Tanglewood concert reviews

Tanglewood Jazz features Jay McShann, Duke Robillard, Modern Jazz Quartet tribute by Donal Fox

August 31, 2003 performances reviewed by Dave Conlin Read

Donal Fox and Stefon Harris perform at 2003 Tanglewood Jazz Festival. Photo: Dave Conlin Read.

The Sunday portion of the 2003 Tanglewood Jazz Festival had enough variety, both in quality and quantity, to make up a nice little festival by itself. It began at 1 p.m. in the Tanglewood Theatre, the very funky, rusty venue where the B.S.O. stages opera, with a program dubbed, “Remembering the Modern Jazz Quartet: Donal Fox, Inventions in Blue”. The Modern Jazz Quartet was formed in 1952, just a few hundred yards down the road from Tanglewood at the Music Inn, whose beloved co-founder, Stephanie Barber, passed away five days ago.

The Modern Jazz Quartet was originally formed as the Milt Jackson Quartet and consisted of Jackson on vibraphone, John Lewis on piano, Percy Heath on bass, and Kenny Clarke on drums. Lewis would emerge as the leader of the MJQ and also become the dean of the Lenox School of Jazz, the first academy for jazz studies, which operated only from 1957 – 60, but whose pioneering work is carried on now on campuses all around the world.

Pianist and composer Fox was accompanied by Stefon Harris on vibes, Yoron Israel on drums, and John Lockwood on bass for an elegant, energized, and engaging 90 minutes comprised of the works of just three men; himself, John Lewis, and, as Fox called him, “the original blues man, J. S. Bach.”

Now the programmer doffed his mortarboard in favor of a porkpie hat, as next on the schedule was an afternoon “Celebrating the Year of the Blues!” in Ozawa Hall.

Jay McShann and Lousiana Red at 2003 Tanglewood Jazz Festival

Leading off the five-act marathon was Lousiana Red, the 67 year old true blues original from Alabama who has lived in Germany since 1981, and been touring in the U.S. since his first “comeback tour” in 1997. Winner of the 1983 W. C. Handy Award as Traditional Male Artist of the Year, his CD “A Different Shade of Red – The Woodstock Sessions” was recorded last year at the Woodstock studio of drummer Levon Helm and features both Helm, on drums and harp, and his Band-mate Garth Hudson, on organ and sax.

He kicked off his brief but rollicking set with “Red’s Dream,” wherein he’s beckoned by President Kennedy to help out during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Red’s response is, “Mr. Kennedy, you run the country, I’ll run the Senate,” and proceeds with the list of great blusemen he would replace the rascals with!

Next up was rising R&B singer Nicole Nelson with her band, winners of the 17th annual Battle of the Boston Blues Bands in 2001 by the widest margin ever. Her infectious set delighted the audience; she’s got the whole package and seems destined for a long successful career.

Jay McShann and Duke Robillard at 2003 Tanglewood Jazz Festival

Jay McShann and Duke Robillard performing at 2003 Tanglewood Jazz Festival

Following her were a pair whose careers add up to more than a century: Duke Robillard, who’s been on top since launching Roomful of Blues in 1967, and Jay McShann (January 12, 1916 – December 7, 2006), who turned pro in 1931 and whose Kansas City-based orchestra in 1941 introduced Charlie Parker to the world.

It didn’t take long for the audience to see why Robillard has gotten 3 of the last 4 W. C. Handy Guitarist of the Year Awards; he’s master of all the tools in the axeman’s bag, sings good, and has put together a hellacious band, to boot. After about twenty minutes, Robillard was joined on stage by the legendary McShann, who played and sang the blues with an ardor and skill unbelievable for an 87 year old man.

Regrettably, we had to leave before Kendrick Oliver and the New Life Jazz Orchestra came on around 6, in order to take care of some errands before returning for the Festival’s finale at 8.

Herbie Hancock The Imagine Project at Tanglewood

August 9, 2010 performance report by Dave Read.

Herbie Hancock brought his The Imagine Project tour to Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood, and just about blew the roof off the joint. Mr. Hancock, more youthful and fit than any 70 year old man should expect to be, was accompanied by Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, James Genus on bass, Lionel Loueke on guitar, Greg Phillinganes on keyboards (and vocals), Kristina Train, vocals (and violin). They played one immense set that opened with Actual Proof (1974 “Thrust”) and closed with Chameleon (1973 “Head Hunters”), which we caught on video, while the usually staid Tanglewood audience got busy!

The day before this gig, while Mr. Hancock and the Imagine Project were headlining the Newport Jazz Festival, Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble were putting on a festival of their own in Tanglewood’s Koussevitsky Music Shed. That’s notable because the former has a mission to “utilize(s) the universal language of music to express its central themes of peace and global responsibility” and the latter seeks to “connect the world’s neighborhoods by bringing together artists and audiences around the globe.”

Yo Yo Ma tops Tanglewood program

Report of August 1, 2010 perfromance by Dave Conlin Read.

The composition of a Tanglewood program itself sometimes enhances the enjoyment of the various compositions that comprise a program; a transcending element to go along with the enjoyment of the program as performed by the musicians. On paper, this program at Tanglewood was sure to attact a large audience because of the presence on the bill of cellist Yo Yo Ma and the inclusion of the broadly popular Pictures At An Exhibition (the Maurice Ravel orchestration of Mussogorsky’s composition), under the direction of conductor Charles Dutoit, who has been a frequest guest here and in Boston for nearly 30 years.

