Composer George Gershwin did not know he was expected to write a new work for a concert that Paul Whiteman called An Experiment in Modern Music until his brother Ira read about it in the paper several weeks earlier. Gershwin went to work and the end result was Rhapsody in Blue.

That concert took place at 3:00 PM on February 12, 1924 at Aeolian Concert Hall which stood just east of 6th Avenue in Manhattan. (Go to this link to hear a 1924 recording with Gershwin at the piano with Paul Whiteman and his orchestra).

Since that jazz band version (arranged by Ferde Grofé) there has been the fully-orchestrated concert version (the standard version heard played by symphonies around the world) and multiple re-workings of Rhapsody in Blue by artists ranging from Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington to Chick Corea, Marcus Roberts (on his album Portraits in Blue) and a new re-imaginging that was released recently by pianist Lara Downes with composer/percussionist Edmar Colón.

I recently spoke with Roberts, Downes and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s Conductor Laureate Leonard Slatkin, whose 1974 recording of Rhapsody in Blue is one of the first recordings I owned. We discussed their first memories of hearing the piece; its longevity and appeal and also a recent article written by Ethan Iverson for the New York Times.

You can read Iverson’s full story here, but he says, in part, “If Rhapsody in Blue is a masterpiece, it might be the worst masterpiece. The promise of a true fusion on the concert stage basically starts and ends with it. A hundred years later, most popular Black music is separate from the world of formal composition, while most American concert musicians can’t relate to a score with a folkloric attitude, let alone swing.”

What follows are excerpts that have been edited for length and clarity. You can see all three of my interviews on our YouTube channel.

DOWNES: I have this fuzzy memory of hearing the bit you would imagine used for figure skating in the Olympics. That’s one of my earliest memories I can pinpoint.

SLATKIN: Actually it’s so long ago, I don’t think I remember, but I suspect that like everybody else, the first thing was the clarinet at the beginning more than the piano part. It was a sound that we really hadn’t heard before.

ROBERTS: I was a child, probably 12 years old, maybe 13. The funny thing is I remember hearing the piece, but when I first heard it, I didn’t know that’s what it was called. I think I heard it on the radio, maybe in the middle of it or something and I was really attracted to it. It was soulful. I could tell it had something in it that I could identify with. And of course, years later, I figured out that it was indeed Rhapsody in Blue.

SLATKIN: I hung out with a lot of jazz musicians, but I didn’t know so much about big band jazz. So this idea that whether it appeared in a symphonic form or in a band version didn’t really strike me as anything other than something very unusual that I wasn’t used to. 

ROBERTS: Now that I’m grown up and I’ve been out here playing a long time, I don’t know if I was thinking this way as a kid, but I think it was the fact that the themes were relatable to me, meaning they seemed to come right out of my cultural experience.

DOWNES: What was happening in American music and all of the things that were coming together and all the things that were changing so fast. Understanding what was happening in Black music at that time in the early part of the 20th century and this hybrid language that was developing.

SLATKIN: In order to understand that, we have to go back to that first performance and understand why it was so important. This concert is organized by Paul Whiteman – An Experiment in Modern Music. We didn’t really have American music for the concert hall. Yes, there were composers in America, and yes, many of them were born in the States. But the sound of the music itself reflected a more European tradition.

We’re not talking about an original American music. We’re talking about borrowed music from church, from patriotic songs, from folk music. We didn’t have anything we could call our own. That’s coming up via the emerging popular music scene, probably starting with ragtime. The vernacular music of the time tended to be shorter pieces 3 or 4 minutes long. Now, all of a sudden, a large scale work 15 16 minutes was appearing. This audience, which included some of the most distinguished musicians in New York at the time, was stunned by what they heard. 

ROBERTS: He’s using American themes. He’s using themes that clearly come out of the African American experience. And as Dvorak said, that’s really the cultural identity of the country. That’s where the themes should primarily come from. Not exclusively, but that’s the richest soil that we have.

DOWNES: [When] we look at the core tradition of classical music, what we’re looking at is [often] this interchange between structured music and the vernacular. The folk music that gets absorbed into the music of Brahms and Liszt to Dvorak and everybody. So I think it’s a continuation of a tradition. I also like to look at this as omnidirectional. Gershwin is leaning back, he’s looking forward. He’s got all these things kind of pushing and pulling at him. And what he comes up with is very emblematic of its time.

SLATKIN: It’s an immediate sensation. All of a sudden composers in this country said, we have the room to grow within our own culture, within our own sound world. And from that point on, composers now began to gravitate from one world into the other.

ROBERTS: So I think that it’s ripe for improvisation because the rhythms are clear. You can hear the blues element in the melodies. When I did Portraits of Blue back in 1996, a lot of critics were not too happy about it at the time. Of course, there’s the Ellington version of it. Nobody really did it, though, with the real intention of improvising on it and bringing it literally into the jazz environment with the specific agenda of improvising on it and recreating it. Me doing that has made it clear that not only can you do it, but you should do it, and there should be many versions of it where people can do what they want with it.

SLATKIN: Even Gershwin himself added little things in different performances. I think one of the reasons that this works as an improvisatory piece, even though everything is written out by Gershwin, is because it’s essentially a number of cadenzas where the orchestra is not playing.

DOWNES: I always experience it as a dialog. I really do. I have a close relationship with the solo piano version of the piece. I play that a lot, too. So what that means is that when I play the Grofé version with an orchestra, I have to remember what not to play. But I feel very intimately involved with those orchestra bits because I need to play them myself. I’m not sure that I have an objective view of the structure, but that is something that we wanted to expand and embrace was the improvisational nature and opportunity.

ROBERTS: In the original score, it basically says something to the equivalent of wait for George to nod or something or watch George. So he was he was probably improvising on it himself when he premiered it at Aeolian Hall in 1924.

DOWNES: I think that the further that we’ve gotten from 1924, as we always do, we have started more and more setting that thing in stone, which it wasn’t originally. When you talk about Ellington and Strayhorn, they’re not that far out from the 20s. Grofé did the version in 24 and then the version with orchestra from 1942. I feel like these 100 year anniversaries, it’s important not to put things in a museum when they get to be 100 years old.

I think it’s an interesting thing that we don’t do in the world of classical music very much. There’s some of it, but we don’t tend to re-arrange, reconsider, review, re-imagine. It’s really funny for me when I work with musicians from other traditions and they’re like, you do what? You play the same notes the same way over and over again? 

ROBERTS: And I think that’s what ultimately made me want to do something different with it. The goal for me is to present the piano based on all of the music that I’ve heard in my life up till now. What is it that I understand and put it in that context.

SLATKIN: I think it’s not even fair to call this work a piece of cultural appropriation, because it doesn’t reflect what the Black musicians of the times were doing. They were going in a whole different direction. And yes, that music would pave the way for innovators such as Ellington and so many others.

DOWNES: There have been all along massive problems of inequity in the music world that were institutional. There have been a lot of closed doors and a lack of access. I don’t think that fits with the musicians themselves. I think that sits with institutional structures. I think that what musicians have always done well is listening. And I think that we listen to each other and we learn from each other and whatever is happening in our air around us, we absorb. We can’t help it unless we want to keep our heads under a rock.

ROBERTS: It’s been a struggle. There’s no secret there. There’s obviously been a lot of struggle with minorities in this country. Not just in terms of opportunities in music, but with a bunch of stuff. The fact is, had he not written it, I think there still would have been struggle. So I like to look at it more from the standpoint that he did it. It has opened up, frankly, eventually opportunities for people to still do whatever it was that they were going to do.

DOWNES: I’m so fascinated with that time in the 1920s, in the 30s. Things were changing so fast. People were encountering each other for the first time and everything was new. Jazz was new, and it was a very different thing than it is now. Just even to look at Gershwin’s very short lifetime, his 24-25 years before he wrote Rhapsody in Blue, all the things that are so quickly moving through but accumulating: the Yiddish theater and vaudeville and the beginnings of the Great American Songbook. It’s all coming together. 

SLATKIN: Gershwin didn’t intend that when he wrote it. It wasn’t I’m going to write something and therefore nobody else can go this direction ever again. Gershwin was in his own groove. He came from Tin Pan Alley. Those are people who went from door to door just pitching tunes to publishers. Most music was sold in sheet music fashion for people to play at home. Within the Black culture that was probably not the case. This was passed on more through different means. Ragtime, as practiced, say, in New Orleans or other places, was mostly an improvisatory field. It wasn’t really written out yet. 

ROBERTS: It’s not just George Gershwin. It’s not like it’s George Gershwin’s fault that he did that right. I just think the main thing that we have to focus one in this country is let’s see if we can get away from doing stuff like that. Let’s really use all of our efforts, all of our collective power, to include people and give them opportunity to succeed regardless of race, creed or gender.

SLATKIN: It’s not felt as a work that’s exclusive to one audience. Timeless works are that way for a reason, because they go over these boundaries. Rhapsody in Blue was different for its time. Could Ellington and others have appeared and done this kind of work earlier if Gershwin hadn’t done it? Maybe. But probably not. And anyway, if they wanted to go that direction, they would have done it regardless of what Gershwin did.

DOWNES: I do think that there’s a reason that things last. The piece has proven itself 100 years later and I would just love to see it continue to grow. Because I do think that was Gershwin’s intention. This musical kaleidoscope that speaks to me of endless possibility and shifts.

