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Classical Music
Janelle Gelfand on the classical music scene


Janelle's pen has taken her to Japan, China, Carnegie Hall, Europe (twice), East and West Coasts, and Florida. In fact, Janelle was the first Enquirer reporter to report from Europe via e-mail -- in 1995.

Janelle began writing for the Cincinnati Enquirer as a stringer in 1991 while writing a Ph.D. dissertation in musicology at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She joined the Enquirer staff in 1993.

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she graduated from Stanford University, Janelle has lived in Cincinnati for more than 30 years. In her free time, this pianist plays chamber music with her circle of musical friends in Cincinnati.

She covers the Cincinnati Symphony, May Festival and Cincinnati Opera, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, chamber music ensembles, and as many recitals and events at CCM and NKU as possible.

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Monday, February 27, 2006

Jazz appreciation


My mailbox is overflowing with responses to the jazz story that ran on Sunday. First, this one from Dr. Walt Broadnax, who promotes the "Jazz at the Hyatt" series:

"I know it is a great "spin" to say Jazz is dying, and that there are two jazz crowds; Black and White. As you know, I have been doing New York style Jazz, open to the best musicians regardless of race, first at Parktown/Coconut Grove, now at the Hyatt, for the last two years.

"Being intimately involved in the Jazz scene, I believe there is hope for Cincinnati. David "Fathead" Newman and Larry Coryell each drew 250 people. Local artists such as William Menefield (shown above with the Bobby Scott Trio at Simone's -- Bobby Scott on drums and Jim Anderson on bass), Mike Wade, and Randy Villars routinely draw 100.
We do not restrict who can play at our venue like the Blue Wisp. We are not a restaurant like Simones, where the Musicians can't fully play because of disturbing the "patrons". Our only criteria is that you can PLAY improvisational music; and you never "phone it in on my stage".

"All jazz fans, Black, White, Asian, etc. appreciate quality. Anyone who tries "Jazz at the Hyatt" returns for the music. Bottom Line. William Menefield is playing March 3rd. Come check us out. Help the Cincinnati Jazz community. Spread the word about what we are doing. www.jazzincincy.com."

This from Derek Canady:

"I appreciated and enjoyed your story about Cincinnati' s jazz legacy. I am
a young person that does not listen to hip-hop, and am familiar with the
music of George Russell."

Wardell Harper writes:

"Janelle, I enjoyed your story, Cotton Club led city jazz spots. I worked for Mr. Babe Baker for 30 years. I managed several clubs and also I was a very close friend to him and his wife. He passed away October 13, 2005. Mrs. Baker passed December 1997.

"Mr. Baker was the cornerstone for jazz in Cincinnati, I have several pictures of him with some of the big names and great musicians that preformed at the Log Cabin. Mr. Baker has never got the accolades that he deserved, before he died he told me he didn't want a funeral or a memorial service, he just wanted to be cremated and put in Mrs. Baker's crypt.

"I wish you would do a article on him so people will know all the other things he did for the West End and his community and his employees."

This from Jessica Perkins:

"I wish to first thank you for such a great article. I am the daughter-in-law of the former Christopher Perkins. I don't have that picture of him and I was wondering if I could get a copy of the photograph that was featured in your article? Christopher was known as the "Grandfather of the Cotton Club Musician." I have been working on the history of Christopher and his father, Constant Perkins, whom W.C. Handy AKA "The Father of the Blues" credited for his wider music experience in his book."

Marc Fields, CCM prof and jazz trombonist, writes:

"I am the jazz trombonist and only black faculty member ay the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music that you mentioned in your article "A Faded Jazz Scene". Jazz music is one of the loves of my life, and I want to thank you for writing the article. Jazz music needs to be presented to the public in a way that is is both interesting and thought provoking, and I think you have done that with your article. The subject of Cincinnati based jazz, both historically and in it's present form, especially from an African American perspective, is one that I find very interesting. I hope that you continue your research."

Dene A. Shiels says:

"I enjoyed your article on the Jazz history of the area. However you
neglected to mention one of the biggest proponents of jazz in our city, Helen Moor.

