On May 17, 2005, Elizabeth Cherokee was born. Our lives certainly have changed. She is beautiful. 8 lbs., 10 oz., with a full head of hair that is dark at the roots and light at the tips. She is a joy, and no, we aren't getting a lot of sleep.
There are pictures of her at my home page, which I will update from time-to-time.
I hope to get back to baseball game accounts, concert reviews, car reviews, and observations on life (including Elizabeth) soon, but for now, this is what I can do.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Saturday, April 30, 2005
It's been a while - Concerts
It's been a while since I posted; we have been really busy trying to cram a bunch of life in before the baby arrives!
We have been to several concerts the past couple of months. First of all, we went to see the Christian McBride Band on March 25, as part of the Cal Performances. All I can say is, "That's better!" after the horrible Hancock/Brecker concert. McBride is wonderful, energetic, and very talented. He makes playing upright bass as physically challenging as playing a much smaller instrument. I really like the fact that he embraces all kinds of music and incorporates it into his jazz. As an example, they played a cover of Steely Dan's Aja.
I had seen his piano player, Geoffrey Keezer, play with the late Ray Brown, a few years back, and at that time, he was young, full of flashy technique, and raw around the edges. This time, he was mature, very, very musical, and quite a lot of fun, still with that dazzling technique.
The drummer, Terreon Gully, was very good, although his drumming a this particular event did not stand out to me. Certainly, he is a better drummer than anybody I play with; however, I have seen others I like better (such as Billy Killson or Jeff "Tain" Watts).
The saxophonist, Ron Blake, was a very pleasant surprise. He had a wonderful sound, based largely on the Stan Getz-Joe Lavano mold, but slightly more forceful. He had wonderful technique, but did not put it in your face. The last number they performed, he composed (I wished I remembered the name), and his Caribbean influence was abundant. It was funky, with a Calypso influence. Truly wonderful. I hope to get more of his music as time goes on.
Certainly a wonderful concert to go to.
The very next night, we went back to Zellerbach, and saw Emanuel Ax and Yefim Bronfman play piano duos.
Wow. This concert should blow the myth away that classical music and/or musicians are stuffy. They opened with Schumann's Six Etudes in the Form of a Canon, op. 56. This piece evidentally was written for custom instrument, kind of a piano with organ pedals, or some such, and later rearranged by Debussy for two pianos. This was masterfully done, and quite pretty, but was my least favorite piece of the concert.
They followed with Claude Debussy's En Blanc et Noir. This piece was also masterfully done, and quite dazzling. It did not quite capture my imagination, however. I guess I found it a little rambling and dark.
The last two pieces made up for it. Ravel's La Valse, was out of this world. I am somewhat familiar with the orcehstral version; it's kind of a Sorcerer's Aprrentice does Viennese Waltz. The piece is quite macabre, and the imagined scene of this waltz spinning out of control is just stunning. I think the program notes put it the best: "One imagines the Viennese Society waltzing away while the world around them is falling apart due to the Great War". The artists were panting and grunting and animated; it was a joy to watch as well as to listen to.
They closed with Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. Those of you who know me know that I have analyzed, memorized and been mesmerized by this work since I was a sophomore in high school. I was really looking forward to hearing the two-piano arrangement, as I had known it existed for a long time. With both the Ravel and this piece, it was almost distracting knowing the orchestral versions, as I kept hearing those in my mind while listening to the piano versions. However, this too was dazzling. Simply dazzling. And at the end, Bronfman, slammed his entire forearm down on the piano for the last "chord" as he stood up.
Was simply great. Simply great. And they did an encore of a Brahms work which I was not familiar. The electricity of their performance was simply breathtaking.
After this concert, I went to the restroom, and as I was standing there, doing my business, I realized that I was standing to the aforementioned Geoffrey Keezer. Cool! I finished up, and then stood outside with Jade, waited for him to come out, and then introduced myself and Jade. He was really nice; being a piano player and musician, he was definitely interested in Ax/Bronfman. A nice cap to a good night.
More as I have time. I have a lot to catch up on!
