Washington Musica Viva

at Atlas Performing Arts Center, 6/25/2006

Another winner from WMV... the third, and final, concert in this season's series at Atlas - exploring "Jazz at Our Roots," showcasing music by DC composers past and present.

The show opened with an instrumental arrangement of a song by Dr. Ysaye Barnwell, "Song of the Exile." It turned out to be the first of several outstanding arrangements by Charley Gerard.

Next up, "Six Short Pieces" by Lawrence Moss. I think they did these pieces at the Rattner a couple of years ago? A collection of charming miniatures for alto sax and piano, rendered beautifully by Rhonda Buckley (sax) and Carl Banner (piano) - who always make a great team.

Mary Howe's "Two Rilke Songs" were the most traditional fare on the program, basically standard German romantic art song. Not my personal cup of tea, but still nice to hear her music. Howe made many important contributions to musical life in Washington, but I haven't actually heard her music before. Not sure I need to hear it again... (ouch that was mean)

Michael Strand's "Tango Affligido" was given an energetic and ballsy reading by Jodi Beder (cello) and Carl Banner (piano). It's hard for me to hear "nuevo tango" and not instantly compare the music to Astor Piazzolla, which is unfair and unfortunate to any composer. That being said, Strand's work certainly was effective.

The first half of the program closed with three Duke Ellington songs, arranged by Charley Gerard for voice with clarinet, violin, and cello. Very interesting choice of instruments, and the arrangements were superb. The ensemble also did a great job... Bringing jazz to the concert stage via "classical" players presents many problems and first on my list is rhythm: classical players often have trouble swinging - Jodi Beder (cello) and Sonya Hayes (violin) had no trouble finding the pocket, and even executing some inventive pizzicato comping together - including a short violin phrase played pizzicato "quasi guitara" which was a nifty effect, and used sparingly which made it work nicely. Jodi handled the walking bass lines perfectly, juggling her role as timekepper (since there's no drummer in this combo) and harmony (since there's no comping instrument in this combo either). She was clearly up to the task. Clarinetist Ben Redwine is equally at home in jazz or classical contexts, so this whole thing is a non-issue for him... and he dropped several burning solos so there wasn't any doubt. "In My Solitude" was arranged simply for voice and clarinet. Well, deceptively simply, I should say. Delicious. My only hang-up is on the singing. Mezzo soprano Karyn Friedman is spectacular, and has delivered knock-out after knock-out on WMV programs. However, the "classical players struggling to play jazz" thing reared its ugly head when it came to singing the Ellington songs. Her usual assured poise was weakened, maybe lack of rehearsal? Maybe she was just out of her element. Personally, I'd rather hear jazz singers handle the singing - not really a fair criticism in this case, just my own personal bias. In any event, I want to heap praises on WMV for bringing Ellington to the concert hall. I have a personal "grudge" of sorts that Ellington's music (especially his concert music) has never found a regular home in the concert halls of the United States. He was clearly one of the greatest composers in American history and it's about time that the mostly-white classical music "establishment" dug into his work more often than a perfunctory black history month offering.
(end Ellington rant) (for more, check out Graham Lock's "Blutopia" for an enlightening account of Ellington's reception in the press and concert halls of the US during his lifetime)

Intermission was also a hit, thanks to Cameron's Cookie Cubby. Vegan cookies!!! What could be better?

After intermission, came Charlie Barnett's "Memphis TN" for violin and piano. A "nice" piece, very engaging and accessible. I shouldn't be such a backseat composer, but I would've handled the form differently: the piece starts with one idea (a bluesy melody with a two-step country flavored piano accompaniment), then eventually moves into a contrasting slow / open "B" section that's really perfectly constructed. Unfortunately, the "A" section returns (without much of a transition) and then the piece closes with a cliche-ridden blues cadenza. Sonya Hayes (violin) brought out all the blues and other "popular" music elements nicely - with genuine feel and nuance, not cold imitation which so often happens when classical music invokes popular music. But the material suggested more depth than we got from the finished product. Why did the "A" section have to come back? I was so happy in "B" section-land.

Poet Brandon Johnson then read a selection of his works. I'm no literary critic, for sure, so I'll just say, it was good stuff, although a bit too long given that there was still more music to come...

The show closed with "Black Bottom Stomp" by Jelly Roll Morton, another perfect arrangement by Charley Gerard for soprano sax, clarinet, trombone, tuba, and piano. The ensemble really shined on this one - lots of energy, and a real freewheeling dixieland / ragtime sound. Not your average chamber music group!

All the living composers on the program were present for the concert - a nice bonus. Plus many more living composers in the audience. I can't wait until Atlas gets a grand piano (hopefully before next season's WMV series at the Atlas), and I'm looking forward to next year's "WMV at the Atlas" programs.