SLATKIN: Gershwin was all about moving forward with music. Leonard Bernstein talked about how he really was not happy that so many people knew him from West Side Story. Gershwin, I think, would have said, I’m thrilled that the Rhapsody has reached this kind of audience. And I’m pleased that my other works have also done this. He’s always the classic example, along with Mozart and Schubert, of saying what would have happened if he’d lived longer? Let’s just take what we’ve got, because what we’ve got is not bad.

ROBERTS: The attitude I have is that it’s a living work. It’s a living document. I feel like that simply is one of these pieces that’s alive every time we play it. I hope that it’ll be around for another 100 years. And I hope that there’ll be other music that America will fall in love with, that we can continue to have similar ways to collaborate jazz and classical music. 

To see my Rhapsody in Blue interview with Lara Downes and to hear more about her new album, please go here.

To see my Rhapsody in Blue interview with Marcus Roberts and to hear some exciting news about upcoming albums, please go here.

To see my Rhapsody in Blue interview with Leonard Slatkin, please go here.

Main Photo: George Gershwin (Courtesy the Billy Rose Collection/New York Public Library Archives)

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June 17th – June 18th:

Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival

Formerly called the Playboy Jazz Festival, this two-day event is when summer officially starts. This year’s programming was curated by Herbie Hancock and Kamasi Washington. The first day features a line-up that includes Lionel Loueke and Gretchen Parlato, Samara Joy, Poncho Sanchez and Washington. Day two includes Ledisi, The Soul Rebels, Leon Bridges and West Coast Get Down (an ensemble that also features Washington.) Arsenio Hall hosts. If you’ve never been to Jazz Fest at the Hollywood Bowl, you don’t know that total joy that you are missing!

July 7th – July 9th:

Maestro of the Movies: John Williams with the LA Phil

This program typically takes place later in the season, but the addition of Gustavo Dudamel as conductor for, probably, the first half of the concert makes the date switch more than just fine. The LA Phil launches a two-year celebration of Williams at the Walt Disney Concert Hall this fall, so this concert is a preview of things to come. Of course, it is capped by having Williams conduct the LA Phil for the second half of the program (if this year’s concerts follow the tradition of these shows.) Fans will have their light sabers ready for music from Star Wars. Of course, I’d love to hear music from Rosewood, too.

July 13th:

An Ellington Celebration

It won’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing. But with Dudamel leading the LA Phil, there will be no doubt it will swing. Not much has been released yet about this program, but Ellington’s work – particularly his close collaboration with the often not-credited Billy Strayhorn – is legendary music. Expect many of the classic songs and some of Duke’s symphonic works as well.

July 25th:

Rhapsody in Blue

Next year will mark the 100th anniversary of the premiere of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. The Los Angeles Philharmonic gets a jump on the centennial celebrations with this performance conducted by Leonard Slatkin with soloist Makoto Ozone. The program also includes Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 “From the New World,” which is not my favorite of his works (I know how sacrilegious that seems to many). Cynthia McTee’s Timepiece, commissioned by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for their own centennial opens the show.

July 28th – July 29th:

Quincy Jones’ 90th-Birthday Tribute: A Musical Celebration

So far Patti Austin, George Benson, Siedah Garret, Jennifer Hudson, Angélique Kidjo, Ibrahim Maalouf, John Mayer and Sheléa have been announced as performers coming together to celebrate Q. Jules Buckley will lead the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. With the vast career that Jones has had, don’t be surprised if the list of performers more than doubles. He’s had that kind of impact.

July 30th:

Everybody Rise! A Sondheim Celebration

I know this means going to the Hollywood Bowl twice in one weekend, but what fan of Stephen Sondheim’s work can resist an evening of his music performed by Skylar Austin, Sierra Boggess, Tony Award-winner Sutton Foster, Norm Lewis (so good in A Soldier’s Play at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles right now) and Tony Award-winner Brian Stokes Mitchell. Robert Longbottom curates the concert along with conductor Kevin Stites. Oh, did I mention that Patti LuPone, who won her most recent Tony Award for her performance in Company will be making sure that everybody rises?

August 10th:

Sibelius and Grieg

For a purely classical music experience, my choice is this LA Philharmonic concert with conductor Tarmo Peltokoski. The Sibelius is his Symphony No. 2. (Doesn’t Sibelius often work so beautifully in an outdoor setting?) The Grieg is the composer’s Piano Concerto with soloist Anton Mejias. Opening the concert will be Ciel d’hiver by composer Kaija Saariaho who just passed away on June 2nd.

August 22nd:

Chris Thile & Appalachian Spring

Classical music fans know that Appalachian Spring is the very famous work by Aaron Copland. Teddy Abrams will lead the LA Philharmonic in this concert. Opening for Copland is the world premiere of HOLLAND by Jonathan Bailey. Following that is where mandolinist Chris Thile comes in for the West Coast premiere of his ATTENTION! A narrative song cycle for extroverted mandolinist and orchestra. Thile’s work has its world premiere at the Virginia Arts Festival on June 14th.

August 23rd:

Herbie Hancock Celebrates Wayne Shorter

If anyone can rally a great line-up of artists to celebrate the legendary Wayne Shorter who passed away in March, it is Herbie Hancock. And he has. In addition to Shorter’s regular band (Brian Blade, John Patitucci and Daniel Pérez), Hancock is bringing together Terence Blanchard, Terri Lyne Carrington, Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette, Marcus Miller, Chris Potter, Carlos Santana, Cindy Blackman Santana and esperanza Spaulding.

September 20th:

Promises

Legendary saxophonist Pharaoh Sanders passed away last September. Just four days before the first anniversary of his death, Floating Points (composer Sam Shepherd) will premiere the live performance of this 2019 collaboration with Sanders. There are nine movements in this nearly 50-minute work. The original plan was for Sanders to perform with Floating Points. In his absence, Shepherd is being joined in this performance by Kara-Lis Coverdale, John Escreet, Shabaka Hutchings, Kieran Hebden, Los Angeles Studio Orchestra, Jeffrey Makinson, Hinako Omori, Dan Snaith and Sun Ra Arkestra. The album is amazing. The live performance should be equally exciting.

That’s my list of the 10 Hollywood Bowl Concerts not to miss this season. What’s on your list? Let me know!

Click on the title of each concert for information and to purchase tickets.

Main Photo: The Hollywood Bowl (Photo by Adam Latham) All Photos Courtesy Los Angeles Philharmonic Association

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CABARET

Two shows stood out for us this year. The first was Kim David Smith’s Mostly Marlene which we saw at Joe’s Pub in New York City. His gender-bending tribute to Marlene Dietrich was massively entertaining. This performance has apparently been recorded and will be released next year. Check it out. He’s got a great voice.

The other show was Eleri Ward‘s concert – also at Joe’s Pub. Her lo-fi renditions of Stephen Sondheim‘s songs seemed like just the tonic we needed during the pandemic when she first started posting videos filmed in her apartment. Ward ultimately received a recording contract and has her second album coming out next year on Ghostlight Records. She also opened for Josh Groban on his tour this year.

CLASSICAL MUSIC

This was a year in which Duke Ellington was acknowledged as being more than a jazz musician and composer. With that acknowledgment came long overdue recognition of Billy Strayhorn. The Los Angeles Philharmonic performed two different Ellington concerts in January called Symphonic Ellington and Sacred Ellington in January (with Gerald Clayton – whose Bells on Sand was one of the year’s best jazz albums – appearing as a soloist for the first and a member of the ensemble for the latter). In December the perennial holiday classic The Nutcracker was performed. But rather than playing just Tchaikovsky’s music, the LA Phil also performed the Strayhorn/Ellington arrangements of music from the second half of the ballet.

J’Nai Bridges singing Neruda Songs by composer Peter Lieberson was also a highlight at the LA Phil. So, too, was seeing Maestro Michael Tilson Thomas performing Prokofiev’s 5th Symphony and also his own Meditations on Rilke was a great way to have begun 2022.

Composer Osvaldo Golijov‘s Falling Out of Time had a COVID-delayed LA debut when this staggeringly powerful work was performed at the Wallis in Beverly Hills.

JAZZ

Easily topping our list this year are Cécile McLorin Salvant’s concerts at Blue Note in New York City. We saw two shows and had we had the time and the ability we would have seen them all. Salvant performed music by Handel, original songs, a song from Gypsy and more. It was a truly memorable show. Her most recent album, Ghost Song, is one of the year’s best.

A close second were the two shows we saw Dee Dee Bridgewater and Bill Charlap perform. We first saw this remarkable pair at Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood. We caught a second show at the Oasis Music Festival in Palm Springs.

Terence Blanchard at the Ford Theatre and Wynton Marsalis performing All Rise at the Hollywood Bowl also easily make our list.

MUSICALS

You might quibble with us about one of these, but here goes:

Our favorite musical of the year was the Tony Award-winning musical A Strange Loop at the Lyceum Theatre in New York City. Bold, adventurous, thought-provoking and moving, this is everything a musical should be – at least to us. The show is still running but only until January 15th. We strongly recommend seeing it. For tickets and more information, please go here.

The revival of Little Shop of Horrors was absolutely delightful. Two hours of entertainment that makes you forget about everything else going on in the world. When we saw the show Lena Hall was playing “Audrey” and Rob McClure was “Seymour.” Hall is still in the show and her new Seymour is Tony Award-winner Matt Doyle. The show has an open-ended run. For tickets and more information, please go here.

Into the Woods, which began its life at New York City Center’s Encores series, was pure pleasure from the first note to the last. If you are or will be in New York, you can still catch it at the St. James Theatre until January 8th. A US tour begins in February. For tickets and more information, please go here.

