Debbie Harry (vcl). The Jazz Passengers: Roy Nathanson (alt/ten); Curtis Fowlkes (tmb); Bill Ware (vbs); E.J. Rodriguez (perc); Brad Jones (bs); Sam Bardfield (vln).
Northern Sinfonia conducted by Robert Ziegler.
(Photo courtesy of Mark Savage).
(Photo courtesy of Mark Savage).
The Jazz Passengers began this concert in fine form to a full house in Hall 1, playing an up tempo number with lively African influenced vibes, and a free jazz feel from these superbly talented musicians.
Unfortunately, that was the high point of the concert for me.
This was billed as a song cycle, and songs were about subjects such as Economic Malaise; Sad Story; and even one about losing your mind. Debbie Harry sounded to me more like a cabaret singer than someone doing jazz, apart from her first song, a standard - Imitation of a Kiss.
Roy Nathanson (pictured above - centre) introduced each item but I had difficulty making out some of what he said, and didn’t catch the off-beat comedy which was mentioned in the Sage programme. The solos played by The Passengers during the songs were very effective however, especially from trombone and sax.
The Northern Sinfonia, played well with a mostly ‘string’ sound, but I was wondering what they really had to do with the rest of the performance, as it seemed that too many disparate elements had been forced together for this event. I’d have preferred to see the three elements separately; Debbie Harry doing pop, which she does well; the Jazz Passengers doing esoteric jazz; and the Orchestra keeping away from esoteric jazz musicians and playing accompaniment for jazz standards. It’s the same problem that symphony orchestras have with folk music; it seems to me that the two just don’t mix.
The concert was well received and Debbie Harry got an encore, so maybe I’ve missed something. I’d love to hear from someone who enjoyed this concert posting their views.
Ann Alex.
The Northern Sinfonia, played well with a mostly ‘string’ sound, but I was wondering what they really had to do with the rest of the performance, as it seemed that too many disparate elements had been forced together for this event. I’d have preferred to see the three elements separately; Debbie Harry doing pop, which she does well; the Jazz Passengers doing esoteric jazz; and the Orchestra keeping away from esoteric jazz musicians and playing accompaniment for jazz standards. It’s the same problem that symphony orchestras have with folk music; it seems to me that the two just don’t mix.
The concert was well received and Debbie Harry got an encore, so maybe I’ve missed something. I’d love to hear from someone who enjoyed this concert posting their views.
Ann Alex.
3 comments :
I tend to agree with you Ann. The Passengers were anything but passengers and played some blistering solos. The Sinfonia were superfluous in this setting which is no disresepect to them
One of those good all curate's eggs I guess but, for me, Debbie needed nothing more than the Passengers and a few happier songs!
I've talked to several people about this concert and their reactions ranged from 'fantastic' to 'awful'. My own opinion is 'interesting'. I'm glad I was there but I don't particularly want to go again. (This is also my opinion of the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra who closed the jazz festival on 27 March.)
The big question for me is why do some jazz musicians feel the urge to work with classical orchestras. It's as though these creative musicians suddenly reach a musical menopause and think they have to do something a bit mad. The result is always disappointing.
From Charlie Parker to Jan Garburek I've never heard a really successful jazz/classical collaboration.
I like the Northern Sinfonia, Jazz Passengers and Debbie Harry individually but for me the combination added up to less than the sum of all the parts.
I remember when Joni Mitchell published "Mingus" before and "Shadows and Lights" then, with a jazz band that accompanied her in a kind of music that critics could not classify....and this is the problem, which I understand, a critic must contextualize and describe the "product" but if this product has unique features you can not comment for lack of benchmarks.
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