Friends in Low Places – Mar. 27th. 2019 at Barnett Hall
This mini concert was performed by trombonist Jeremy Berkman and double bassist David Brown. These two instruments are quite often performed in large group of brass or jazz band, but it is not usual to hear them as duet. Most pieces of this day were relatively newly composed. Only two of eight works performed at this concert were composed before 19th century. Because of these facts, I excited even more about the concert.
The concert began with wit as David, alone on the stage, started playing bass in a low tone, Jeremy suddenly appeared next to the audience and played the trombone with improvisational melodies.
Then they alternately had brief speech about jazz and today’s program. Soon after, the first piece began, “Duet for Trombone and Double Bass” by Edward Elgar in 1887. Elgar composed this piece for celebration of his friend’s wedding. It was quite short, so it ended quickly but there was the excitement for the celebration and solemnity for the wedding together.
Three other pieces were world premiere, composed by current UBC composition students; “The Encounter” by Carmyn Slater, “The Ground Beneath Us” by Robert Humber, and “Night Tides” by Taylor Hall. All three were in the audience together, so after each performance, the performers and the audience applauded the three. All three pieces had more contemporary musical colors than the atmosphere of jazz. All these works were esoteric pieces that were difficult to define the genre, but it was quite interesting to listen to those works with trombone and bass-specific low tone.
The next piece, “Lawns” by Carla Bley, had a typical jazz frame, unlike the previous three. A jazzy, slow lagging rhythm and blue melody was so fascinated. This piece seemed to lyrically draw a quiet bar in one old movie. As the rhythm was being drooped, it was an attractive piece that I could listen to without worrying throughout the performance.
There was one unique piece, “Selections from Arie Musicali, Book 1” (1630) by Girolamo Frescobaldi, that had one special guest performer Christina Hutten for harpsichord. The harpsichord is an old instrument that is the predecessor of modern piano, so I never expected to be able to hear it. I was very excited about the fact that I could hear the harpsichord, which I could only hear indirectly in recordings and videos. Indeed, the sound of plucking the strings from the harpsichord, different from the notes of the piano, was very attractive. Also, as it was composed in 1630, the unique mystique of the music of the period has been reveal. I was glad to hear the melody that applies to the musical terms that I have learned from the music appreciation such as imitative polyphonic, and homophonic texture. The sound of the three instruments mixed together, but soon one instrument’s clear sound came out. It reminded me of those musical terms. Throughout all the short three movements, the charming and beautiful accompanying harpsichord came all the way, making this piece richer and more fun.
The last piece was “Six Vignettes” by Frederick A. Schipizky. This was composed in 2015, therefore it also had fairly contemporary atmosphere. It was esoteric but not unpleasant so that I could listen comfortably but carefully.
In this concert, I was amazed about the facts that there were variety of genres that two jazzy instruments could express and lots of modern music works are actually being made and studied so steadily. I am not a fan of contemporary music because of its complexity but still it is much worthwhile to listen and study since it is another different and modified way to express multiple messages and feelings today.