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Valerie Capers On Piano Jazz

Valerie Capers.
David Katzenstein
/
Courtesy of the artist
Valerie Capers.

Valerie Capers is a pianist, composer and educator. The first blind graduate from the Juilliard School of Music, she is blessed with a diverse piano style that combines elements of Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans, with some Chopin thrown in.

In this 1998 episode of Piano Jazz, Capers shows off her classical chops while soloing in "It Could Happen To You." Then, she and host Marian McPartland swing out in "Scrapple From The Apple."

Originally broadcast in the winter of 1998.

Set List

  • "It Could Happen To You" (Van Heusen, Burke)
  • "'Round Midnight" (Monk)
  • "Isn't It Romantic" (Rodgers, Hart)
  • "Lament" (Johnson)
  • "Duke's Place" (Thiele, Katz, Ellington, Roberts)
  • "The Entertainer" (Joplin)
  • "He's Chosen Me" (Capers)
  • "Embraceable You" (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin)
  • "Scrapple From The Apple" (Parker)
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