David Byrne’s American Utopia doesn’t quite qualify as a musical per se, but it was another utterly enjoyable show. We also saw Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story at the Hollywood Bowl with live orchestral accompaniment by the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. That performance made Spielberg’s under-seen film even more powerful than when we first saw it in theaters.

OPERA

For the first time we finally saw a production at the Metropolitan Opera. Ariadne auf Naxos is not necessarily our favorite opera, but soprano Lise Davidsen’s powerfully strong voice could probably be heard in the lobby of the Met even with the doors closed. It was a staggering performance we will not soon forget.

Countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński gave an incredible recital at Broad Stage in Santa Monica. It was our first time seeing him and we can’t wait for the opportunity to see Orliński in an opera production. We also have to give him special mention for his patience. Someone’s cell phone alarm went off and either the owner was oblivious to the noise or didn’t care. Orliński stopped the show, sat downstage and said he’d wait it out.

Getting the opportunity to revisit the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Tristan Project late this year was a treat. We had experienced it when it first happened and its return was more than welcome (and perhaps a bit overdue). This collaboration with Bill Viola, Peter Sellars and the LA Phil remains breathtaking.

Kevin Puts and Greg Pierce turned Michael Cunningham’s novel The Hours into a mesmerizing and emotional new opera. Written for Renée Fleming, Joyce DiDonato and Kelli O’Hara, this is an opera we experienced through the Met Live in HD simulcast.

Intimate Apparel by composer Ricky Ian Gordon and librettist Lynn Nottage was absolutely first-rate at Lincoln Center. Nottage did a wonderful job adapted her own play for this opera. Gordon wrote a stunning score. The end result is an opera that is equally as powerful as the play.

PLAYS

We’ve always loved Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. But until the new Broadway revival, we never had such a visceral and emotional response to Willy Loman’s story. That’s largely attributable to the impeccable performances of the entire cast including Wendell Pierce, Sharon D. Clarke, McKinley Belcher III, Khris Davis and André De Shields. By now you know this is a Black Loman family. That gave Miller’s piece an added resonance that no doubt contributed to the tears streaming down our faces. The use of music was brilliant. The show is still running at the Hudson Theatre in New York through January 15th. For tickets and more information, please go here.

Perhaps nothing moved us as much as the last 15 minutes of the first half of Matthew López’s The Inheritance at the Geffen Playhouse. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. If the second part of this mammoth work doesn’t end up resonating as strongly as the first, it was still a powerful day in the theater (It’s nearly 7 hours long).

Watching Holland Taylor as the late Ann Richards (former Texas governor) at the Pasadena Playhouse was an opportunity to watch a master class in acting.

That’s our complete list of the Best of 2022! What will inspire and move us in 2023? Come back to find out and to meet the artists, creators, performers and more who make it happen.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Photo: Cécile McLorin Salvant at Blue Note New York (Photo by Craig L. Byrd)

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If you ask most people under the age of 50 who Billy Strayhorn was they will probably look at you with a blank face. Composer and musician Marlon Martinez, well under that age, would be able to tell you more about Strayhorn that you could possibly imagine. Unlike many of his peers, Martinez took an early interest in jazz.

“I was in middle school and I gravitated towards big band jazz,” he told me. “My parents knew that I was interested in it, so they bought me a lot of compilation CDs.” Remember compact discs?

Any good compilation of big band jazz was certain to include the music and recordings of Duke Ellington. But as Martinez kept listening he discovered something he couldn’t quite figure out at first.

“As the years went by and as I listened more and more to Duke Ellington, I started picking up on compositions that really resonated with me,” he revealed. “You know, I didn’t know at the time that those particular compositions were Billy Strayhorn’s compositions: Isfahan, Chelsea Bridge, Clementine, all these other compositions. I was assuming it was just Duke Ellington’s compositions and his music.”

It took a few documentaries hearing Strayhorn’s name regularly mentioned with Ellington’s and for Martinez to start digging deeper. His studies in music provided some clarity about the music he’d been listening to and the help of a teacher pointed Martinez in a direction that would change his life.

“I went back to Duke Ellington and I listened to The Nutcracker Suite, Such Sweet Thunder and other orchestral suites. I heard these compositions again. My ears had developed so much through school that I started to pick up on harmonies and chords and melodies that I really liked and these particular pieces sound a little different from Duke’s pieces. One of my orchestration teachers, Joey Sellers, let me borrow his copy of David Hajdu’s Lush Life book. I read that and fell in love with Billy Strayhorn right then and there.”

Where it went is impressive. Through Colburn Conservatory of Music, where he went to school, Martinez created an eight-part video series called Ever Up And Onward: A Tribute to Billy Strayhorn. It’s an impressive series of videos that cover multiple aspects of Strayhorn’s life and music.

On January 16th, Martinez will release an album with his Marlonious Jazz Orchestra entitled Marlonious/Strayhorn – a combination of Strayhorn’s songs (using the composer’s original charts) and originals written by Martinez. They will be performing selections from that record on December 7th at the Clive Davis Theatre at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.

When asked how he differentiated between what was written by Ellington and what Strayhorn had composed, he didn’t hesitate.

“Billy Strayhorn has a legato melodic sensibility that I feel is not in Duke Ellington’s music as much,” he offered. “Strayhorn has that element. He also has harmonic elements that aren’t really characteristic of Duke Ellington, like his frequent use of melodic minor or minor 11 chords instead of your minor seven or the half diminished chord. There’s also a tinge of sadness in Strayhorn’s music that separates him from Duke Ellington. That does not mean that Duke Ellington is not deep, but they’re just both so deep in their own way. Billy Strayhorn has that emotional content in there.”

Strayhorn was an anomaly for his time. He was an openly gay Black American. He came out before the expression existed. That emotional content that Martinez spoke about is nowhere more pronounced than in the song Lush Life, a song Strayhorn wrote as a teenager.

“It’s more like a poem. The music is set to a poem. It has more of a classical sense to it. I think it’s rhapsodic. It has a different kind of flow from the regular song styles at the time. Lush Life has those twists and turns that’s usually going to be hard to interpret. Lyrically I think it’s very sophisticated; very mature lyrics.”

It’s a classic song that has been recorded by a who’s who of popular and jazz music: Nat King Cole, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, Lady Gaga, Johnny Hartman, Bettye LaVette, Frank Sinatra, Donna Summer, Sarah Vaughan and more. Perhaps the most surprising rendition of the song is the one recording Strayhorn made of this notoriously challenging and profoundly emotional song.

“It’s faster. He has a theatrical take to Lush Life. I think that makes a lot of sense because Strayhorn was so inspired by musical theater. It seems like something that is like a staged song. Something where you would have choreography, you’d have acting, you’d have a bit of singing. I feel like that’s kind of the narrative in which Strayhorn wrote Lush Life.”

As passionate as Martinez is about Strayhorn, he also knew he has to create a link between the music he writes and the music he loves – while still maintaining his own sound and vision.

“I find my music is very much centered in the rich tradition of big band writing and the styles from the forties, fifties and sixties. But played in a contemporary way, in a contemporary context. What I seek to do, even to this day with all my projects, is to show how Billy Strayhorn has inspired my writing. I wanted to pick Strayhorn repertoire that covers many areas of his style or many of the styles that he has. Then sprinkle in some of my compositions to be more of a commentary on Billy Strayhorn’s writing.

“This album will be the first big band album that I’ve produced. I think it’s wise to showcase some of my work as well. This is his world of writing and then here’s my writing. It moved me to do these compositions this particular way. So I think that is definitely carrying the torch and then passing it on to the listener.”

Martinez is under no illusion that the music he loves and the music he writes is not the type of music you find topping the charts today.

“I think the main challenge is showing people that these chords and this type of instrumentation isn’t old. It’s not a thing of the past or a memory. I’m not trying to be a cover band and I’m not trying to be a cover band in the way I write music either. I feel that there’s a stigma around jazz and big band music that needs to be broken. The challenge is how do you make something that’s genuinely what you want to write and not deter people from thinking, ‘Oh, it’s sounds like In the Mood or Take the A-Train.’ I haven’t found the big answer here yet, but I think the fact that I’m writing this music makes it appealing to people because I’m a young musician, a young musician of color. I’m writing this music dedicated to the people in the past and presenting it today. I think the younger generation coming after me they’re going to appreciate it, too.”

Of course Martinez could just follow Strayhorn’s own philosophy: “If you want something hard enough, it just gets done.”

“I was thinking about that quote literally yesterday. That’s always driven me,whether it’s through finding venues and convincing people that this is a band that needs to be heard and contracting musicians and convincing them that this music will be fun and it will be something that you’ll want to play with your your friends in the section. I don’t have to do this kind of music. I don’t have to be a big band composer at this time and be successful at it. There are so many other avenues that I could take, but I love it so much that I’m going to see to it that I do this for the rest of my life.”

Which, of course, sounds like Martinez does have to do this kind of music.

“I do because I have the passion for it. Hypothetically I can say I’ll do the other things that I like to do, like play in symphony orchestras. I can do that and then retire off that and whatever. I find joy in doing that. I find joy in being a sideman on bass for someone else. I can write all kinds of music, but I have the urge and the itch to just write big band music and direct big bands. So that’s what I’m going to do.”

To see the full interview with Marlon Martinez, please go here.