We have been to several concerts the past couple of months. First of all, we went to see the Christian McBride Band on March 25, as part of the Cal Performances. All I can say is, "That's better!" after the horrible Hancock/Brecker concert. McBride is wonderful, energetic, and very talented. He makes playing upright bass as physically challenging as playing a much smaller instrument. I really like the fact that he embraces all kinds of music and incorporates it into his jazz. As an example, they played a cover of Steely Dan's Aja.
I had seen his piano player, Geoffrey Keezer, play with the late Ray Brown, a few years back, and at that time, he was young, full of flashy technique, and raw around the edges. This time, he was mature, very, very musical, and quite a lot of fun, still with that dazzling technique.
The drummer, Terreon Gully, was very good, although his drumming a this particular event did not stand out to me. Certainly, he is a better drummer than anybody I play with; however, I have seen others I like better (such as Billy Killson or Jeff "Tain" Watts).
The saxophonist, Ron Blake, was a very pleasant surprise. He had a wonderful sound, based largely on the Stan Getz-Joe Lavano mold, but slightly more forceful. He had wonderful technique, but did not put it in your face. The last number they performed, he composed (I wished I remembered the name), and his Caribbean influence was abundant. It was funky, with a Calypso influence. Truly wonderful. I hope to get more of his music as time goes on.
Certainly a wonderful concert to go to.
The very next night, we went back to Zellerbach, and saw Emanuel Ax and Yefim Bronfman play piano duos.
Wow. This concert should blow the myth away that classical music and/or musicians are stuffy. They opened with Schumann's Six Etudes in the Form of a Canon, op. 56. This piece evidentally was written for custom instrument, kind of a piano with organ pedals, or some such, and later rearranged by Debussy for two pianos. This was masterfully done, and quite pretty, but was my least favorite piece of the concert.
They followed with Claude Debussy's En Blanc et Noir. This piece was also masterfully done, and quite dazzling. It did not quite capture my imagination, however. I guess I found it a little rambling and dark.
The last two pieces made up for it. Ravel's La Valse, was out of this world. I am somewhat familiar with the orcehstral version; it's kind of a Sorcerer's Aprrentice does Viennese Waltz. The piece is quite macabre, and the imagined scene of this waltz spinning out of control is just stunning. I think the program notes put it the best: "One imagines the Viennese Society waltzing away while the world around them is falling apart due to the Great War". The artists were panting and grunting and animated; it was a joy to watch as well as to listen to.
They closed with Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. Those of you who know me know that I have analyzed, memorized and been mesmerized by this work since I was a sophomore in high school. I was really looking forward to hearing the two-piano arrangement, as I had known it existed for a long time. With both the Ravel and this piece, it was almost distracting knowing the orchestral versions, as I kept hearing those in my mind while listening to the piano versions. However, this too was dazzling. Simply dazzling. And at the end, Bronfman, slammed his entire forearm down on the piano for the last "chord" as he stood up.
Was simply great. Simply great. And they did an encore of a Brahms work which I was not familiar. The electricity of their performance was simply breathtaking.
After this concert, I went to the restroom, and as I was standing there, doing my business, I realized that I was standing to the aforementioned Geoffrey Keezer. Cool! I finished up, and then stood outside with Jade, waited for him to come out, and then introduced myself and Jade. He was really nice; being a piano player and musician, he was definitely interested in Ax/Bronfman. A nice cap to a good night.
More as I have time. I have a lot to catch up on!
Monday, March 21, 2005
I like large, enthusiastic audiences
Last Friday, I played a concert with the Chabot College Night Jazz Band in Hayward. The concert featured the Chabot College Day Band, the Chabot College Night Band, and Eddie Palmieri's Latin Jazz Band.
The Day Band played three numbers, we played four, and then Palmieri played the rest. For the Chabot bands, the stage was in its normal configuration; they lowered the pit and let people dance when Palmieiri played.
The crowd was electric, and huge. I know that as of the Wednesday before, there were 900 seats sold (out of 1400 available). By Friday, most of the rest had been sold; there were very few empty seats.
The Day Band played very well for their level; they have come a long way since the last time I heard them. The drummer, in particular, did a great job.