"Helen owned Mo-Pro records who for years put out recordings of both
local and national solo artists and groups (Blue Wisp Big Band) to try
to broaden the influence of the local scene. Helen and her husband Fred were ahead of their time ,and sadly Helen is no longer with us, but you can't mention the jazz scene in Cincy without recognizing Helen's accomplishment and dedication."


Friday, February 24, 2006

All the jazz that fits



When I first came to the Cincinnati Enquirer, then-art critic Owen Findsen said, "Welcome. We print all the news that fits."

In Sunday's jazz story, there are several great stories that didn't fit, so I'm putting some of the here.

From jazz legend George Russell, 82, who e-mailed from Boston:

I grew up in Kerper Ave. in the Walnut Hills area of town. My next door neighbor was the arranger and saxophonist, Jimmy Mundy.

I remember hearing bands like Fate Marable as they came through on the Mississippi making their way from New Orleans. Another neighbor played the saxophone and when I heard him, I decided I wanted to be a musician. A friend in the neighborhood, Spaulding Givens, turned me on to classical music, as well as jazz. Spaulding changed his name to Nadi Qamar and later became musical director for Nina Simone; he's in his ninth decade, and still playing.

In the 1930's and 40's in Cincinnati, live music could be heard in a number of clubs. The only one I can remember (and the main club) was the Cotton Club at Sixth and Mound. Duke Ellington, Basie, many others played there frequently. In fact, because most of the hotels would not admit blacks, it was customary for musician to stay as boarders with families; one time my mother took in several of Duke's musicians with whom I later stayed when I made my way to New York.

The audiences at places like the Cotton Club were very sophisticated musically, and wanted to be challenged, not just entertained. There were frequent battles of the bands.

There was a chili parlor called Bajo's on the corner of Gilbert and Lincoln which had the best jukebox in town; Count Basie, Duke, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins--all the greats. Most of us upcoming musicians could sing the solos perfectly, and could argue for hours about which tenor player's style was the best.

I was given a scholarship to Wilberforce University High School, and ended up playing drums in the Wilberforce Collegians, a band which had alumni such as Ben Webster, Frank Foster, Ernie Wilkins, and Coleman Hawkins. Benny Carter came through town with his orchestra, and needed a drummer, so he hired me. I did some work with him, but he fired me in Chicago, explaining that he had found a better drummer--Max Roach. He was right, and I decided composition was where my future lay. I went to New York and never looked back.

I can't remember discrimination in Cincinnati because of being an African-American musician, but I can remember the extreme prejudice towards people of color which existed there in general."

Arzell Nelson told me that enor saxophonist Earl Early was one of his role models.

"Most guys were introduced to jazz by Early. We would carry albums around like it was a briefcase and go to each other’s houses to have listening sessions," Nelson says.

And here's a wonderful story from Art Gore, sitting in above with the Phil DeGreg Trio at the Blue Wisp:

Gore, nephew of local legends Edison Gore, a drummer, and tenor saxophonist Rufus Gore, studied with Russell at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. In the ’70s, Gore toured and recorded with superstar jazz guitarist George Benson. He returned to Cincinnati in the mid-80s and remains an active performer in local clubs.

"George Benson was playing Music Hall. So I hired (organist) Dr. Lonny Smith to come and play with me that weekend, knowing that since we had all played together, that’s where he was going to be at," Gore recalls.

They advertised in the papers that "somebody might be "breezin’" through the Greenwich that night" – referring to Benson’s hit record, "Breezin.’"

"Everybody caught on to that. People were like outside and around the corner. You couldn’t get in. The music George played that night was a whole lot more than he did at his concert. People still talk about it."

Got a great jazz memory? Send it to me at jgelfand@enquirer or post it below!


Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Are string quartets endangered?

Reaction to today's story about the Azmari Quartet, artists-in-residence at Northern Kentucky University, whose jobs have been eliminated, combine shock and dismay. Kurt Sassmannshaus, who heads strings at UC's College-Conservatory of Music said, "Any time chamber music and strings are cut, it's bad." What's your opinion? Are quartets on college campuses endangered?


Friday, February 10, 2006

Frampton's Pops gig

To answer the question about Frampton's appearance with the Cincinnati Pops, it's June 24. Click here for yesterday's story.

And here's the rest of the season.

Cheers!


Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Peter Frampton live from Indian Hill



Guitar icon Peter Frampton, 55, spoke from his Indian Hill home this week about his latest project with the Cincinnati Pops and local composer/conductor Steve Reineke.

Question: Why at this point in your career is it time to do something symphonic, and how did the project come about?

Answer: It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do. When I was involved with an "Evening Out on the Town" with Paavo (Järvi, Cincinnati Symphony music director) and myself – readers won an evening with us – I got to spend some time with him, and he asked me at that time if I would ever think about doing a complete guitar piece with orchestra. I haven’t gotten around to doing that yet. But this is sort of like a stepping-stone to that, the way I see it, in as much as we’ll be able to do my show, augmented by the orchestra. Paavo sort of inspired me to get this going.

Q: Are you a classically trained guitarist?

A: I did study about four years of classical guitar, because when my parents realized all hope was lost, when I was about 12, they said it looks like this is getting very serious! We think you ought to -- you will go to Spanish guitar lessons! So I did.

Q: Has anyone else inspired you for this new piece that you’re writing, such as other rockers, like Paul McCartney, who have done similar things?

A: I obviously think about them, but I’m trying not to do anything like anybody else has done. So as far as style and stuff like that, you know, Steve Reineke and myself are going to be writing a piece for the orchestra, on top of my own songs for the act. So I’m very much looking forward to doing that in May, and having it ready for the show in June.

Q: What are you recording right now?

A: It’s all sort of intermingled, because this is the first totally instrumental, no vocals at all, CD I’ve ever done. Being as I started off as a guitar player, and basically just wanted to be the guy playing behind the singer – things change, but (laughs) I still enjoy that position, going out with David Bowie, playing with Ringo and the All-Starrs. So I enjoy being just the guitar player in the band. And that’s because that’s my main love, playing guitar.

Don’t get me wrong, I love singing, I love writing, but I’ll always play guitar – for me.

Q: So this is a purely instrumental album?

A: Yes, it’s going to be on A&M Records. I’m back for the first time since about ‘82 or ‘83. I’ve been with other labels since A&M.

Q: Is your album, "Frampton Comes Alive!" still the all-time best-selling live album?

A: Yes, it is. There are certain people that will say that Garth Brooks has sold more. But that’s because he released a 2, 3 or 4-CD package, and they counted them 2, 3 or 4 times. We only counted ours once. So 17 million – but if you want to be technical about it, we sold (34 million).

I still maintain that we are the biggest. We’re trying to get it reclassified as two.

Q: Is the album all new material?

A: Yes it is. There’s one cover, of (Seattle band) Soundgarden’s "Black Hole Sun." ("Black Hole Sun" was on Soundgarden’s 1994 album "Superunknown.")

Q: How long have you been performing?

A: Professionally since I was 16.

Q: That’s quite a legacy.

A: Yes, I mean, I was semi-pro before that. I actually began playing onstage when I was 8.

Q: Why would you want to appear with a symphony orchestra?

A: It’s every musician’s dream to stand up there in front of an orchestra one day. There’s nothing more awe-inspiring.

I have played with an orchestra – with the British Rock Symphony, which was put on in Europe and in Australia and New Zealand, which was all different people, and myself, Alice Cooper – and we went all over the place with an orchestra. But this wasn’t an orchestra that plays together all the time – these were people just put together to make this orchestra.

So it was sort of like a tease. It was very good, but I knew it wasn’t the real thing. It wasn’t like the Cincinnati Symphony or the Boston Symphony – two of the greatest orchestras in the world.

Q: Could this orchestra show lead to a symphonic DVD?

A: That’s what we’re hoping for. Also, this is just the first show with the symphony. Steve Reineke is going to come with me and in the fall, we’re looking at doing 12 to 15 symphonies around the country. And we’ll do the same show.

Q: So you’re taking it on the road?

A: Taking it on the road with Steve and different symphonies. It’s amazing.

Q: Do you think this where the orchestra industry is headed?

A: I think that’s because the baby boomers want to be comfortable when they get entertained these days, they want to go to amphitheatres and they want to go to theaters. They want a nice comfy seat!

Q: This is an interesting career direction for you. Do you hope to continue in the symphony orchestra vein?

