Alec
Villars
Huntley
Keyboardist | Educator
About
I am a jazz keyboardist living in Los Angeles, CA. In 2020, I finished a DMA in jazz piano performance at the University of North Texas. My dissertation, The Guaraldi Sound, documents the musical devices that characterize the idiom of pianist Vince Guaraldi.
I can be heard at small jazz venues throughout LA, and on recordings with the San Jose, CA soul group The Anachronistics. I’m pretty new to the LA area and looking to meet other musicians, so if you’re local, hit me up!
I’m available for private lessons, in person or online. Just send me a note if you’re interested.
Listen to a few sample recordings on my SoundClound. Check out some of my favorite jazz piano transcriptions on my Soundslice. Watch my DMA recitals and lectures on my YouTube. Or scroll down to find links to my writing.
Listen
Read
The Guaraldi Sound: The Musical Devices That Characterize Vince Guaraldi's Compositional and Improvisational Idiom
Dissertation for my 2020 DMA degree at The University of North Texas. In it, I identify and discuss the many elements that characterize the iconic sound of Vince Guaraldi: his stylistic influences, commonly played licks, and compositional devices. I conclude with a reflection on the seeming discrepancy between Guaraldi's widespread popularity and his lukewarm critical reputation. This dissertation was accompanied by a lecture-recital, which was recorded live on October 26, 2020, and can be viewed here.
The Dynamic Battle Music of The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker
In this paper, I discuss how Wind Waker uses adaptive and dynamic music during the game's battle sequences. Many aspects of the game’s soundtrack constitute “micky-mousing,” a term used to describe film music that cartoonishly mimics the on-screen action. Full transcriptions of the music of three battle sequences are included as appendices.
A Narrative Analysis of “Always Departing” and “Always Returning” from Brad Mehldau’s Highway Rider
In this paper, I formally analyze these twin compositions on one of my favorite Brad Mehldau albums. I examine the way the pieces use melodic repetition and motivic development to tell the story that Mehldau described in the storybook once published on his website.
Resignifying Danzón: How Perceptions of Blackness Have Influenced Danzón’s Frequent Reimaginings
This paper reports on the history of the music and dance form Danzón in Cuba and Mexico. The genre has frequently been associated with African heritage (blackness), and this paper explores how that association has shaped its public perception over the last century.
Beeping And Buzzing But Not Breaking Ground: How The First Use Of Synthesizers By Paul Bley, Sun Ra, And Herbie Hancock Served Their Preexisting Aesthetic Goals
I argue in this paper that the first jazz musicians who experimented with the synthesizer used it in ways that were congruent with what they had already been doing. Though the synthesizer added a new tool to the arsenal of jazz keyboard artists, it did not fundamentally change their aesthetic goals.