Main photo: Marlon Martinez (Photo by Imran Stephen/Courtesy MarlonMartinezMusic.com)

The post Marlon Martinez Loves Big Band Music appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

Place was a Pulitzer Prize-finalist in 2018. The committee called it, “A brave and powerful work, marked by effective vocal writing and multiple musical genres, that confronts issues of gentrification and displacement in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.” Hearne wrote the music and part of the libretto. He collaborated with poet Saul Williams who write the rest of the libretto.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group is presenting Place on Tuesday evening at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Hearne will be conducting the performance which is directed by Patricia McGregor. She was recently named the incoming Artistic Director at the New York Theater Workshop.

Last week I spoke via Zoom with Hearne about Place, how he’s reconciled his own ideas about the issues the work raises and how his composing allows him to understand himself better. What follows are excerpts from our conversation that have been edited for length and clarity.

You stated previously that you were confronted with your own feelings after hearing Spike Lee speak at the Pratt Institute about people and the relationship they have to their neighborhood. How did composing and writing Place impact your own perception of how you relate to your neighborhood? Has the time since the work debut altered your perceptions about that relationship, if it has?

One thing that changed is that I started to see the divisions that I created in my own life and my own sense of identity and my own self and how maybe I’ve created a proxy for thinking about those divisions. What I mean by that is that through this process, I started really looking at texts about whiteness and white identity and white supremacy and it got very personal in a way that I think it hadn’t before this process. And that’s a big way that my thinking changed. 

It was as blunt of an interrogation of the tenets of white supremacy and that systemic racism that were embedded in my own upbringing, in my own identity. That was totally not academic because all of my artistic work was right there front and center and that’s a big part of my heart and soul.

I think part of growing up in a place with so much systemic racism as a white person is often, at least in my house, in my generation, it is growing up with the idea that your perspective as a white person is like the neutral one. No one ever like told me, “Oh, that’s a better perspective” or that you’re better than anybody else explicitly. But also no one really told me that to be raised as a white person entailed kind of its own identity. So in a way being raised with this paucity of identity itself. I don’t think anyone should be raised that way. But this process was like a cartography process of mapping all the ways that white supremacy or racism was present just in all of my individual small interactions and the fundamental structures of family.

I’m happy to say that I think the conversation around all these issues has progressed a lot since when I started writing the piece. I’m not saying that any of this stuff was taught to me intentionally. But that’s, of course, the problem. This process really helps me connect all of these concepts which I’ve been wrestling with since basically coming of age in this culture so it makes sense.

Having come through this process how do you reconcile the dichotomy between the shining concert hall on the hill that is Walt Disney Concert Hall and the huge homeless community, mostly non-white, that are mere blocks away. Should that impact the way an audience experiences Place?

I hope it influences the way people see work like this. That dichotomy is all around us in this in this culture, right? In this society and this in this country, in the city. We’re living at a time of a large increase in the number of unhoused people in the city. And there’s a huge increase in aggressive, violent police action to remove unhoused people from the places that they’re dwelling.

Part of the process in writing this piece has been to think about displacement and the connections of displacement and systemic racism. Wrestling with inequalities that have been built into the systemic fabric of these institutions. I know that there are good people within these institutions that are trying to root out these inequalities and trying to create really safe spaces for all sorts of different types of people. But it’s not easy.

Including, I would assume, safe spaces for artists who aren’t just white to be recognized in the performing arts world as well.

Especially American music. There are these incredible innovators who just were never included in institutional music or classical music as we now call it. And I think that the reason that they weren’t included is because they’re not white. Duke Ellington being the most obvious example of a composer who was creating music that is symphonic and who’s pushing boundaries in so many different directions; creating this unique American work. I’m not saying that that necessarily affected Duke Ellington’s reputation, but I do think that when we say classical music we should acknowledge that it’s based on this history of exclusion.

When we think about the language that we use to talk about why certain artists are innovative or important we often romanticize it and leave out all of these very blunt and important sociological contexts: who had access to certain streams of money and who is a white man. These are actually very important parts of it. When we take all this together, we can see how the genre and institution of classical music has been sculpted.

During the pandemic you did an at-home version of Place that was streamed online. Did that prompt any reconsideration of the work that you had already completed or any reflection on what to do next?

I don’t feel like the piece was done until we did the version in March 2020 where we were all sheltering in place. We had already made the album and the album was about to come out. We had all the tracks from all the instrumental performances, from all these brilliant instrumentalists that we recorded across the country to make the piece. But then these singers, who were prepared and all ready to do the whole show, were stuck at home as we all were. So we decided to make this at home version.

The people in the cast, the singers, they all live very differently and they were all affected differently. It was more traumatic to some than others. Something about that, plus the fact that this is a piece about place and displacement. Through people just capturing themselves at their microphone, but capturing the whole environment, we were able to get a really personal picture into the lives of all the singers. I think that was the last key to understanding the piece. It gave us something that we didn’t get when we were doing a large stage version. It made the piece really intimate and we use that in the remount of the piece that we’re doing now in 2022. 

Saul Williams wrote in Said the Shotgun to the Head, “I have offered myself to the inkwell of the wordsmith that I might be shaped in terms of being.” Ted, what is offering yourself to the inkwell of composing allowing you to be?

I’m pretty impulsive. I make like really large works sometimes that take years to make. I feel like often it’s driven by things that I feel in a moment or things that I feel [in] a cumulative succession of moments that feel powerful. I tend to use that as an engine. And then look later at the thing I made.

It’s the learning that comes from the rigorous process of composing. It’s through the rigor of holding yourself to really high standards and making sure that the piece understands and respects itself. Setting those strictures up as clearly and as well-constructed as possible. I think that through that discipline I can come to a much clearer understanding of who I am and who I am in the world. Without composing I don’t know if I would have any motivation to do that. If I didn’t have that process, I think that I would be drawn to living in a way that had no impact. Through composing I can continually examine my impact. 

I am really interested in living in a way that helps other people be better. But I have to help myself be better. I know it’s very presumptuous to think you can help other people be better without really putting yourself through the paces continuously. So I think composing is just the whole apparatus for that. 

Place is produced by Beth Morrison Projects. To see when Place might be performed in your area, I suggest you go to BMP’s website here.

Main photo: Ted Hearne conducting Place (Photo courtesy Unison Media)

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Also on tap are two great (and very different ballets); two great jazz concerts; a contemporary classical music festival; a celebration of playwrights and a reading of a rare comedy from the 17th century that seems as topical as ever.

Here are our Top Ten Best Bets: June 11th – June 14th

*TOP PICK* MUSICAL REVUE: Show of Titles – Broadway’s Best Shows – June 13th – 7:00 PM ET/4:00 PM PT

What exactly is a Show of Titles? Simply put, a show featuring title songs from some of Broadway’s biggest musicals. For instance, Oklahoma has a well-known title song. Dear Evan Hansen does not. The Light in the Piazza does. Gypsy does not.

The cast of Broadway stars performing in this show, directed by Lonny Price, includes Annaleigh Ashford, Stephanie J. Block, Kerry Butler, Len Cariou, Glenn Close, Gavin Creel, Darren Criss, Dame Edna, Santino Fontana, Kelsey Grammar, David Alan Grier, Jake Gyllenhaal, Joshua Henry, Isabelle Huppert, Norm Lewis, Patti LuPone, Rob McClure, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Melba Moore, Jessie Mueller, Eva Noblezada, Kelli O’Hara, Laura Osnes, Steven Pasquale, Michael Rupert, Ernie Sabella, Lea Salonga, Phillipa Soo, Will Swenson, Aaron Tveit, Leslie Uggams, Vanessa Williams and Patrick Wilson.

There will also be special appearances by Debbie Allen, Broadway Inspirational Voices, Candice Bergen, Danny Burstein, Bryan Cranston, Tony Goldwyn, Adam Guettel, John Kander, Angela Lansbury, John Leguizamo, John Lithgow, Lindsay Mendez, Phylicia Rashad, Chita Rivera, Ben Stiller, Charles Strouse, Richard Thomas, Blair Underwood, BD Wong, and Florian Zeller.

The link to this event goes to Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles. There are two options for tickets: a $29 ticket allows purchasers to view Show of Titles on demand for 96 hours. (An appropriate number with the film adaptation of In the Heights opening this weekend. A show that not only has a title number, but also a song called 96,000).

A $39 ticket will include a ticket to stream Sarah Ruhl‘s Dear Elizabeth which begins on June 17th and reunites Kevin Kline with Meryl Streep (they appeared on screen together in Sophie’s Choice and Rikki and the Flash). That ticket also allows you to stream it for, you guessed it, 96 hours.

JAZZ: Coltrane: A Love Supreme – Jazz at Lincoln Center – Now – June 16th

Many many years ago I attended the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. One of the concerts I went to – not on the fairgrounds – was a performance by Wynton Marsalis and his band. They were the last of several performers and concluded their main set around midnight. As an encore he announced they would be performing A Love Supreme.

I’m well-acquainted with John Coltrane’s masterpiece and assumed he meant they would perform one of the tracks (they all include A Love Supreme as part of their title). I was wrong. They performed the entire album from start to finish. It was exhilarating and one of the best concerts I’ve ever attended.

Marsalis will once again perform A Love Supreme with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra as the final concert of their virtual season.

This performance will be feature big band arrangements with saxophonist Camille Thurman serving as guest soloist. Sherman Irby will lead the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

Tickets are $20 and allow for streaming through June 16th. Tickets can be purchased here.

BALLET: Giselle of Loneliness – Ballez/The Joyce Theater – Now – June 23rd

Perfectly timed for Pride Month is this presentation of Giselle of Loneliness by Ballez. The decade-old dance company is comprised of queer, transgender, non-binary and gender non-confirming artists.

As you might imagine from the title, Giselle of Loneliness uses a key moment from that classic ballet as its inspiration.