We played four numbers, all written by our director, Jon Palacio, Jr. He is a gifted big band composer, particularly Latin big band, and his charts almost play themselves. The crowd was very enthusiastic. I have not played for a crowd like that since my high school days (the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston has very good crowds for their jazz band performances). It was great! The only slight downer is that I did not get a solo this time around. It's first concert I have not had a solo in many, many years, probably since 10th grade. Well, that's the breaks when you play bari and the concert is only half an hour. The fun sax soli where the bari does a walking bass line mostly made up for it, though.
And then came Palmeiri's band. I must be getting old. I did not enjoy it all that much. He had Donald Harrison, who is one of the Marsalis-generation New Orleans guys who made several albums in the Eighties with trumpeter Terrence Blanchard. He had Harrisson's nephew, Christian Scott, who could not have been older than 25 on trumpet. And he had some New York guys on bass and percussion that I did not know.
The music was long and rambling. Most of the charts would start out promising, with a salsa or cha-cha mantuno in the piano, and everybody joining in. However, the charts had a very loose form, some with no discernable "tune" or "head". The soloists were allowed to noodle around until past the time when they ran out of ideas. The harmonic structure was brain-dead simple; most charts started with C minor, and then went to Eb minor, back and forth and back and forth. Harrison sounded like a bebop player not used to playing with Latin bands. Scott was fun, but he liked to scream on that trumpet, and by the end, his chops were shreded. The one chart they played which actually had notes and chords, Harrisson and Scott both were scuffling to play.
Frankly, it got boring. And loud and boring is tiring. It was also not really danceable, and there were enough idiots in the dance pit that Jade and I decided to give it a pass.
Jade says that the Night Band stole the show. She is biased, but I tend to agree this time. We had fun, and the crowd loved us. Palmieiri was not nearly as much fun.
I must be getting old.
The Day Band played three numbers, we played four, and then Palmieri played the rest. For the Chabot bands, the stage was in its normal configuration; they lowered the pit and let people dance when Palmieiri played.
The crowd was electric, and huge. I know that as of the Wednesday before, there were 900 seats sold (out of 1400 available). By Friday, most of the rest had been sold; there were very few empty seats.
The Day Band played very well for their level; they have come a long way since the last time I heard them. The drummer, in particular, did a great job.
We played four numbers, all written by our director, Jon Palacio, Jr. He is a gifted big band composer, particularly Latin big band, and his charts almost play themselves. The crowd was very enthusiastic. I have not played for a crowd like that since my high school days (the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston has very good crowds for their jazz band performances). It was great! The only slight downer is that I did not get a solo this time around. It's first concert I have not had a solo in many, many years, probably since 10th grade. Well, that's the breaks when you play bari and the concert is only half an hour. The fun sax soli where the bari does a walking bass line mostly made up for it, though.
And then came Palmeiri's band. I must be getting old. I did not enjoy it all that much. He had Donald Harrison, who is one of the Marsalis-generation New Orleans guys who made several albums in the Eighties with trumpeter Terrence Blanchard. He had Harrisson's nephew, Christian Scott, who could not have been older than 25 on trumpet. And he had some New York guys on bass and percussion that I did not know.
The music was long and rambling. Most of the charts would start out promising, with a salsa or cha-cha mantuno in the piano, and everybody joining in. However, the charts had a very loose form, some with no discernable "tune" or "head". The soloists were allowed to noodle around until past the time when they ran out of ideas. The harmonic structure was brain-dead simple; most charts started with C minor, and then went to Eb minor, back and forth and back and forth. Harrison sounded like a bebop player not used to playing with Latin bands. Scott was fun, but he liked to scream on that trumpet, and by the end, his chops were shreded. The one chart they played which actually had notes and chords, Harrisson and Scott both were scuffling to play.
Frankly, it got boring. And loud and boring is tiring. It was also not really danceable, and there were enough idiots in the dance pit that Jade and I decided to give it a pass.
Jade says that the Night Band stole the show. She is biased, but I tend to agree this time. We had fun, and the crowd loved us. Palmieiri was not nearly as much fun.
I must be getting old.
