When classical musicians play pops

A piano major from a local university recently quoted the lyrics of an old Usher tune on Facebook, receiving positive comments from classmates who also liked the song. Ever the smart aleck, I put in my two cents: "You guys listen to something other than NPR?" To which one of the students replied jokingly that she hoped the department chair didn't know.

Similarly, nearly a year ago, I wrote an article about Michael Jackson's death. (See "Michael Jackson and his demons.") Some responders expressed surprise that a classical pianist would appreciate that kind of music. My question is: Why not?

I don't discount that my blackness plays into my musical tastes, especially since my parents always wanted me to be exposed to various aspects of my culture. Most North American popular music has African roots anyway, so exposure to it (at least the West Indian kind) was simply part of my education.

When musicians get together

That said, I sought out a lot of music my parents would never have endorsed, listening to Top 40 radio and trying to fit in with my peers— the handful of black kids in the little prairie town in western Canada where I grew up— by developing a taste for American rhythm and blues. All of us studied classical piano (with radically varying degrees of seriousness), but when we got together, the music of choice had a beat; and to some degree, the beat of choice was usually funky.

I wonder what percentage of classical musicians honestly can't appreciate other forms of music. Traditional jazz is usually seen as acceptable to classical musicians— even Juilliard has a jazz program (finally!). My friends may be atypical, but a number of them are very conversant with popular music: One, for example, is an opera singer who recently played Mimi in Puccini's La Bohème but is also a fan of Metallica.

Personally, I feel nothing but enriched by my love of variety. In the past two months I played keyboards for a production of Jesus Christ Superstar at my church (I'm the music director), performed a chamber concert of French classical works that included works from Francois Couperin to Olivier Messaien, and accompanied Lionel Richie's classic "Jesus is Love," which was an anthem at my church.

Which is more sophisticated?

In a week I'll record classical tuba music, and a few days later, you'll find me in a cabaret playing pseudo-jazz and Broadway tunes with standup bass and electric guitar. Not my typical routine, to be sure, but I'm enjoying every minute.

I remain first and foremost a classical pianist. I also realize that listening to so many different styles of music has necessarily abbreviated my classical repertoire. Jazz and classical music remain more sophisticated than popular music in many respects, but sometimes what I want is an infectious beat, with a hook that sticks in my brain, sung (or even rapped) by somebody whose voice has no obvious relationship to opera.

Although I know I've crossed a generational divide in my tastes, some of the newest tunes on the radio more than fill this need. Not that I care that there are people (some of them just as black as I am) who don't understand, but I can't help wondering: Does this hunger for musical variety really make me unusual?