The dancers in this work, choreographed and directed by Katy Pyle (founder of Ballez), are all auditioning to win the title role of Giselle. To do so, they have to come up with their own version of the insanely challenging mad scene from that ballet.

In what seems to be a bit of a nod to and a twist on A Chorus Line, the dancers have to come face-to-face in this work with their desire to perform within an industry that doesn’t welcome them. It begs the question, how much personal degradation and rejection of your identity will you undergo to continue to do what you love.

The dancers performing in Giselle of Loneliness are Charles Gowin, Meg Harper, Maxfield Haynes, Matthias Kodat, Deborah Lohse, MJ Markovitz, Janet Panetta, Ash Phan, Alexandra Waterbury, and Nat Wilson.

Tickets are $25 and allow for viewing through June 23rd at 11:59 PM ET/8:59 PT.

BALLET: Balanchine and Robbins – Royal Opera House – Debuts June 11th – 2:30 PM ET/11:30 AM PT

The Royal Ballet will live stream their June 11th performance of a trio of works under the title Balanchine and Robbins. Which means, of course, that the works were either choreographed by George Balanchine or Jerome Robbins.

The evening begins with a performance of Apollo by Balanchine set to the music of Igor Stravinsky.

Four dancers are featured in this work which had its world debut in 1928. In this performance the ballet will be danced by Matthew Ball, Claire Calvert, Melissa Hamilton and Fumi Kaneko.

Next up is another work by Balanchine entitled Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux. No need to tell you who wrote the music. This short work had its world premiere in 1960. For this performance the dancers are Vadim Muntagirov and Marianela Nuñez.

The performance concludes with Jerome Robbins’ Dances at a Gathering. This hour-long work, set to the piano music of Frederic Chopin, had its world premiere at New York City Ballet in 1969. Reece Clarke, Teo Dubreuil, Benjamin Ella, James Hay, Fumi Kaneko, Mayara Magri, Yasmine Naghdi, Anna Rose O’Sullivan and Romany Pajdak are the dancers.

Tickets are $18.50. The performance will remain available for streaming through July 11th.

JAZZ: Brian Blade and the Fellowship Band – SFJAZZ – June 11th – 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT

This week’s Fridays at Five concert from SFJAZZ features a 2016 performance by Brian Blade and the Fellowship Band.

Drummer Blade formed this band in 1997 with pianist Jon Cowherd, bassist Chris Thomas, saxophonists Myron Walden and Melvin Butler, guitarist Jeff Parker and pedal steel guitarist Dave Easley.

All but Easley join him for this show that features a five-song set featuring two traditional songs arranged by Blade and three original compositions by Cowherd.

Those songs are Landmarks found on the album of the same name from 2014; Duality from their 2017 album Body and Shadow and Return of the Prodigal Song from their 2008 album Season of Changes.

There is an encore showing of this concert on Saturday, June 12th at 1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT. Tickets for either show require either a monthly digital membership ($5) or an annual membership ($50).

If you join to watch this Brian Blade concert you will also have access to a special matinee broadcast on Sunday featuring Marcus Shelby and His Orchestra in a tribute to Duke Ellington. That concert will stream at 2:00 PM ET/11:00 AM PT. You can find details about that show here.

CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL MUSIC: Kronos Festival – June 11th – 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT

The renowned Kronos Quartet launches a virtual festival this year on Friday with a 45-minute concert. Included in this program are several world premieres and one classic work closely associated with Kronos.

Works by Nicole Lizée (Are You From Here Or Just Visiting?), Soo Yeon Lyuh (Tattoo), Hawa Kassé Mady Diabaté (Wawani) and Mahsa Vahdat (Vaya, Vaya) are given their debut performances.

Stacy Garrop’s Glorious Mahalia; Clint Mansell’s Lux Aeterna; Jlin’s Little Black Book and Pete Seeger’s Where Have All the Flowers Gone? are also being performed.

There is no charge to watch this, or any, performance. There is also a kids concert on Sunday, June 13th at 2:00 PM ET/11:00 AM PT.

The festival will continue with performances on Wednesday, June 16th at 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT and Friday, June 18th at 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT. The evening concerts are 45 minutes and the kids concert is 30 minutes.

All performances will remain available for viewing online through August 31st.

PLAY/FUNDRAISER: Connections – Ojai Playwrights Conference – June 12th – 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT

The works of playwrights Luis Alfaro, Jon Robin Baitz, Father Greg Boyle, Bill Cain, Culture Clash, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Danai Gurira, Samuel D. Hunter, David Henry Hwang, Julia Izumi, James Morrison (with his son Seamus), Jeanine Tesori and Charlayne Woodard will be performed in this 90-minute celebration from the Ojai Playwrights Conference.

Liza Powel O’Brien is also contributing a piece.

Performing their work will be a mix of the playwrights themselves and some well-known actors: Brian Cox, Culture Clash, Eileen Galindo, Danai Gurira, Francis Jue, James and Seamus Morrison, Tony Okunghowa, Rose Portillo, Samantha Quan, John C. Reilly, Israel López Reyes, Nikkole Salter, Samantha Sloyan, Jimmy Smits, Phillipa Soo, A. Zell Williams and Charlayne Woodard.

The theme of the show, as the title would suggest, is human connections moving forward in a post-pandemic world.

This is a one-time only event. There is a requested donation of $20 to watch Connections.

Looking forward the Ojai Playwrights Conference New Works Festival will take place August 5th – August 15th.

PLAY: 1 Hour Photo – East West Players – June 12th – 11:00 PM ET/8:00 PM PT

Tetsuro Shigematsu’s 1 Hour Photo had its world premiere in 2017 at Vancouver’s The Cultch. The ostensibly one-man play tells the story of Mas Yamomoto, a man who owned and operated multiple Japan Camera stores which promised processing of film in one hour. (Remember those? Remember film?)

His conversations with Mas, a much older man, covered a lot of territory of personal and racial history of the 20th century. What starts as a humorous catch-up to outdated 1970s technology riff turns into a very personal and emotional story.

To help tell the story Shigematsu incorporates models, miniatures and some very interesting effects.

Shigematsu has now created a 75-minute film version of 1 Hour Photo and East West Players in Los Angeles will offer five virtual screenings of the film beginning on Saturday, June 12th. (Additional shows are on Sunday, June 13th; Friday, June 18th; Saturday June 19th and Sunday June 20th – times vary). Tickets are $34.99.

BROADWAY VOCALS: Matthew Morrison – Seth Concert Series – June 13th – 3:00 PM ET/12:00 PM PT

I’ve seen Matthew Morrison in three Broadway musicals: Hairspray, The Light in the Piazza and South Pacific. Perhaps the only thing they have in common is that he appeared in all three.

For many people Morrison may be best known for his role as Mr. Schuester on Glee.

All four projects allowed him to showcase one thing he does very well: sing. As will this weekend’s Seth Concert Series with Seth Rudetsky.

Yes there will be some conversation sprinkled amongst the performances, but it will mostly be about the music.

If you are unable to see the live stream on Sunday at 3:00 PM ET, there is an encore showing at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT the same day. Tickets for either are $25.

PLAY READING: Volpone, or The Fox – Red Bull Theater – Debuts June 14th – 7:30 PM ET/4:30 PM PT

17th-century playwright Ben Johnson may not be the best-known writer today, nor are his works commonly performed, but time hasn’t dulled his quick wit and ability to skewer the foibles of human behavior.

Take for example Volpone, or the Fox. The title character loves nothing more than gold. And he will stop at nothing to get as much of it as he can. With the assistance of his servant Mosca, the men of Venice who should know better inevitable fall for his schemes and his charm. It seems as nothing can outwit Volpone.

André De Shields (who won the Tony Award for his performance in Hadestown) plays Volpone. He’s joined by Jordan Boatman, Sofia Cheyenne, Franchelle Stewart Dorn, Clifton Duncan, Amy Jo Jackson, Peter Francis James, Hamish Linklater, Roberta Maxwell, Sam Morales, Kristine Nielsen and Mary Testa for this reading.

Jesse Burger, the Founder and Artistic Director of Red Bull directs. He and Jeffrey Hatcher have made some tweaks to Johnson’s play. (The press release calls them “emendations & elaborations.”)

After the live performance on Monday, June 14th, the show will be available for streaming through June 18th at 7:00 PM ET/4:00 PM PT. There is a suggested donation of $25.

A small bit of trivia: Larry Gelbart, who co-wrote Tootsie and was instrumental in the long-running television show M*A*S*H, wrote an updated version of Volpone that went by the name Sly Fox. It had its Broadway debut in 1976 with George C. Scot in the title role.

That concludes our official Top Ten Best Bets: June 11th – June 14th. But a few reminders before we go:

The film version of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights is now in theaters and streaming on HBO MAX.

Los Angeles Opera’s Signature Recital Series has now unveiled all five recitals for streaming with Russell Thomas, Susan Graham, Christine Goerke, Julia Bullock and J’Nai Bridges. They will remain available through July 1st. You can find details here.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic has added a newly-announced episode for the second season of Sound/Stage. Debuting on June 11th is a performance by the LA Phil with the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles and the band Weezer. They will be performing songs from their album OK Human. Rob Mathes leads the LA Phil and did the orchestrations.

This weekend’s offerings from the Metropolitan Opera are the 2012-2013 season production of Thomas Adés’ The Tempest on Friday; Verdi’s Falstaff from the 2013-2014 season on Saturday and the 2017-2018 season production of Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte on Sunday.

