TOO, I MEAN IT TAKES BOTH.

THEN AFTER YOU'VE WRITTEN A FEW PIECES YOU CAN'T STICK WITH ONE THING, IT'S GONNA HAPPEN DIFFERENT WAYS, BUT SOMETIMES THINGS JUST COME TO ME.

PARTICULARLY WHEN I'M DRIVING, 'CAUSE I FIND THAT THAT'S ONE OF THE FEW PLACES I CAN BE FREE, FROM MUSIC.

YOU KNOW IN TODAY'S SOCIETY, ANY STORE YOU GO INTO THERE'S MUSIC, OUT ON THE STREET, WELL THERE'S PEOPLE BLARING THEIR RADIOS, UH, YOU KNOW, SO WHEN I'M DRIVING, AND MY WIFE HATES IT BECAUSE MY RADIO NEVER WORKS IN MY CAR, [BOTH LAUGH] BUT UH, THAT'S THE ONLY TIME WHERE I'M REALLY FREE FOR THINGS TO COME AND GO, I'VE WRITTEN A LOT, A LOT OF THINGS COME TO ME WHEN I'M DRIVING.

WELL YOU DON'T NEED A RADIO, YOU ARE A RADIO.

YEAH.

IT'S JUST IT'S ALL BOB NELL MUSIC.

STUCK ON ONE CHANNEL.

[LAUGHS] I STARTED FOLLOWING BOXING IN THE EARLY 'EIGHTIES, AND UH, OF COURSE EVERYONE KNEW ALI, BUT I REALLY, UH, KNEW QUITE A BIT ABOUT HIM BY THEN, AND HAD SEEN MOST OF HIS IMPORTANT FIGHTS, HE WAS ABLE TO CONQUER EVERYTHING, UP TO A CERTAIN POINT IN HIS LIFE, AND HE ALWAYS FOUND A WAY TO WIN, EVEN WHEN, REALLY NO ONE THOUGHT HE HAD A CHANCE WHEN HE WAS FIGHTING' GEORGE FOREMAN.

AND HE JUST INVENTED SOMETHING THAT JUST WORKED.

I SAID WELL THAT'S, THAT'S A GOOD SCHEME, YOU KNOW.

YOU TAKE WHAT YOU GOT, WHATEVER YOU GOT, YOU BRING IT IN THERE AND MAKE IT WORK, FASHION IT INTO SOMETHING THAT MAKES YOU A WINNER.

LOT OF JAZZ MUSICIANS FOLLOW BOXING, AND UM, WHETHER THAT COINCIDENCE OR NOT I DON'T KNOW, BUT WHEN YOU TACKLE YOUR PIECE, OR YOU'RE PERFORMING IN FRONT OF AN AUDIENCE, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE YOU'RE FIGHTING, THE OPPONENT THEN, IS THE TUNE, AND THE AUDIENCE, AND THE SITUATION.

AND, YOU GOTTA TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO COME OUT ON TOP.

OR, YOU LOSE.

[LAUGHS] YOU KNOW, SO UH, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE DOING A SOLO THING YOU KNOW, AND THE OTHER ANALOGY IS, YOU KNOW, BOXERS NO ONE REALLY SEES WHAT THEY DO, EXCEPT FOR, THOSE THREE MINUTE ROUNDS THAT THEY DO IN FRONT OF THE AUDIENCE ON THE TV OR WHATEVER.

BUT YOU KNOW THAT ANYBODY WHO REALLY GOT GOOD AT BOXING DIDN'T JUST KINDA WALK IN AND THEY WERE GOOD AT IT, THEY WORKED REALLY HARD AT IT, SWEATED AND TOILED, KINDA ON THEIR OWN, WHICH IS WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO IN MUSIC, YOU, NO ONE CAN PRACTICE FOR YOU, SO IF YOU DON'T PUT IN ALL THAT TIME PRACTICING, YOU WON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO SHOWCASE WHEN YOU GET A CHANCE.

YOU KNOW, ITS LIKE, IT'S LIKE PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT PRAYIN', I MEAN IF YOU DO IT, YOU DON'T REALLY TALK ABOUT IT, YOU KNOW.

RIGHT.

DID YOU START STUDYING CLASSICAL PIANO, IS THAT YOU'RE FIRST INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC?

YEAH, I STARTED PIANO AT AGE FIVE, AFTER MIMICKING MY OLDER SISTER'S PIANO LESSONS, AND UH, SHE HATES TO HEAR THAT STORY, BUT UH, YOU KNOW I STUDIED HERE IN BOZEMAN WITH HENRY CAMPBELL, AND HE ENCOURAGED ME, SLASH PUSHED ME, TO GO OUT IN THE WORLD AND GO TO A MUSIC SCHOOL AND I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH THAT MY PARENTS COULD SEND ME TO MUSIC SCHOOL, AND I STUDIED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON IN SEATTLE, HAD SOME GREAT TEACHERS THERE, ILSE GEISMAR, WHO WAS NEAR RETIREMENT WHEN I GOT TO MEET HER, BUT SHE WAS VERY IMPORTANT, REALLY TAUGHT ME HOW TO RESPECT WHATEVER MUSIC YOU'RE GONNA PLAY, YOU HAVE TO SHOW IT COMPLETE RESPECT, AND GIVE IT YOUR ALL.

AND I REMEMBER HER TELLING ME THAT, WELL YOU CAN BE A PIANO PLAYER, IF YOU WANNA PRACTICE FOUR HOURS A DAY, [ERIC LAUGHS] YOU KNOW, ATTEMPTING TO SCARE ME OFF, AND I DID, I PRACTICED FOUR HOURS A DAY, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, FOR FOUR OR FIVE YEARS, YOU KNOW, AND I DIDN'T REALLY DO MUCH ELSE WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE I THINK I ATE OUT MAYBE TWICE.

11TH & GRANT WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY... JACK & DONNA OSTROVSKY.

THE GREATER MONTANA FOUNDATION, ENCOURAGING COMMUNICATION ON ISSUES, TRENDS, AND VALUES OF IMPORTANCE TO MONTANANS.

MUSIC VILLA, PROUDLY OFFERING GIBSON ACOUSTIC GUITARS.

BOB HENDRICKS.

BOB & KARIN UTZINGER.

AND ESTHER NELSON.