Monday, March 14, 2005
Our last WAC tournament
My wife and I went to Rice University in Houston, Texas. We are both sports nuts. Rice has not been that good historically, but we still root for them when we can.
Since Rice has been in the Western Athletic Conference, we have tried to make it to the events on the West Coast involving Rice football or basketball, and sometimes baseball. Last weekend was the WAC Conference Tournament for basketball. Rice is moving to the Conference USA next year, so this is the last chance we will get to see them play on the West Coast.
Jade has to travel all over the West Coast for her job, and she usually tries to make her trips match up with Rice's football or basketball schedule, and last week, she had work in Reno, so she went to the games. The plan was if either the women or men made the finals, I would drive up to see them; otherwise, she would just fly home as originally scheduled.
The women made the finals; the men fell short in the semis to UTEP. I drove up Friday night. We stayed at John Ascuaga's Nugget. This place is not pretentious at all; but it is reasonably clean and new, and reasonably priced. The Cafe was too smoky, even in the non-smoking section. California can spoil you.
Jade got to see Asleep at the Wheel before I got there, and had a great time.
That morning, we ate at the Black Bear Diner, because Jade had eaten at the one in Las Vegas and liked it. The service was poor, and the food was only OK. Much prefer Cracker Barrel or Black-Eyed Pea (when we are east of California) for this kind of food.
The women played a dominating game, beating Louisiana Tech by 20 points. Rice's center, Lauren Neaves, was the tournament MVP. They were a blast to watch. Of course, I was watching while playing with the band, the MOB. The band is a lot smaller than when I was there, but it is still great to blow a bari sax as loud as I can, without worrying about pesky things like tone or dynamics. Jade also played in the MOB when we were in college; that's where we met. However, she doesn't play anymore, and did not feel like trying to deal with a tenor sax while seven months pregnant.
The drive back was wonderful; spring time temperatures with snow on the Sierras. Too bad I don't ski!
Since Rice has been in the Western Athletic Conference, we have tried to make it to the events on the West Coast involving Rice football or basketball, and sometimes baseball. Last weekend was the WAC Conference Tournament for basketball. Rice is moving to the Conference USA next year, so this is the last chance we will get to see them play on the West Coast.
Jade has to travel all over the West Coast for her job, and she usually tries to make her trips match up with Rice's football or basketball schedule, and last week, she had work in Reno, so she went to the games. The plan was if either the women or men made the finals, I would drive up to see them; otherwise, she would just fly home as originally scheduled.
The women made the finals; the men fell short in the semis to UTEP. I drove up Friday night. We stayed at John Ascuaga's Nugget. This place is not pretentious at all; but it is reasonably clean and new, and reasonably priced. The Cafe was too smoky, even in the non-smoking section. California can spoil you.
Jade got to see Asleep at the Wheel before I got there, and had a great time.
That morning, we ate at the Black Bear Diner, because Jade had eaten at the one in Las Vegas and liked it. The service was poor, and the food was only OK. Much prefer Cracker Barrel or Black-Eyed Pea (when we are east of California) for this kind of food.
The women played a dominating game, beating Louisiana Tech by 20 points. Rice's center, Lauren Neaves, was the tournament MVP. They were a blast to watch. Of course, I was watching while playing with the band, the MOB. The band is a lot smaller than when I was there, but it is still great to blow a bari sax as loud as I can, without worrying about pesky things like tone or dynamics. Jade also played in the MOB when we were in college; that's where we met. However, she doesn't play anymore, and did not feel like trying to deal with a tenor sax while seven months pregnant.
The drive back was wonderful; spring time temperatures with snow on the Sierras. Too bad I don't ski!
Fun at the car dealership
So, the tire for my car came in last week. Of course, the dealership did not call to tell me so; I had to call them to find out.
Anyway, I drove the car slowly to the dealership (the run-flat tire had been sitting for a couple of weeks, but they said that for 2 miles, it should be safe.
When I got to the establishment, there were police everywhere, and the showroom and car lot were cordoned off. The service bay was open, and I set up to get my tire installed. I asked what had been happening, and they told about this:
Arrest Made In Oakland Triple Homicide
Yikes! Exciting times indeed.
