One of the all-time great musicians, Eddie Van Halen, passed away this week. I was fortunate enough to see Van Halen live twice, once in the 1980’s and once in their last tour with David Lee Roth and young Wolfie on bass. If anything Eddie got better all those years later. Also I still think Alex is one of the most underrated drummers ever.
I was of a generation where every kid learning guitar tried to sound like him and mostly failed loudly and obnoxiously. I’m a pretty basic guitar player myself, but in ninth grade I tried to work out how to play Eruption on saxophone. It was more of an interpretation than an transcription, and I don’t know if I really got it across, but I did pick up some riffs and an awareness of playing with speed. None of my friends back then were into Charlie Parker, so this turned out to be the start of of a long journey to connect what I was hearing studying jazz with what I was hearing in different styles of rock and pop at the time. Since then I’ve worked out versions of several Van Halen songs on piano, and it turns out they work great, particularly the ones with a boogie shuffle feel. I’ve yet to convince any bar band I’ve been in to give a shot at covering a Van Halen song.
The secret to Ed’s genius was not in his speed and shredding, but in his voicings, tone and phrasing. That band could swing! He really understood 7th chords and how they’re used in blues and jazz, and harmony in general, and applied it in a whole different idiom. Of course prodigious technique doesn’t hurt, but he deployed it with great feel and imagination, putting his playing among the ranks of guys like Keith Emerson and John Coltrane in terms of impact on his instrument. Or probably more closely Art Tatum – you can tell Eddie got alot ideas from him – if Art had a whammy bar on his piano!
Happy trails to you!