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!
Monday, February 28, 2005
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.
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