Aisle Be Seeing You

Japanese jazz opera (I think)

Though words fail, this works for me. It works as a joke, as a fascinating socio-historical product, and, arguably I suppose, as jazz. Check out Charlie Parker's Donna Lee at 7:31. The guy is really singing a difficult melody. Amazing. Judging from the comments it is from a Japanese comedy show, though this definitely warrants further research.

Berlin, Germany and the Celebrity Series

Several things have us meditating on Germany in general and Berlin in particular this season (no, not Berlin, New Hampshire, watch the video!). For one we are presenting a remarkable and somewhat coincidental array of German performers and works in 2009-2010. And many of them are indeed from Berlin. So, Bostonians, once you finish watching Berlin in 3-D, take a look at Germany coming to your own back yard:

1. The Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, make their return visit to Symphony Hall within a week of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. (November 15, Symphony Hall)

2. Violinist Christian Tetzlaff, though he was born in Hamburg and lives near Frankfurt, is certainly German. Tetzlaff will perform an unaccompanied violin recital that will feature works by J.S.  Bach, among others. (January 31, NEC’s Jordan Hall)

3. The Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet, as the name implies, is made up of first chair players from their venerable parent ensemble. The orchestra has been here before, of course, but this concert is the Wind Quintet's Boston debut. (February 5, NEC’s Jordan Hall)

4. Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra will play an all-Beethoven program under the baton of Maestro Riccardo Chailly and featuring Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire. (February 25, Symphony Hall)

5. The Berlin-based Artemis String Quartet makes its Boston debut with an all-Beethoven program (March 5, NEC’s Jordan Hall)

6. Max Raabe & Palast Orchester capture the elegant decadence of pre-war Berlin of the 1920s and 30s in a program called “A Night in Berlin.” (March 6, Paramount Theatre, 2 shows)

7. German-born bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff, in addition to being a truly gifted singer and profound communicator, is also  a teacher at Berlin’s Hans Eisler School of Music. His May 2 recital will feature works by German composer Johannes Brahms, among others.(May 2, NEC's Jordan Hall)

Every Celebrity Series 2009-2010 performance on sale Monday, September 14!

Every performance in the Celebrity Series of Boston 2009-2010 season is on sale on from 9am to 5pm (regular box office hours 10-4) this Monday morning, September 14. Call (617) 482-6661 or visit http://www.celebrityseries.org anytime. Start your engines!

George Russell, 1923-2009

George Russell, the influential jazz composer, architect of the Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization, MacArthur Fellow and longtime New England Conservatory faculty member, has died at age 86.

The coverage of Mr. Russell's death has been extensive, of course, below is only a sampling:

Boston Globe

Los Angeles Times

The Washington Post

National Public Radio

JazzTimes

Do The Math blog (The Bad Plus)

Jazz.com

"The Future of Jazz" television show from 1958, featuring George Russell, Bill Evans, Tony Scott, Art Farmer, Jimmy Cleveland, Doc Severinsen, Ed Thigpen, Mundell Lowe, and Eddie Safranski (video)

George Russell chatting with Ornette Coleman

New England Conservatory

George Russell official web site

My practice has been to include, in the interest of brevity, only obituaries of artist with whom the Celebrity Series has had a presenting relationship. Though the Celebrity Series of Boston never presented Mr. Russell or his ensembles, undoubtedly a number of Celebrity Series artists have been influenced by his work.

Jazz community livid over Maria Schneider's Montreal Gazette review

Jeff Heinrich's review for the Montreal Gazette of the Maria Schneider Orchestra at the Montreal International Jazz Orchestra has touched off a firestorm of protest from readers. Here is the single-paragraph review which is followed by more than 60 (at the time of this post) comments decrying Heinrich's review.

Doug Ramsey's comments on the piece on his Rifftides blog, which is my original source for this post, can be found here.

I have not yet found an alternate review in English (if you find one, drop me a line), but promise to post one if I can find it.

The Celebrity Series presented Ms. Schneider and Orchestra, with pride, at Berklee Performance Center in November 2007.

First Lady to host music series

First lady Michelle Obama will host a new music series at the White House starting next week. The first artists will be 3 members of the Marsalis family: father, Ellis, and his sons, brothers Wynton and Branford Marsalis. The 3 will perform for 150 students. Classical and country music events are also planned: New York Times article.

JazzTimes Magazine suspends publication

JazzTimes Magazine has announced it is suspending publication. Jazz critic Howard Mandel discusses the situation.

Steve Greenlee reviews Blind Boys and Pres Hall for Globe

Though he did fail to mention that Friday night's concert by The Blind Boys of Alabama and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band at Symphony Hall was a co-presentation by Celebrity Series of Boston (ahem) and their friends at World Music (I suppose it could have been an editor's choice to omit us), Steve Greenlee's review of the concert in today's Boston Globe was certainly positive:

"The Deep South came north Friday night. The roof-raising concert - the party! - put on by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Blind Boys of Alabama was transporting. We weren't in Boston anymore. We were in the French Quarter. We were in Talladega."

Read A potent combination.

The Blind Boys of Alabama sing and chat (video)

Some singing and interviews with The Blind Boys of Alabama from Avon, Colorado. The Blind Boys of Alabama meet up with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band at Boston's Symphony Hall on March 27 for a program called "Down By the Riverside." The concert is co-presented by the Celebrity Series Series of Boston (yours truly) and World Music.

Brad Mehldau documentary

This is part I of a German documentary on pianist Brad Mehldau filmed while he was on tour in Germany and New York. The bassist is Larry Grenadier and the drummer is Jorge Rossy. The clip above is a club performance of Radiohead's Exit Music (for a film). Much of the trio music in these clips ended up as part of Mehldau's multi-CD Art of the Trio sessions.

The documentary continues in the links below:

Part II (solo piano Nick Drake's River Man and short interview in restaurant)

Part III (interview continued and Mehldau's The Bard, discussion of John Coltrane)

Part IV (Elegies) "you're playing it [music] in time through time that's why there is nothing like seeing a live performance")

Part V (another elegy, then All the Things You Are in New York with trio during the Art of the Trio sessions)

Part VI (more from The Village Vanguard and interview with Mehldau and the other trio members)

Part VII (more from The Village Vanguard and end credits)

Brad Mehldau makes his Celebrity Series debut on February 13 in a concert at Sanders Theatre in Cambridge with mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter and pianist Bengt Forsberg (3 people but not a trio). Follow the link or call 617-482-6661 Monday through Friday from 10am to 4pm.