May 12, 2007
Thursday evening marked the first in a series of concerts in the Musaic at the Jazz Bakery festival, and I would bet that most of the impressive number of LACO fans in attendance would agree that it is off to a great start.
The first concert consisted of a classical recital of works by Brahms and Mahler. First, the Brahms Violin Sonata in D minor, Op. 198 was performed by LACO’s concertmaster, Margaret Batjer, accompanied by the principal keyboard player of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Joanne Pearce Martin. The selection requires virtuoso performances from both soloist and piano accompanist; Margaret’s usual cheery disposition was subsumed by the dark intensity, concentration, and power the piece demanded. A responsive crowd warmly expressed its appreciation.
Six Mahler lieder followed: three from Songs of a Wayfarer; two from Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Youth’s Magic Horn); and one from the Rückert Lieder. Soprano Teri Koide was accompanied by pianist Mark Robson; Teri is an Angeleno originally from San Francisco whose jazz connection stems from age 16, when she performed at Yoshi’s in Oakland, and from her stint as lead vocalist with the seminal California fusion band Hiroshima. Teri’s voice had clarity and luster, with admirable control and intonation, a beautifully developed lower register, and remarkable power. Most notable was her expressivity over a wide emotional range of thematic material.
The first set concluded with a performance of Movement 1 of Mahler’s Incomplete Piano Quartet, an early work which nonetheless reveals the distinctiveness of Mahler’s developing musical voice. The selection was performed brightly and enthusiastically by three LACO members, Sarah Thornblade (violin), Samuel Formicola (viola), and Trevor Handy (cello) with Joanne Pearce Martin again at the piano.
Following an ample intermission, a small ensemble provided “Re-imaginings of Mahler’s music, by jazz pianist and composer Uri Caine. The ensemble consisted of LACO’s own violinist Josefina Vergara; the brilliant New York trumpeter Ralph Alessi; versatile Juilliard clarinetist Moran Katz; and rhythm section consisting of Caine on piano; Michael Formanek, acoustic bass; and Jim Black, drums and percussion.
Caine’s unique talent was very much on display as, for an uninterrupted 75 minutes, the ensemble played a colorful collage of themes from Mahler symphonies and songs and from Caine’s fertile imagination, embellished by this group of accomplished improvisers. As musical expression explored the gamut of human emotion, I felt myself blown as if by a stiff wind, along two distinctly different planes. At an individual level, it was as if I were experiencing by proxy the emotional intensity of Mahler’s turbulent life: poignant, unrequited adolescent love; romance, love and marriage; the thrill of accomplishment; the death of a daughter at age five; the stifling fear and limitation of progressive heart disease; infidelity; loss of position and status; death. At a societal level, I was moved by Austrian parlor music at the turn of the 20th Century; the ambiance of a German cabaret in the 1920’s; the compelling sounds of klezmer music, with all its associations of Jewish identity and discrimination; the shrieks and howls of war… Between these movements of markedly contrasting emotional content were almost dream-like transitions, or so it seemed to me. And, tying all these musical expressions of emotion together were the rhythms, pulse and creative improvisation of jazz.
Uri Caine was like a man possessed, variously caressing, arpeggiating, and hammering the piano keyboard, communicating with the group with a glance or a nod, while maintaining the flow of each movement of the composition. It was fascinating to watch the musicians move from composed to improvised sections of the presentation and back. The variety of different sounds the ensemble managed to produce was also remarkable, especially the clarinetist and percussionist. Moran Katz sang, cried, swooped, and squealed in the very highest register of her clarinet; Jim Black achieved the most unearthly sounds by stroking a bow across his ride and crash cymbals. And Ralph Alessi’s absolute, spot-on control of his trumpet throughout its entire range is nothing short of amazing.
I don’t know about you, but I can hardly wait to hear what tonight’s “Night 2 of Musaic at the Jazz Bakery” brings…!