I did get my car back, and it's great. Although, the first rattle has appeared. I know what is rattling; I will try to get it fixed since it is under warrantly. I'm pretty sure I could fix it myself with some glue, but I would rather not...
Anyway, I drove the car slowly to the dealership (the run-flat tire had been sitting for a couple of weeks, but they said that for 2 miles, it should be safe.
When I got to the establishment, there were police everywhere, and the showroom and car lot were cordoned off. The service bay was open, and I set up to get my tire installed. I asked what had been happening, and they told about this:
Arrest Made In Oakland Triple Homicide
Yikes! Exciting times indeed.
I did get my car back, and it's great. Although, the first rattle has appeared. I know what is rattling; I will try to get it fixed since it is under warrantly. I'm pretty sure I could fix it myself with some glue, but I would rather not...
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Spring Training!
I met my father in Phoenix for the weekend last week. We had fun!
Dad was worried because the weather reports said "Showers with possible thunderstorms". I have live in the West long enough to know that this means that there might be some rain, and even a thunderstorm, but even then, they would be short-lived. I told him to come on.
We went to the Royals-Rangers game in Surprise first. I saw one of my fantasy baseball players live when I had no idea what he looked like before. Calvin Pickering is a huge, African-American man. I had no idea. He hit the ball real hard, but he was called out for passing a base runner on a would-be grand slam. When you are on the bubble like Pickering is (KC seems to think that hitting is not important), you can't afford those kind of mistakes! Rangers won, largely because of this play.
Surprise complex seems really new and clean. The Royals and Rangers share it; there were a lot of fans for both teams. I think that Dad and I annoyed the people around us, though; I gabbed the entire game.
This was also the first opportunity that I could use the Canon 20D camera my wife gave me for my birthday. However, I got no pictures, because I took in the cheap, 3rd party long lens my friend Paul gave me a while back. That lens evidently doesn't talk to the camera right; the camera would display "Err 99" whenever I pressed the shutter.
After the game, we decided to go into Scottsdale to find dinner. After wondering around, we finally settled on a place that smelled pretty good, call the Salty Señorita. We almost regretted this. It was tacky, and a college meat market. The first person who greeted us made us wait for a real hostess. We were seated immediately, but they did not have my dad's first choice, nor my first two choices. We resigned ourselves to mediocre food, especially when the chips came out. They were dripping in grease.
When our entrees arrived, however, we were blown away! They were great!
Presentation: 1 Food: 8
We went back to our hotel, and watched TV. We watched The PeaceMakers, an action film starring George Clooney and Nicole Kidman. Dad's comment was "this movie was well done, technically". My comment was "Kidman looks better as a brunette." We both thought the plot was silly; I had seen this in the theater, and was not impressed either.
We stayed at the Embassy Suites near the Airport. The suite was really nicely laid out and appointed, but the building is starting to get tired. There are rust stains on the drains, etc. The free breakfast was good, though, and the short order cook was fun.
On Sunday, we went to the Angels-A's game at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. First, however, we stopped by the A's training complex. It was deserted. I guess the minor leaguers have not started yet.
The A's game was awful. Outfield error by Swisher, infield error by Ginter, a mediocre start by Etherton, and horrid relief pitching. The final painful total was Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 17, Oakland 4. We got two safeties; I guess we had that going for us. (For those of you who are Baseball Prospectus premium subscribers, Johan Keri has a good writeup here.)
It's spring, however, and hanging outside, in a relaxed small ballpark watching baseball with my Dad was pure joy.
We once again struggled to find a place for dinner. We ended up at this Italian place (Lorenzo's? Pizza) in Tempe. Once again, we were not impressed by the facilities; it was a converted Dairy Queen. But the food was really good.
What a nice way to spend a weekend.
Dad was worried because the weather reports said "Showers with possible thunderstorms". I have live in the West long enough to know that this means that there might be some rain, and even a thunderstorm, but even then, they would be short-lived. I told him to come on.
