Megabytes

Tonight, Wynton Marsalis and his pals from Lincoln Center played Portland’s Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Two sets and one encore.
Appointment in Ghana by Jackie McLean: solos on trumpet, piano, and tenor sax.
Movement #11: in 3. sounds of Spain. Melody passed from baritone to alto to soprano in the sax section. a beautiful piece.
Down By The Riverside, Oliver Nelson arrangement: The rhythm section shines and keeps time going in this piece with its funked-up melody. The first of many solos that can only be described as way out - Elliot Mason on trombone, followed by Ryan Kisor and Marcus Printup trading phrases on trumpet.
House of Jade by Wayne Shorter: beautiful melody, quite peaceful after the Nelson arrangement.
Portraits in Seven Shades, Dali by Ted Nash: written for a combined event with J@LC and MOMA. Marsalis explained that this piece “is in 13/8 or something like that… it’s impossible to count; you just have to feel it.” Anita declared, “It feels like a birth!” Came time for the drum solo, all the horn players clapped hands and stomped their feet in a complex rhythmic pattern, enabling Ali Jackson, drummer, to stretch and shrink the time.

~ intermission ~
The Holy Ghost from a Mass written for Abyssinian Church’s 250th celebration: Ted Nash on alto and Marcus Printup on trumpet shared an improvised solo where one was mimicking the other. It was done so successfully, I couldn’t really tell who was leading!
Continuous by Wynton Marsalis: “The melody doesn’t really end… why it’s called Continuous…” A bossa nova 5 minutes and 37 seconds in length. Marsalis dryly reports that it is best use a prime number like 37 when, for example, saying how late you will be. Not 20 minutes, but 17. He continued in this vein for a bit, prompting a few of the band members to say that his speaking was continuous. Moments like this, you can see how much affection members have for one another and how much fun they are having.
Braggin’ in Brass by Duke Ellington: recorded in 1939 by Ellington’s band and never played again. Never can tell when Marsalis is joshing you. Nonetheless, all this to say the trombone part is quite difficult. A repetitive sixteenth note melodic line that is passed between the three trombonists, each having about 2 sixteenths at a time. They executed it flawlessly! very impressive. iTunes Music Store has this song and I just bought my copy!Hymn of the Orient: 32-bar song form? not sure. the solos all started slowly, peaceful, building gradually into a frenzy. Solos by Victor Goines, tenor, and Sean Jones, trumpet.
Single Petal of the Rose by Duke Ellington: bass clarinet and piano duet. Bass clarinetist, Joe Temperley, is a former member of the Ellington band and most senior member of the J@LC Orchestra. A gentleman hired these two players to come and play this one song at his wedding in Paris. Lovely, warm clarinet tone with a healthy vibrato. Anita described it as “hopeful, tender, and realistic. perfect for a wedding.”
C Jam Blues with guest musicians: three locals, two trumpetists and one trombonist. Carlos Henriquez on bass had a swinging solo.
Encore: Cape Verdean Blues by Horace Silver: with a light drum intro, this latin blues piece began. The 2 alto players picked up piccolos for this song and began trading 4s and then 2s in a multi-chorused solo. Also solos from Vincent Gardner on trombone, one of the turmpetists, and Dan Nimmer on piano. Dan’s fingers were moving so fast, they were blurry from my 10th-row seat.

Wow! I am inspired by the virtuoso musicianship, the tight sections, the sexy drive of the solos, the choice of material, the depth of talent in the orchestra. Thanks, Wynton and friends, for a memorable evening.

In addition to the Pride Celebrations going on at Waterfront Park yesterday, many of the local gay bars held block parties. One such event on SW Stark St was sponsored by Scandals with the $3 entry fee going to a local queer organization. Rose City Swing put together a jazz sextet for Scandal’s stage. It was hot. So were we!

You can hear our exciting performance at 5pm and attend the Red Dress Party at 9pm. We intentionally set our event earlier to avoid conflicting with Red Dress. We feel our audience members are likely to want to support both efforts.

Portland Gay Symphonic Band will delight you with music by Tchaikovsky, Whitacre, Ticheli, and Saint Saëns. Tickets ($12 adults, $8 seniors and students) are available online until 1pm, Saturday, April 12, 2008. Tickets at the door are $15 adults, $10 seniors and students.

I am performing on alto sax with the Portland Gay Symphonic Band in our upcoming concert, April 12. You can get tickets from me at my studio. Or the link below will take you to our website where you can order tickets online.

Saturday, April 12, 2008 5PM
Shades of Blue
Portland Gay Symphonic Band in Concert
Reed College, Kaul Auditorium

The word blue is used in the English language to refer to a color, emotion, style of music and even political affiliation. While the connection to ‘blues’ with music is obvious, the imagination often lends itself to seeing certain colors while listening to music. Shades of Blue will attempt to interpret the many ways that blue is involved in the human experience. Including music by Tchaikovsky, Whitacre, Ticheli, and Saint Saëns; Please join the Portland Gay Symphonic Band as we explore the many Shades of Blue.

Joe Accuardi, Artistic Director

Program:

• Danse Diablolique -Joseph Helmesberger/arr. Takahashi
• Amazing Grace -Frank Ticheli
• Blue Shades -Frank Ticheli
• Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Finale - Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky/arr. Safranek/Van Ragsdale

Intermission

• October -Eric Whitacre
• Washington Grays -Claudio Graffula
• La Reine de la Mer - John Philip Sousa
• Danse Bacchanale -Camille Saint Saëns/arr. Singleton

One of the songs performed in November’s recital was Finlandia, a song composed by Jean Sibelius in homage to his native Finland. It was 1899, the dawn of the twentieth century. Sibelius wrote music for a series of tableaux illustrating episodes in Finland’s past. The patriotic finale, “Finland Awakes” soon came to be in demand as a separate concert piece and Sibelius revised it in 1900, giving it the title “Finlandia”. Listen to the hymn-like section performed by Jubilate
Jubilate sings these lyrics, written in 1939 by Finnish poet V.A. Koskenniemi:

Finland, behold, thy daylight now is dawning,
the threat of night has now been driven away.
The skylark calls across the light of morning,
the blue of heaven lets it have its way,
and now the day the powers of night is scorning:
thy daylight dawns, O Finland of ours!

Finland, arise, and raise towards the highest
thy head now crowned with mighty memory.
Finland, arise, for to the world thou criest
that thou hast thrown off thy slavery,
beneath oppression´s yoke thou never liest.
Thy morning´s come, O Finland of ours!

Other lyrics have been composed for this exquisite chorale section. From a student’s family, I received these lyrics as published in Rise Up Singing:

This is my song, O God of all the nations
A song of peace, for lands afar and mine
This is my home, the country where my heart is
Here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine
But other hearts in other lands are beating
With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine

My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean
And sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine
But other lands have sunlight too, and clover
And skies are everywhere as blue as mine
O hear my song, thou God of all the nations
A song of peace for their land and for mine

These lyrics appear to be by Lloyd Stone, according to Rise Up Singing. The original lyrics are good, but these ‘Song of Peace’ lyrics take this passionate music to a new level. Instead of a national anthem, we could have a global anthem for peace.
Sing on, friends, “a song of peace for their land and mine.”