A: Well it’s just another thing that I can do. Maybe every other year I do some symphony dates. It just adds another wonderful outlet for the music.

Q: Do you have plans with Paavo and the Cincinnati Symphony next?

A: Well, not yet, but he said, you should write a 25-minute piece (he imitates the Estonian accent) and you come, we work together and we will play this together. I says, you’re kidding me! And it scared me to death! But I am definitely going to rise to the occasion. I just can’t say when that will be.

Q: So the idea really originated with Paavo?

A: I had been thinking about it before that, because James Taylor and other people had done some nice things with orchestras. I had seen some of them, and I thought they were wonderful. Then when I actually touched the flesh of the great maestro – it was very interesting to talk with him, put it that way. Hey music – it’s all about learning, every day. And I’m never close-minded to anything so, it was just another avenue to go down.

I’m not saying I’m going to write a piece of classical music, or ever will concentrate on just that, but it just gives me something else to work towards. If there’s no challenges left, then there’s no creativity. You can’t keep doing the same thing over and over again, obviously. Otherwise you get bored, and then it becomes bland. So this is just something to be blunt, kick up your (behind) – musically, for me.

Q: They’ll have to find a new Grammy category.

A: There you go.


Sunday, February 05, 2006

A woman on the podium

Because my Saturday night review won't make the paper until Monday, here it is. The concert repeats at 3 p.m. today in Music Hall, with $5 seats for kids. You'll be home in plenty of time for the Super Bowl kick-off:

Although it’s not unusual to see a woman on the conducting podium, it’s still an all too rare occurrence at most major symphony orchestras. On Saturday, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra welcomed guest maestro Keri-Lynn Wilson, a 38-year-old Winnipeg native and former associate conductor of the Dallas Symphony, in her Music Hall debut.

Wilson’s engaging program began with the orchestra’s first performance of music by gifted American composer Michael Hersch and ended with an enjoyable reading of Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5, "Reformation." The evening’s most impressive music making, though, occurred in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, with the Irish pianist Barry Douglas.

Douglas, who won the gold medal at the 1986 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition, is known for his brilliant performances of large-scale romantic music. So it was interesting to see how he would approach Beethoven’s First Concerto, in a classical vein patterned after Mozart.

His view was decidedly romantic, with a smoldering passion just under the surface. He wasn’t at all flamboyant, though sometimes he leaned back, eyes closed, to strike the right tone. Douglas’s runs were spectacular. He projected a gorgeous singing tone and plenty of intensity when needed.

No two phrases were shaped the same way. The pianist used rubato tastefully, pushing ahead and pulling back, and tossed off treacherous one-handed octave glissandos and chromatic passages without flinching.

It was a refreshing display of individuality. He took the slow movement into another world – poetic, serene and sonorous, where a beautiful dialogue unfolded with the winds. The finale was exuberant and full of color, and the crowd gave it an enthusiastic reception.

Wilson’s view, though, didn’t match the pianist’s fire, and they weren’t together at first. The orchestra’s exposition and tutti passages were light and clean, but without weight. Nevertheless, you heard the pianist’s every note.

The concert opened with Hersch’s "Ashes of Memory" (second movement), premiered by the Pittsburgh Symphony in 2000. It began with an arresting, dark drone in low strings, punctuated by harp, piano and percussion. It was a deeply emotional piece, with faintly dissonant wind themes reminiscent of Shostakovich and tumultuous brass buildups.

Wilson was a confident, clear leader in this dynamic piece, as well as Mendelssohn’s "Reformation" Symphony, which concluded the evening. Statuesque and long-limbed, she was an elegant presence, whose blonde ponytail whipped around in the frenzied moments.

Conducting without a score, she set a warmly affirmative tone in Mendelssohn’s Fifth Symphony, which uses the religious motive, the "Dresden Amen," pervasively, and ends with a movement based on Martin Luther’s "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God."

The musicians responded with inspired playing, from the stunning precision and warmth of the opening brass chorale to the superb sonority of the strings. The first movement allegro had momentum and intensity; the scherzo was buoyant and gentle, and the slow movement glowed.

Wilson’s ear for balance was extraordinary; the finale, with its great, organ-like textures had an unusual lightness and transparency, and the hymn rang out majestically. She’s definitely a talent to watch.



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