And, with the cooperation of the iffy Berkshires weather, the Koussevitsky Music Shed was full and a few thousand more patrons and picnicers populated the lawn. But it was the opening item on the program that we found most remarkable; Jean Sibelius’ “Karelia” Suite, Opus 11, which had never been performed at Tanglewood, and only once by the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Not only would we like to hear it again here, but we wonder why it hasn’t made it onto the regular rotation (if there is such?); it felt like a paean to this place – particularly the immediate Tanglewood environs as well as the greater Berkshires.

Which comports with the composition’s origin as a commission on the history of Karelia, the densely wooded region in northern Europe. Besides a delightful variety of sounds from the percussion section, the piece has an overall deeply sonorous feel. Gazing outside the Shed, the surrounding trees seemed to be as attentive to the music as the paying audience was.

When Yo Yo Ma settles onto the soloists chair near the podium, as he did to perform the Cello Concerto in E Minor, Opus 85, by Edward Elgar, holding cello and bow, it’s as if a new entity comes into being. Well, a pedestrain witness does himself no favor trying to describe artistry at this level. Berkshires resident Ma, who by all accounts is a friendly and humble gentleman, makes music at a level that could inspire composers, as a profound event or dazzling landscape would.

On the other hand, having such a popular soloist, or widely familiar piece on the program, always attracts patrons who are unfamiliar with symphony audience protocal; they’re like new parents who applaud every movement.

2010 A Prairie Home Companion at Tanglewood

As completely satisfying as the weekly 2 hour broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion is, it can seem like a souvenir when compared to a live broadcast, such as we’ve witnessed at Tanglewood the first Saturday of summer since 2000. The radio audience gets 120 minutes of humor and music; those in attendance get all that, plus the chance that the strolling serenading Keillor will help himself to their picnic goodies before airtime, and the opportunity to sing along with him, the show’s musical guests, and the Guy’s All Star Show Band for another hour afterwards.

Garrison Keillor and Andrea Suchy sing America the Beautiful, 2010 Tanglewood encore

With BSO opening night two weeks away, the show was without the usual participation of BSO/TMC musicians. Rather, it featured 3 musical guests, all drawn from the distaff side: Andrea Suchy, Hilary Thavis, and The Wailin’ Jennys. Expanding upon that gynocentric theme were the Lives of the Cowboys skit and the introduction of Erica Rhodes as Keillor’s replacement as the show’s host (once certain issues are resolved, that is).

The localised scripts were funny; especially Guy Noir on the case of the imaginary grandson of Edith and Teddy Wharton showing up to claim the Mount and convert it into a dirt bike race track. Scripts and podcast of the show are available at PrairieHome.org.

Update: Your intrepid reporter is seen on the Prairie Home Youtube clip (above) capturing Flip video of the encore:

Carole King and James Taylor Troubador 2010 Reunion Tour at Tanglewood

July 3-5, 2010 performances – by Dave Read.

One week before resuming its annual function as the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Tanglewood became summer camp for the 60s generation when the Carole King and James Taylor Troubadour Reunion 2010 Tour parked there for 3 shows, July 3, 4, & 5. The weather was perfect for each sold-out audience of 18,500, packed into the Shed and sprawled accross the vast Lawn. By the time the tour pulled into Lenox, it had already rolled cross-country from Oregon, after a dozen shows in Australia, New Zealand and Japan; from the Berkshires, it goes back west toward a final show July 20 in California.

James Taylor hearts Carole King!

King and Taylor, 68 and 62, just couldn’t look or sound or perform any better than they did during these shows, which were artful compilations of each other’s body of work, accompanied by “The Section,” Danny Kortchmar, Leland Sklar, and Russ Kunkel, plus Robbie Kondor, Arnold McCuller, Kate Markowitz, Andrea Zonn, and Kim Taylor. Cellist Yo Yo Ma, a Berkshire resident, was a surprise guest for 2 songs July 5, Sweet Baby James and You’ve Got A Friend.

Juke boxes were the original killer app for the 60s generation; in a kind of Aquarian alchemy, Tanglewood was transformed during these shows into a dazzling, dynamic Wurlitzer. All told, the Tanglewood leg of the tour amounted to about 6 dozen numbers and roughly 8 hours, nary a moment of which was anything but “totally freakin awesome,” according to our audience poll.

James Taylor and Carole King concert Tanglewood scenes

Article by Dave Read.

For the July 4, 2010 performance of the James Taylor and Carole King Troubador Reunion 2010 World Tour, we meandered among the audience on the lawn and alongside the Shed for this video and these photos. This was the middle of three consecutive days when audiences of 18,500 packed into the Koussevitsky Music Shed and sprawled accross the vast Tanglewood Lawn.

Tanglewood concert reviews

Tanglewood Jazz features Jay McShann, Duke Robillard, Modern Jazz Quartet tribute by Donal Fox

Jay McShann and Duke Robillard at 2003 Tanglewood Jazz Festival

Garrison Keillor and Andrea Suchy sing America the Beautiful, 2010 Tanglewood encore

James Taylor hearts Carole King!

James Taylor and Carole King concert Tanglewood

video and photos of James Taylor and Carole King at Tanglewood