Monday the Met begins a week of operas to celebrate Father’s Day. The first production being streamed is Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra from the 1994-1995 season. We’ll have the full schedule and clips on Monday.

What inevitably follows another opening is another closing. Here ends this weekend’s Best Bets: June 11th – June 14th.

Update: This post has been updated to include newly announced participants in Connections

Photo: Jake Gyllenhaal in Sunday in the Park with George (Photo by Matthew Murphy/Courtesy IBDB.com)

The post Top Ten Best Bets: June 11th – June 14th appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

It would be foolish to label Jeff Gold as just one thing. He’s a writer. He’s a former music executive. He’s a music historian. He’s a memorabilia collector and seller. And he’s a cultural anthropologist. Just take a look at his recently published book, Sittin’ In – Jazz Clubs of the 1940s and 1950s.

A collector reached out to Gold and said he had photographs that were taken by the in-house photographers at multiple jazz clubs during that time. Gold met with him and was immediately struck with the idea of a book. Though he had sworn off ever doing another book after publishing 101 Essential Rock Records and Total Chaos: The Story of the Stooges.

“I put them on my bookcase and engaged in a staring contest for six months,” Gold told me in a phone call recently. “Periodically I’d Google to see if I could find other photos and I looked up books on other jazz clubs. They are such an obscure topic and so evocative and there was so little about them anywhere. They stared me down and won.”

If you read Gold’s blog posts on his website, RecordMecca, you wouldn’t think the man who spent over 40 years getting a rare Bowie album signed by the singer and his band would be so passionate about jazz.

“When I started it I knew very little about jazz clubs beyond what an obsessed music fan picks up along the way. Skimming 40 books and hundreds of hours on the internet, I’m kind of an expert.”

A few things surprised Gold during his journey of writing Sittin’ In. The first is that you rarely see photographs of the audience. It’s usually the performers who are shown. When he writes about Bop City (a Manhattan club based in the Brill Building), he quotes a reporter for New York Age as saying, “Outside of Ella Fitzgerald, the great performance was that put in by the audience, the greatest mixture of humanity this side of the Casbar (sic).” It forced him to ponder why the audience is so rarely considered.

“This turns the camera around on the people who watched the performances. In almost every case they look like they are having a great time, even if in some cases you’re in the middle of World War II and there’s racism going on. But this was an escape from it all. The interesting thing is some pictures have artists posing with the fans. These are primordial versions of celebrity selfies. When would you see earlier examples? I couldn’t think of any.”

There’s also the issue of race which is unavoidable looking at the photos.

“You have African American performers posing with white audiences and that was something you didn’t see in any other circumstance,” Gold says.

In an effort to understand more about how these clubs operated, he interviewed Quincy Jones and Sonny Rollins. Gold was surprised when Jones told him he didn’t sense any racism when attending the clubs he could get into (some of them were segregated) nor when he was performing. Which prompted me to ask Gold whether he thought jazz clubs laid the groundwork for tolerance.

“That’s kind of a heavy question I don’t know if I have an answer to it. One thing that came out for me is context and time is everything. There was a completely racist club I have a portfolio from in St. Louis called Club Plantation. Their advertising said, ‘strictly white patronage only.’ That was a selling point for them. Oddly enough there was a Black-owned club in Watts [an area of Los Angeles] called Joe Morris’ Plantation Club. That is a reprehensible thing in 2021, but in the 40s it didn’t seem to be objectionable to Black people because it was successful and [Black-owned.]”

During World War II, when most of these clubs were featuring swing music that allowed patrons to dance the night away, the government added a cabaret tax to raise money for the war effort. This forced the club owners to find a way around the tax and the end result lead to a whole new style of jazz.

“Swing was the dominate music. There were some musicians who were getting tired of the regimented and charted swing music with one solo per show. Those people, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and people like that, experimented with what becomes bebop. Someone realizes if you hire the bebop guys it is music you listen to and people don’t dance. They can pay less people. This cabaret tax ends up being the thing that causes these owners to book bebop.”

Amongst Gold’s collection is one of John Coltrane’s saxophones, who performed bebop early in his career. So it was appropriate I ended our conversation by asking him about something the musician had said. “I’ve found you’ve got to look back at the old things and see them in a new light.” I wanted to know what the new light is Gold has found by looking back at these jazz clubs from the 40s and 50s.

“The new light is not just a new light, it’s a light. The fact that if people have ever seen these photographs it’s maybe one or two of them. There’s not been a collection like this published ever. It’s a niche phenomenon. It’s an opportunity to look at issues like jazz, the race relations in America, American history and the laws of unintended consequences through a different lens. I was the guy able to illuminate this phenomenon.”

Main Photo: A soldier, Joan Davis and Duke Ellington at 400 in April, 1945 (Photo courtesy Jeff Gold)

The post Jeff Gold Shines a Light on Jazz Audiences appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

Actor Keith David serves as the narrator. Samuel L. Jackson, Delroy Lindo, Derek Jacobi and Harry Connick, Jr. are amongst the additional voices. Footage and interviews with the biggest names in jazz music are incorporated throughout the documentary.

There are ten episodes in Jazz:

Gumbo (Beginnings to 1917) – Airing January 7th

As you would expect with a title like Gumbo, the series begins in New Orleans, a melting pot of a city in the late 1800s and early 1900s that gave rise to Jelly Roll Morton, Buddy Bolden and Sydney Bechet who took that rich brew of culture and began creating what we now call jazz.

The Gift (1917-1924) – Airing January 14th

The period known as the “Jazz Age” plays like a tale of two cities: Louis Armstrong moving from New Orleans to Chicago and Duke Ellington moving from Washington, D.C. to Harlem.

Our Language (1924-1928) – Airing January 21st

In the “Roaring 20s” not only do we follow Armstrong and Ellington, but are introduced to Bix Beiderbecke, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw and Bessie Smith and famous jazz venues like New York’s Cotton Club.

The True Welcome (1929-1935)- Airing January 28th

The Depression hits, but jazz has taken on a life of its own. With New York as the hub of jazz, Fats Waller and Art Tatum are fast-rising stars; Ellington is writing more serious music and bandleader Chick Webb adds a young female singer to his band by the name of Ella Fitzgerald.

Swing: Pure Pleasure (1935-1937) – Airing February 4th

The Depression is ongoing and people want and need entertainment. They want to dance and swing music offers them exactly what they crave. Benny Goodman becomes the “King of Swing” and Billie Holiday starts to make a name for herself.

Swing: The Velocity of Celebration (1937-1939)- Airing February 11th

The depression finally comes to an end, but the second world war is looming. Swing music loses a little of its momentum until Count Basie and his band enter the scene. By the start of the war in Europe, Coleman Hawkins is creating quite a stir.

Dedicated to Chaos (1940-1945) – Airing February 18th

The United States enters the war and bandleaders like Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw are entertaining folks at home and the troops overseas. Back in New York, with a cabaret tax hitting jazz clubs that have dancing pretty hard, club owners find a way around the tax by embracing ensembles that are smaller and don’t play music that inspires dancing. Be bop is born with artists like Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.

Risk (1945-1955) – Airing February 25th

The war is over and the cold war is beginning. Amidst it all young artists like Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk are making names for themselves and changing forever the direction of jazz.

The Adventure (1956-1960) – Airing March 4th

Early jazz pioneers are dying off and a new breed is capturing the spotlight: Art Blakey, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins and Sarah Vaughan. While Davis continues his rise to superstar, Ornette Coleman is experimenting with free jazz.

A Masterpiece by Midnight (1961-The Present) – Airing March 11th

It’s tough to imagine wrapping up what was then 40 years of history in a single episode, but Burns does that in the final episode with the introduction of Dexter Gordon and Wynton Marsalis; the unlikely bumping of The Beatles off the pop charts by Louis Armstrong and the deaths of some very significant pioneers of the music.

When it first aired, Ben Ratliff, writing for the New York Times, had mixed feelings about the success of the series, but nonetheless said, “jazz is presented as part of American history — not just artistic history, but the history of our wars, social programs, taste in clothing, civil laws, migrations, economic ups and downs. It sometimes seems that there is more film in the documentary containing no jazz musicians than film that does. But nonmusical moments in Jazz build up to demonstrations of how Americans felt in their bones about jazz.”

As with all PBS programming, be sure to check with your local listings for exact air times and dates in your city.

Photo: Louis Armstrong, Newport 1955 (Photo ©Herman Leonard/Courtesy PBS)

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We have fifteen different options for you this week. Attention Margaret Cho fans, we will tell you how to start and end your weekend with her.

Here are your Best Bets at Home: November 6th – November 8th:

Solitude – LA Philharmonic’s Sound/Stage – November 6th

This week’s filmed performance from the Hollywood Bowl finds Gustavo Dudamel leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a program entitled Solitude. There are two works being performed and they both look at the idea of being alone in very different ways.

First up is the American premiere of Dawn by Thomas Adés. The work had its world premiere earlier this year in a performance by the London Symphony Orchestra conduced by Simon Rattle. It’s designed for our socially distant times and for an orchestra of indeterminate size.

Dawn will be followed by Duke Ellington’s Solitude as arranged by Morton Gould. It’s one of Ellington’s finest.

Both of these works are less than ten minutes. This will be a shorter Sound/Stage, but who wants to spend more time than that alone?

As a reminder, previous episodes of Sound/Stage are also available for viewing.

Virtual Halston – November 6th – 5:00 PM EST/2:00 PM PST

After a couple weeks off to shoot a film, Julie Halston returns with Virtual Halston. Her guest this week is Margaret Cho.

