Day Two: The Mingus Orchestra
Being in the same room as Gunther Schuller, Sy Johnson, Sue Mingus, and a superlatively talented band of musicians made tonight a night to remember. Listening to the magic that they created from Charles Mingus’ music, and Johnson’s and Schuller’s arrangements, made tonight unforgettable.From the opening measures of “Tonight at Noon”, with the drums setting the energy for the night and all the musicians improvising collectively, to the closer, “Slop”, packing an amazingly dynamic punch, tonight was all about ascribing to the Mingus legacy the artistry and energy it deserves. The Charles Mingus Orchestra, assembled by Sue Mingus in 1999, featured instruments atypical to big band jazz such as bassoon, bass clarinet, guitar, and French horn in addition to the drums, bass, trombone, trumpet, alto, and tenor saxophone. At various parts during the program, the musicians also featured flute, soprano saxophone, and clarinet.
As Mingus alluded to during the pre-concert talk with Frank Otari, this concert showcased what can ostensibly be considered the best of 3rd stream jazz. Pieces like the “Todo Modo” sounded both like jazz and classical music at the same time. What struck me as impressive was also the fact that despite the larger size of the orchestra, all the musicians could swing very well together.
Where the first half of the concert featured uptempo numbers like “Eclipse” and “Jelly Roll”, the second half, which also saw Schuller in the conductor’s seat, exemplified the gentler side of Mingus’ music. The three pieces that Schuller had arranged, “Half Mast Inhibition”, “Noon Night”, and “Taurus in the Arena of Life” demonstrated what an incredibly versatile and prolific composer Mingus was. Being part of the audience of the first public performance of Schuller’s arrangement of “Taurus in the Arena of Life” was a special treat, too. It was also interesting to note that the only time the orchestra tuned on stage was when they had a conductor.
The encore that they played capped a superb performance off.
Day 3: The Good, the Bad, and the... hungry
The GuggenheimIt’s only Day Three, but I already feel as if I’ve been here forever. In a good way, of course. Today we got to immerse ourselves in a different form of culture as we visited the Guggenheim Museum. It was a pity that the exterior was being renovated because I had been looking forward to seeing the architecture of the famous museum. Luckily, the interior was pretty impressive, too; as was the art collection. As our guided tour left something to be desired, I returned to the museum after lunch and got myself an audio guide and re-walked the museum. I did not regret it! [If you have the time, you should definitely go again. And check out the permanent collection with the impressionist paintings too!]
African Tarantella… Dances with Children
Stefon Harris at the American Museum of Natural History was something of a letdown. I had expected a more vivacious performance, but ended up feeling like I was at a noisy shopping mall that happened to have a jazz band playing in the background. This is not to say that all of it was bad. The second set was somewhat salvaged for me when a few of us moved to the front. From the floor in front of the stage, we actually got to see the musicians (those that were not obstructed by the large speakers, or the overzealous security guard) really get into their music. On the whole, while “African Tarantella… Dances with Duke” was pleasant enough to listen to, I came away feeling like the show was more hype then substance, and more easy-listening than “real” jazz. However, if this was Harris’ purpose, then I do believe he succeeded in reaching his target audience, as evidenced by the great turnout, an audience comprising a smorgasbord of age groups. I did find the children dancing in front of me a tad distracting, although very adorable at the same time.
Speaking of smorgasbords, I thought that the tapas buffet was the strongest redemptive factor of the performance for me. The goat cheese was amazing!
Jason Lindner saves the day
At first glance, I didn’t think the “Jazz Gallery” was going to live up to its height. “Gallery” evokes, for me, images of the Walker, or the Louvre, or the basement of the Concert Hall, of which none would have described the hole in the wall that was the Jazz Gallery. But, once my eyes got used to the dim lighting, I was thankful that it was as intimate as it was.
There were probably not more than 30 people in the audience tonight; add to that the fact that we got front row or almost front row seats, and I think I can safely say that it was like we were sitting in on a jam session between friends. And it did look like that, judging from the way Lindner interacted with his sidemen, Omer Avital, the bass and oud player from Israel, and Luisito Quintero, the percussion god from Venezuela. They played a selection of songs from their newest album, yet to hit stores nationwide but already a hit on Josh’s iTunes!
It is going to be difficult to adequately describe or analyze tonight’s performance (I am told euphoria is generally not the most conducive state for objectivity), but judging from the audience’s reactions, and my own involuntary ones, I might venture to say that this performance may have even been better than last night’s. The interplay between the musicians – the way they played off one another’s solos, changed tempo on a dime, and enjoyed playing together – was probably the most striking aspect of their performance. All three musicians were exceptionally skilled – I was awed by the crazy bass solos, enthralled by the variety of percussion instruments I never knew existed (hey, you’d think being asian, I would have thought of the whole bowl-and-chopstick deal first!), and green with envy at Lindner’s “chops” on the piano! I felt like a copyist as I kept recording Lindner’s solos in hopes of learning a thing or two from this apprentice of Bud Powell.
So Day Three definitely had its ups and downs. But I’m glad it ended on a high note. Really, no pun was intended.
Aché-ing for more
I love New York! Where else can you listen to jazz from the 30s one day, Mingus music the next, intimate experimental trio sounds the day after, and then be engulfed by the scintillating sounds of Afro-Cuban music?The day began with a film released this year, From Mambo to Hip-Hop: A South Bronx Tale at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. The film was well produced, except for the slight technical problems during playback, and explored the rich cultural heritage of the Bronx, which has been credited as the birthplace of both mambo (described as “the least Cuban of Cuban music” today by a panel speaker) and hip-hop. A panel discussion that was interesting but went for too long, in my opinion, followed the showing, and featured panelists Juan de Castro and Jaime Santora Kopen from the Eugene Lang College, and Chris Washburne, a trombonist and faculty member of Columbia University. Elena Martínez, who was involved in the production of the film, moderated the panel discussion.
Later on in the evening, the New School Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, under the direction of Bobby Sanabria, performed a program that featured mambo, blues, and bolero, and can only be adequately described with a word I only learned tonight: aché. The music was loud, energetic, and engaging. Watching the entire band really get into the music – from tossing their horns into the air, to yelling enthusiastically in unison – made the evening even more enjoyable. One thing that particularly impressed me was when midway through a song, Sanabria turned to various sections of his orchestra and began to arrange on the spot. I thought that the orchestra, in spite of its size, was able to make split-second changes especially well. The three vocalists delivered solid performances, although they were probably a little overpowered by the orchestra at times, and I thought that the musicians did a great job improvising. The icing on top of this ¡caliente! cake was being able to hear Sonny Fortune play and extend to its limits the range of his alto saxophone. And I kind of enjoyed singing “Sonny Fortune” along with the band, too.
I only wished that there were a dance floor; it was probably for the good of the rest of the audience that there wasn’t.
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