Interlude

Despite my obsessions with current events, history and the rest, I sometimes need a respite. I spent most of yesterday listening to music. It was an idle I too rarely gift myself.

There was a spectrum of genres to be savored. There were artists to be brought back to mind. There were moods to be indulged. There was a soul to be pampered.

The time was well-spent. The music begged to be shared. How could I not? I could list enough to keep you listening for hours on end.

Not all of it was universal in its appeal. There were, however, a couple that do seem to cross every boundary. These two in particular share the added benefit of having been performed by a group called Blast!

Blast! is a troop of 68 talented artists/musicians/entertainers. Their heritage begins with drum and bugle corps. From there it progresses to marching bands. They brought this indoors, to the stage, and stretched the boundaries to the limit. Then they nudged them just a bit further. The results are memorable.

I haven’t had the opportunity to experience a performance in person but I could not allow a chance to do so to pass me by. Based on the videos it must be, as some critics tell us, unique, transcendent. Here I give you two.

The first is Malagueña. It is a piece of music you have heard. It has been performed by hundreds of artists, both with lyrics and as an instrumental. Still, this will be new.

The song was taken from the sixth movement of the Suite Andalucia by Ernesto Lecuona. Another piece of music by him was nominated for the Oscar in 1942 but lost to White Christmas. This performance begins slowly, as it should. The anticipation of the change in dynamics adds to its power. Enjoy.

As promised, the next selection is also by Blast! Coincidentally, it is also Spanish in nature. Strangely, Bolero, one of the pieces of music most closely identified with Spain was composed by a Frenchman, Maurice Ravel. He was born close to the Spanish border of a Basque mother, however. His father was Swiss.

Bolero was written as a dance piece for a ballet but is rarely performed that way. The story of its inspiration is possibly apocryphal. It is said that in the Paris apartment next to his was a young Spanish couple who seemed to spend every possible moment making love. Once you have heard that story, true or not, you cannot but think of it in those terms when you listen to it. The slow, retarded pace gradually builds to that final crescendo; climax, if you will. Once again, sit back, relax and enjoy.

My tastes in music have been somewhat eclectic. Whatever the genre, there must be talent. It always helped if that talent served to push the limits, to create more room. This will not be everyone’s cup of tea but my hope is that it will expand your horizons.

As a youngster, playing clarinet, sax and piano, I was enthralled by Stan Kenton. He was one of the most controversial musicians around. He was loved. He was dismissed.

He was always out front. In the selected piece below, Peanut Vendor, one of his signature pieces, he hits you with a “wall of sound.” He developed and named that at least a couple of decades before Phil Spector used it and proudly claimed it for his own.

Listen carefully to the superficial dissonance. Realize the complexity of the arrangement. Every section was playing at a different time signature. Stan was a good pianist, composer and band leader but his forte was arranging.

One personal note: In high school I played in the band with an excellent fellow clarinetist and saxophonist, Bill Byrd. Bill went on to play with a few of the big bands in their final stand against the onslaught of Rock ‘n Roll. Of those he played for, the Kenton orchestra was his favorite.

I got to speak with him at our 25th class reunion but learned he had passed away prior to our 50th. You made beautiful music, Bill. You gave a lot of pleasure.

There you have it: the partial results of a rare, but delightful, day keeping myself amused. I hope you feel your time was well spent.

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Tagged as: basque, bill byrd, blast, bolero, clarinet, class reunion, crescendo, drum and bugle, ernesto lecuona, malaguena, marching band, maurice ravel, music, oscar, paris, peanut vendor, phil spector, piano, rock n roll, sax, spanish, stage, stan kenton, suite andalucia, swiss, time signature, wall of sound, white christmas