For the uninitiated, Halston holds an on-line salon where pithy conversation and witty repartee are the main ingredients. (Of course, I’d suggest having a martini in hand, too.)

Whether you know Cho for her music, her stand-up comedy, her film and television appearances or her activism, you know she’s smart, funny and guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

There’s no charge to watch Virtual Halston. However, donations are encouraged and proceeds will go to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation.

Midori and Ieva Jokubaviciute – 92 Street Y – November 6th – 7:30 PM EST/4:30 PM PST

Violinist Midori and pianist Ieva Jokubaviciute perform works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, César Franck and Edvard Grieg in this recital.

Midori and Jokubaviciute have been collaborating since 2016. What began as a handful of recitals in Canada, Columbia, Germany and Austria has turned into worldwide performances together.

Grieg is first with his Sonata No. 2 in G Major, Op. 13. This three-movement sonata was written in what is now called Oslo in 1867.

Mozart follows with Sonata in E-flat Major, K. 302. This two-movement sonata was composed in 1778.

Franck closes the program with his Sonata in A Major. This four-movement sonata was written in 1886 as a wedding gift from the composer. It’s first public performance was in December of the same year.

Tickets are $15.

Alan Broadbent and Don Falzone – Mezzrow – November 6th – November 7th

Pianist Alan Broadbent and bassist Don Falzone will be performing four sets between Friday and Saturday night live from Mezzrow in New York City. There are sets each night at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST and 9:00 PM EST/6:00 PM PST.

If your first introduction to Broadbent was his Grammy Award-winning arrangement for Natalie Cole’s When I Fall In Love, you might be surprised to learn he’s been closely involved with some of the most celebrated music of all-time. Sometimes as a pianist, other times as an arranger.

A diverse list of his collaborators would include David Byrne, Charlie Haden, Woody Herman, Diana Kroll, Linda Ronstadt, Rod Stewart and Barbra Streisand. He’s also recorded 26 records as a leader.

In addition to working with Broadbent, Falzone has worked with David Lindley, Eric Person and Rufus Wainwright.

There is no cost to watch the performance, though donations are encouraged. Sponsorship tickets are also available at $40.

The link in the heading is for Friday night’s shows. To access Saturday night’s shows, please go here.

José James Celebrates Bill Withers – SFJAZZ – November 6th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

When this 2019 concert took place at SFJAZZ, James was supporting his 2018 album Lean on Me which celebrated Bill Withers. This concert, part of SFJAZZ’s Fridays at Five series, will be a bit more melancholy than it was originally as we lost Withers earlier this year.

The album found James performing classic Withers songs like Ain’t No Sunshine, Lovely Day, Just the Two of Us and the title track.

I enjoy James and his music, whether he’s performing jazz or soul or hip-hop influenced material. I’m looking forward to this concert.

SFJAZZ asks that you become a member to enjoy their Fridays at Five concerts. Membership is $5 for one month of shows or $60 for a full year. It’s a bargain in my book.

Fred Hersch – Village Vanguard – November 6th – November 7th

Jazz pianist Fred Hersch is offering two different performances this weekend from New York’s Village Vanguard. On Friday night he’ll be performing solo on the piano.

His latest album, Songs from Home, was released on Friday. The project finds him recording in quarantine from his home. Songs by Jimmy Webb, Joni Mitchell, Cole Porter, The Beatles and Duke Ellington’s Solitude are included on the record.

On Saturday night he’ll be performing with saxophonist Miguel Zenón.

Zenón has released twelve albums as a leader – the most recent being 2019’s Sonero: The Music of Ismael Rivera. He’s toured and recorded with numerous artists including David Gilmore, Charlie Haden, Danilo Pérez, Antonio Sánchez, Kenny Werner and Fred Hersch. He was named Jazz Artist of the Year on the 2014 Jazz Times Critics Poll.

Tickets for each concert are $10 and include the ability to stream the performance for 24 hours.

One Man, Two Guvnors – PBS Great Performances – November 6th – check local listings

I’ve written about this hilarious play starring James Corden before. I’m including it again because if you just want to laugh yourself silly for a couple hours, you should watch One Man, Two Guvnors.

The filmed performance is airing on Great Performances on PBS. As with all PBS programming, best to check your local listings for start time and exact airdate.

Border Crossings Part 1 – Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra – November 6th – 9:30 PM EST/6:30 PM PST

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is launching an ambitious new program entitled Close Quarters. The series, which will have multiple episodes between now and June 4, 2021, will combine performances by select LACO members paired with images and art created by James Darrah.

This first concert features Baroque works and Baroque-inspired composers originating from Bolivia, Mexico and Spain. On the program is Diferencias sobre la gayta by Anónimo and Martín Y Coll; Sonata Chiquitana IV by anonymous, Concierto barroco by José Enrique González Medina and Gallardas by Santiago de Murcia.

Patricia Mabee, who curated the program, leads from the harpsichord. She will be joined by Josefina Vergara and Susan Rishik on violin, Armen Ksajikian on cello, Ben Smolen on flute, Jason Yoshida on theorbo/baroque guitar and Petri Korpela on percussion.

There is no charge to watch the performance which will be available on the LACO website, their YouTube channel and Facebook Live.

Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera – San Francisco Opera – November 7th – November 8th

Nicola Luisotti conducts; starring Julianna Di Giacomo, Thomas Hampson, Ramón Vargas, Heidi Stober, Dolor Zajick, Efraín Solís, Christian Van Horn and Scott Conner. This Jose Maria Condemi production is from the 2014-2015 season.

Verdi’s opera, translated A Masked Ball, had its premiere in Rome in 1859. Librettist Antonio Somma used the libretto written by Eugène Scribe for the opera, Gustave III, ou Le Ballo masqué, written by Daniel Auber in 1833. 

The opera is based on the real life assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden who was killed while attending a masquerade ball in Stockholm. 

Verdi takes some dramatic liberties which certainly enhances the drama. Riccardo is in love with Amelia. She, however, is the wife of his good friend and confidante, Renato. Riccardo is warned by his friend that there is a plot to kill him at the ball. Paying no attention to the warning, Riccardo instead seeks out Ulrica, a woman accused of being a witch. In disguise he visits Ulrica to have his fortune read. She tells him he will be killed by the next man who shakes his hand. That next man turns out to be Renato. What follows is a story of intrigue, deception, questions of fidelity and, of course, the assassination.

Di Giacomo made both her company debut and role debut as Amelia in this production. Lisa Hirsch, in her review for the San Francisco Gate, said of her performance, “Di Giacomo has the ideal voice for this role, beautiful, fresh and easily produced, from glowing top to bottom. She lacks for nothing technically, singing with a gorgeous legato and noble, long-breathed phrasing, not to mention exquisite dynamic control, whether pleading for a last view of her child in Morrò, ma prima in grazia or contemplating the gallows at midnight in Ma dall’arido stelo divulsa.”

Marcus Strickland Trio – Smalls – November 7th – 5:00 PM EST/2:00 PM PST

This is the same trio about which I wrote when they played in September at Blue Note. The difference here is you don’t have to pay to see the performance, though donations are encouraged for both the artist and the venue.

Strickland was named “Best New Artist” in the 2006 JazzTimes Reader’s Poll.

In Critic’s Polls for DownBeat he was named the 2008 “Rising Star on Soprano Saxophone” and the 2010 “Rising Star on Tenor Saxophone.”

He’s been releasing albums since 2001’s At Last. His most recent recording was 2018’s People of the Sun. 

Joining Strickland again will be Ben Williams on bass and E.J. Strickland (his twin brother) on drums.

There is a second set at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST. Sponsorship seats are available for $40 per set.

Amor y Odio – Verdi Chorus – November 8th – November 22nd

Los Angeles-based Verdi Chorus has put together their first pandemic-era concert. It is called Amor y Odio and the concert will celebrate Songs of Spain and the New World.

A subset of the Verdi Chorus known as The Fox Singers make up the singers for the first of several virtual concerts they are producing. The singers for Amor y Odio are sopranos Tiffany Ho and Sarah Salazar; mezzo-soprano Judy Tran; tenors Joseph Gárate and Elias Berezin; and bass Esteban Rivas.

Anne Marie Ketchum, Artistic Director, leads the performance. Laraine Ann Madden is the accompanist.

The premiere of the concert will take place at 1:00 PM EST/10:00 AM PST on Sunday, November 8th. The concert will remain available through November 22nd.

Be sure to read our interview with Sarah Salazar who has quite a story of determination against the odds.

Johnny O’Neal and Mark Lewandowski – Mezzrow – November 8th – 5:00 PM EST/2:00 PM PST

Jazz pianist and vocalist Johnny O’Neal will be joined by bassist Mark Lewandowski for these performances from Mezzrow in New York.

Perhaps you caught the October 14th performance by Johnny O’Neal I wrote about. If not, you are in for a treat. That preview tells you a bit about O’Neal and his incredible story.

Lewandowski is a bassist and composer who, like most jazz musicians, works as a sideman in addition to his own work. He’s toured and recorded with such artists as Sheila Jordan, Wynton Marsalis, Zoe Rahman, Jean Toussaint, Bobby Wellins and with these shows, O’Neal.

There is a second set at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST. Sponsorship seats are available for $40 per set. Regular viewing is free, but donations are encouraged.

Modern Beauty Part 2 – Pittance Chamber Orchestra – November 8th – 6:00 PM EST/3:00 PM PST

In last week’s Best Bets, I included Pittance Chamber Orchestra’s three-part performance series entitled Modern Beauty. The series, featuring pianist Gloria Cheng, continues this week with clarinetist Donald Foster joining her.