We went to the Royals-Rangers game in Surprise first. I saw one of my fantasy baseball players live when I had no idea what he looked like before. Calvin Pickering is a huge, African-American man. I had no idea. He hit the ball real hard, but he was called out for passing a base runner on a would-be grand slam. When you are on the bubble like Pickering is (KC seems to think that hitting is not important), you can't afford those kind of mistakes! Rangers won, largely because of this play.
Surprise complex seems really new and clean. The Royals and Rangers share it; there were a lot of fans for both teams. I think that Dad and I annoyed the people around us, though; I gabbed the entire game.
This was also the first opportunity that I could use the Canon 20D camera my wife gave me for my birthday. However, I got no pictures, because I took in the cheap, 3rd party long lens my friend Paul gave me a while back. That lens evidently doesn't talk to the camera right; the camera would display "Err 99" whenever I pressed the shutter.
After the game, we decided to go into Scottsdale to find dinner. After wondering around, we finally settled on a place that smelled pretty good, call the Salty Señorita. We almost regretted this. It was tacky, and a college meat market. The first person who greeted us made us wait for a real hostess. We were seated immediately, but they did not have my dad's first choice, nor my first two choices. We resigned ourselves to mediocre food, especially when the chips came out. They were dripping in grease.
When our entrees arrived, however, we were blown away! They were great!
Presentation: 1 Food: 8
We went back to our hotel, and watched TV. We watched The PeaceMakers, an action film starring George Clooney and Nicole Kidman. Dad's comment was "this movie was well done, technically". My comment was "Kidman looks better as a brunette." We both thought the plot was silly; I had seen this in the theater, and was not impressed either.
We stayed at the Embassy Suites near the Airport. The suite was really nicely laid out and appointed, but the building is starting to get tired. There are rust stains on the drains, etc. The free breakfast was good, though, and the short order cook was fun.
On Sunday, we went to the Angels-A's game at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. First, however, we stopped by the A's training complex. It was deserted. I guess the minor leaguers have not started yet.
The A's game was awful. Outfield error by Swisher, infield error by Ginter, a mediocre start by Etherton, and horrid relief pitching. The final painful total was Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 17, Oakland 4. We got two safeties; I guess we had that going for us. (For those of you who are Baseball Prospectus premium subscribers, Johan Keri has a good writeup here.)
It's spring, however, and hanging outside, in a relaxed small ballpark watching baseball with my Dad was pure joy.
We once again struggled to find a place for dinner. We ended up at this Italian place (Lorenzo's? Pizza) in Tempe. Once again, we were not impressed by the facilities; it was a converted Dairy Queen. But the food was really good.
What a nice way to spend a weekend.
Saturday, March 05, 2005
Awesome car; first snag
In December of 2004, I bought a 2005 Corvette Coupe. I had ordered it in June, but it took a while to be ready, since I ordered the DVD navigation system.
This car ROCKS! It is fast, nimble, sexy, comfortable and has enough cargo space for all of my instruments. I have never been so pleased with a car.
However, last week, I found the first thing to complain about. It's hard to complain about this, actually... I was driving home after working really late one night, and I came up over a little rise on the freeway, and there was a tailpipe sitting there that I could not avoid. After running it over, the car rightly detected that I had a flat right front tire. The cool thing is that this car has run-flat tires. The console on the car informed me that there was a flat, and that I should drive 55 MPH, and the handling was "reduced".
Since they run for 50 more miles, and I was 32 miles from home, that was cool. I did not have to sit on the side of the freeway, either changing a tire or waiting for a tow truck or anything. I am very happy with that aspect of the car.
However, when I called the dealer the next morning, I found out that the tire is severely back-ordered. I have to wait two weeks for a replacement. I'm glad we still have the other car, because I still have something to drive in.
However, this car ROCKS!
This car ROCKS! It is fast, nimble, sexy, comfortable and has enough cargo space for all of my instruments. I have never been so pleased with a car.
However, last week, I found the first thing to complain about. It's hard to complain about this, actually... I was driving home after working really late one night, and I came up over a little rise on the freeway, and there was a tailpipe sitting there that I could not avoid. After running it over, the car rightly detected that I had a flat right front tire. The cool thing is that this car has run-flat tires. The console on the car informed me that there was a flat, and that I should drive 55 MPH, and the handling was "reduced".