The program features Garlands for Steven Stucky. Four works for solo piano will pay tribute to the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer who passed away in 2016. Cheng will perform Iscrizione by Esa-Pekka Salonen, Green Trees Are Bending by Stephen Andrew Taylor, Waltz by John Harbison and Interlude by Kay Rhie.

Foster will join her for a performance of Stucky’s Meditation and Dance.

There is no charge to watch the performance, but donations are encouraged. By the way, if you missed last week’s performance, you can still watch it on Pittance Chamber Orchestra’s website.

Jessie Mueller with Seth Rudetsky – November 8th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM EST

Tony Award-winner Jessie Mueller (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) is Seth Rudetsky’s guest for his concert series this weekend.

In addition to her role as King, Mueller has appeared on Broadway in the 2011 revival of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, the 2012 revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, she originated the role of “Jenna” in Waitress and appeared as “Julie Jordan” in the 20128 revival of Carousel.

Mueller was in previews in The Minutes, a play by Tracy Letts, when the pandemic hit.

If this live performance does not work for your schedule, there will be a re-streaming of the concert on November 9th at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST. Tickets for either date are $25. Uber fans who purchase a ticket for the live performance can also purchase (for an additional $25) a VIP Upgrade allowing access to the sound check taking place at 5:00 PM EST/2:00 PM PST.

Beth Lapides’ Uncabaret – November 8th – 10:30 PM EST/7:30 PM PST

If any week in recent memory has called for a thought-provoking but gentle way to end the weekend, this might just be that weekend. So I offer you Uncabaret. Joining for Zoom #16 of the long-running comedy show are Jamie Bridgers, Margaret Cho, Alex Edelman, Judy Gold, Alec Mapa, Apart Nancherla and Julia Sweeney. As usual, Mitch Kaplan is the music director.

If you are unfamiliar with Uncabaret, check out my interview with Beth Lapides as she started the second quarter century of the show in 2019.

Tickets range from free to $100 with perks along the way the more you are able to pay to see the show.

Those are my fifteen Best Bets at Home: November 6th – November 8th. However, you know that I’ll always give you some reminders just in case you want more. And what’s wrong with wanting a little more?

This weekend’s offerings from the Metropolitan Opera are La Forza del Destino by Verdi on Friday; Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette on Saturday and Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg on Sunday.

This is the penultimate weekend for Table Top Shakespeare: At Home. This weekend’s shows are Troilus and Cressida on Friday; As You Like It on Saturday and Othello on Sunday.

Atlantic Theater Company’s Fall Reunion Reading Series has performances remaining on Friday and Saturday of Rajiv Joseph’s Guards at the Taj.

That officially ends all my selections for you this weekend. I hope you will relax and enjoy these Best Bets at Home: November 6th – November 8th.

Photo: James Corden in One Man, Two Guvnors (Photo by Johan Persson/Courtesy PBS)

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There are nine episodes of Sound/Stage and the programming begins on Friday, September 25th. These performances will be available on the LA Phil’s website, so anyone, anywhere in the world, can watch. All performances were filmed with full social distancing guidelines.

Update: All episodes will remain available for one year from the original streaming date.

No matter how much we felt the distinct absence of not having Hollywood Bowl concerts to enliven our summers, the players of the Los Angeles Philharmonic certainly felt that even more profoundly. For these concerts the Bowl itself was empty, but at least it was filled with the sound of this wonderful music.

Programs will remain available as new episodes go online. There’s a diverse and exciting line-up. Here it is:

September 25th: Love in the Time of Covid

Performers: Los Angeles Philharmonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor; María Valverde, narrator; J’Nai Bridges, mezzo-soprano

Program: Peter Lieberson: Neruda Songs: “Amor mio, si muero y tú no mueras”; George Walker: Lyric for Strings and Gustav Mahler: Adagietto from Symphony No. 5

This episode will also include an interview with J’Nai Bridges and an exclusive performance from The Ford.

Note: Peter Lieberson wrote the five-song cycle Neruda Songs based on the poetry of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. The work was composed for his wife, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. She passed away in 2006 – only a year after the work was given its world premiere in a concert by the LA Phil conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Neruda Songs was a co-commission between the LA Phil and the Boston Symphony. The composer passed away in 2011.

October 2nd: Salón Los Ángeles

Performers: Los Angeles Philharomonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor; Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano

Program: Arturo Márquez: Danzón; George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue

This episode includes an interview with Arturo Márquez, a performance by Grandeza Mexican Folk Ballet Company, Mexican boleros and an online photo exhibit by Alicia Ruiz.

Note: Pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet is a regular performer with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He appears at both Walt Disney Concert and is a regular part of the Hollywood Bowl season. He had been scheduled to appear at the Bowl with the LA Phil on July 28th in a performance of Franz Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Last October I spoke with Thibaudet about his then 44-year relationship with Gershwin’s music. You can read that interview here.

October 9th: Power to the People!

Performers: Los Angeles Philharmonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor; Andra Day, vocalist

Program: Jessie Montgomery: Banner; William Grant Still: Sorrow from Symphony No. 1, “Afro-American”; Andra Day: Rise Up from her 2015 album Cheers to the Fall

This episode includes an interview with Jessie Montgomery, J’Nai Bridges performing Florence Price songs and a performance from the La Reina digital festival at The Ford.

Note: Power to the People! was planned as a major part of the spring programming at the LA Phil earlier this year. That festival was truncated by the pandemic.

William Grant Still was an American composer. His best known work is the symphony being performed in this episode. In 1936 he conducted his own works at the Hollywood Bowl. His opera, Troubled Island, was the first American opera performed at the Metropolitan Opera. Those performances also marked the first time an opera by an African-American composer was performed by a major company.

October 16th: Andra Day

Performer: Andra Day

Day is front and center in this program that features both performances and an interview with the Grammy Award-nominated singer/songwriter. Amongst the songs on this program are her hit Gold (also from Cheers to the Fall) and the classic Nina Simone song, Mississippi Goddamn.

Note: Andra Day is starring as legendary singer Billie Holiday in the upcoming film The United States vs. Billie Holiday. Directed by Lee Daniels (Precious, The Paperboy, Lee Daniels’ The Butler), the film is scheduled for release in early 2021.

October 23rd: Beethoven

Performers: Los Angeles Philharmonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor

Program: Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 7

Note: Beethoven’s 7th symphony had its world premiere in 1813 in Vienna. The work doesn’t require a very large orchestra (making it perfect for this series). It is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings. The first Los Angeles Philharmonic performance of this symphony was on April 1, 1921.

October 30th: Kamasi Washington: Becoming

Performer: Kamasi Washington

Program: Saxophonist Kamasi Washington performs music from the documentary Becoming and also appears in interviews

Note: On May 6th of this year Netflix began streaming Nadia Hallgren’s documentary Becoming. The film follows former first lady Michelle Obama on the book tour for her memoir of the same name.

The recording of Washington’s score features 15 tracks running approximately 30 minutes.

November 6th: Solitude

Performers: Los Angeles Philharmonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor

Program: Thomas Adés: Dawn (US Premiere); Duke Ellington: Solitude

This episode will also include a performance by Jean-Yves Thibaudet of Erik Satie’s Gymnopedie No. 1 plus an interview with jazz legend Herbie Hancock and more.

Note: Adés’s Dawn was given its world premiere by the London Symphony Orchestra with Simon Rattle conducting in August. The composer is quoted on Faber Music’s website as saying about the work, “In this piece the sunrise is imagined as a constant event that moves continuously around the world. This eternal dawn is presented as a ‘chacony’ – in the word that Purcell used some 330 years ago, a mile or two away.”

Faber Music also states that this seven-minute work was designed to be performed by varying sizes of orchestras positioned any desired way around the performance space. Making it perfect for 2020.

November 13th: Chicano Batman

Performers: Chicano Batman

Note: Los Angeles-based band Chicano Batman released their self-titled first album in 2010. They followed that up with 2014’s Cycle of Existential Rhyme, 2017’s Freedom Is Free and this year’s Invisible People. The members of the band are Eduardo Arenas, Carlos Arévalo, Bardo Martinez and Gabriel Villa.

Bardo Martinez, in an interview with Lanre Bakare of The Guardian, said of their music, “We’re trying to bring something that’s from our heritage. Everyone knows that black people have the funk and soul, but we’ve got that too. In the 70s in Latin America people were getting funky and getting down. We’re showing people that that exists.”

November 20th: Finales

Performers: Los Angeles Philahrmonic; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor

Program: Ludwig van Beethoven: Finale from Symphony No. 7; Gabriela Ortiz: Corpórea: “Ritual Mind – Corporeous Pulse”; Maurice Ravel: The Fairy Garden from Mother Goose

This episode will include an interview with Gabriela Ortiz, a conversation with filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñarritu (The Revenant; Birdman) and more.

Note: This is not the first time Gabriela Ortiz’s music has been paired by the Los Angeles Philharmonic with a work by Beethoven. In October 2019 the orchestra gave the world premiere of Yanga with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. I spoke with her about that work and sharing the stage with not just one of the most-beloved composers in the world, but with his masterpiece. You can read that interview here.

It goes without saying that nothing takes the place of us all being in the same place with the musicians hearing this music live. With Sound/Stage at least we get to see the musicians together in the same venue creating new performances for us to watch safely at home.

Photo by Natalie Suarez for the Los Angeles Philharmonic/Courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic

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