Since they run for 50 more miles, and I was 32 miles from home, that was cool. I did not have to sit on the side of the freeway, either changing a tire or waiting for a tow truck or anything. I am very happy with that aspect of the car.
However, when I called the dealer the next morning, I found out that the tire is severely back-ordered. I have to wait two weeks for a replacement. I'm glad we still have the other car, because I still have something to drive in.
However, this car ROCKS!
Monday, February 28, 2005
Nice concert
I saw the Jubilee Trio in Palo Alto last night. My friend Tom is in this group. The piano and violin player have been in the trio for years; Tom is the newest member, taking over for the cello player.
They opened with a Beethoven theme and variations piece, which was ok, but I found it kind of dull and repetitive. However, it was masterfully played.
Their second number was a set of two tangoes by Astor Piazzolla, set to piano trio. I wished my wife had been there, and they could have let us dance! Alas, she was flying home from her mother's in Kentucky, so she could not make the concert.
The music was beautiful; my only quibble was that the downbeats were not over-top-accented, like authentic tango music. They didn't ask me for coaching, however!
The last number was a Dvorak trio, op. 90. At six movements, it was a little long, but what a beautiful piece of music.
Overall, the group was excellent. As with any setting where you have individual string players, there were about a dozen notes that were not quite in tune; this is always true, and is not a real indictment of the excellent playing.
The piano was a little loud, and drowned out the cello here and there.
I really enjoyed this group; I do not go to many chamber music concerts, but this one exceeded my expectations. Bravo, Tom!
They opened with a Beethoven theme and variations piece, which was ok, but I found it kind of dull and repetitive. However, it was masterfully played.
Their second number was a set of two tangoes by Astor Piazzolla, set to piano trio. I wished my wife had been there, and they could have let us dance! Alas, she was flying home from her mother's in Kentucky, so she could not make the concert.
The music was beautiful; my only quibble was that the downbeats were not over-top-accented, like authentic tango music. They didn't ask me for coaching, however!
The last number was a Dvorak trio, op. 90. At six movements, it was a little long, but what a beautiful piece of music.
Overall, the group was excellent. As with any setting where you have individual string players, there were about a dozen notes that were not quite in tune; this is always true, and is not a real indictment of the excellent playing.
The piano was a little loud, and drowned out the cello here and there.
I really enjoyed this group; I do not go to many chamber music concerts, but this one exceeded my expectations. Bravo, Tom!
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Catching up to 2003 technology
Well, here it is. A blog. OK. Something interesting... let's see...
Went to see the Herbie Hancock/Michael Brecker/Roy Hargrove music tour at Cal Performances in Berkeley a couple of weeks ago. I was really looking forward to this concert. It was expensive, $58 for center orchestra seats. Brecker is my favorite jazzer, Hancock is a legend, and Hargrove is a good player.
What a waste.
It was obvious that Hancock was in control of the content. I expected some good hard-driving post-bop stuff with some electronics folded in. What I got instead was a rambling, free-jazz, electronic mish-mash. I know a lot about jazz, but this stuff was way too advanced for me. I enjoyed some of the moments in the show. Brecker had some typically amazing solos. But, most of this concert was pure noise. It's like Hancock was trying to bring Bitches' Brew into the 21st century, but not being as structured.
Pfft.
Avoid this one, jazz fans.
Went to see the Herbie Hancock/Michael Brecker/Roy Hargrove music tour at Cal Performances in Berkeley a couple of weeks ago. I was really looking forward to this concert. It was expensive, $58 for center orchestra seats. Brecker is my favorite jazzer, Hancock is a legend, and Hargrove is a good player.
What a waste.
It was obvious that Hancock was in control of the content. I expected some good hard-driving post-bop stuff with some electronics folded in. What I got instead was a rambling, free-jazz, electronic mish-mash. I know a lot about jazz, but this stuff was way too advanced for me. I enjoyed some of the moments in the show. Brecker had some typically amazing solos. But, most of this concert was pure noise. It's like Hancock was trying to bring Bitches' Brew into the 21st century, but not being as structured.
Pfft.
Avoid this one, jazz fans.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)