Dave Brubeck and the Cleveland Orchestra @ Severance Hall 12/16/10
There are big bands, and there are BIG BANDS!!! Thursday night at Severance Hall, two of the biggest ever shared the stage for a truly memorable – and unforgettable – concert. The occasion was part of the orchestra’s new Celebrity series, and a more apt name would be hard to find. It was an evening with Dave Brubeck and his quartet out in front of the Cleveland Orchestra.
Mr. Brubeck celebrated his 90th birthday ten days prior to the concert, but obviously his intellect and his fingers are a good bit younger than the rest of him. They didn’t have a problem in the world with keeping up with the action. (That’s okay, however, as exuberant saxman Bobby Militello moves around enough for both of them!) Actually, it should be referred to as a quintet with guest conductor Russell Gloyd serving as fifth man. He doubles as emcee, and has obviously been on enough podiums to know how to act once there. His remarks were charming and witty and very loving.
Everyone in the audience may now boast of having sung with the Cleveland Orchestra. After all, we did serenade Mr. Brubeck with “Happy Birthday!” Mr. Gloyd added background info and also pointed out some of the intricacies of the music, of which perhaps not all of us in the audience were previously aware. One of these is the fondness for unusual rhythms, such as 5/4 and 7/4 in addition to the more usual 3/4 and 2/4.
“Cassandra” got things rolling before they launched into the first of the non-traditional time sigs: “Three to Get Ready” begins as a waltz – but not for long – and just as he promised, it eventually runs out of steam and ends. “The Basie Band Is Back in Town” came from a trip to Kansas City when the Basie’s and the Brubeck’s were there at the same time. Everyone got into the act in this one, including the orchestra brass which were accorded a bow all their own! The joint was truly jumpin’!
A total contrast followed with “Sleep, Holy Infant,” a segment of a Brubeck cantata La Fiesta de la Posado for which Mr. wrote the music, and his wife, Iola, (they’re currently at 68 years together and counting!) wrote the text. This was a musical version only, but with gorgeous, singing, flute solos by Mr. Militello. The pianist contributed graceful modulations and a scintillating arpeggio, while the hushed violins of the orchestra emitted gently plucked notes. (Note to conductors everywhere: This is a lovely piece of music that could easily be incorporated into traditional Christmas programs.)
“Blue Rondo à la Turk” was a souvenir of the first trip Mr. Brubeck made to Turkey for the US State Department in 1959 or thereabouts. It’s jazz like no other, and in this case familiarity breeds excellence! Bassist Michael Moore had a long solo using the bow before going back to just fingers again, while Mr. Militello and Mr. Brubeck engaged in a terrific musical dialogue. It was such fun that Militello continued just noodling around afterwards until the piece ended. The orchestra was superb throughout. Unfortunately, I could find no credit for any of the orchestra arrangements, which is too bad. Whoever did them certainly knew his or her way around an orchestra!
“Unsquare Dance,” which opened the second half of the program claims to be unclappable as it’s in 7/4 time. The orchestra’s string sections did fine work on their syncopated licks, followed by Randy Jones and his first real drum solo.
In connection with Mr. Brubeck’s 90th birthday, Clint Eastwood has recently produced a documentary titled In His Own Sweet Way, a play on the title of Mr. Brubeck’s most-recorded song. “In Your Own Sweet Way” has so far been done by more than 100 singers and is still going strong. It’s easy to see why, even without the words, as the pianist had an extended, sweet solo that was then moved to the orchestra’s strings before Mr. Militello joined in with his sax.
If we’d never heard of Mr. Broadway before the night, that’s because those of us old enough to qualify were probably watching The Man from U.N.C.L.E. which was on early TV at the same time, different channel. Too bad. Had we any sense, we’d have watched Mr. Broadway. Mr. Gloyd advised those too young to remember either show to “ask your grandfather.” Ah, well. Mr. Brubeck composed the soundtrack for the NY-based detective story, and it was surely a dandy piece for orchestra and quartet.
In 1959, Howard Brubeck (Dave’s brother) composed a suite for orchestra and jazz combo, which was championed by Leonard Bernstein among others. The second movement Theme for June was therefore possibly a bit more collaborative between the quartet and the orchestra. The orchestra’s brass sections were again in the spotlight as were flutist Marisela Sager and oboist Jeffrey Rathbun who had gorgeously eloquent solos, and were thus individually acknowledged by the conductor.
Just as “Take Five” began, the fairy lights over the stage were lit, casting an ethereal glow over everyone. Written by the quartet’s former sax wizard Paul Desmond, this is probably the most instantly recognized jazz piece ever. Deservedly so. I didn’t time Mr. Jones’ drum solo but it must have been real close to five minutes, in which he utilized everything in front of him (except for “WipeOut”, I think) in a truly impressive manner. Thank goodness for sturdy drum sets.
While this was happening up front, Mr. Gloyd leaned over and whispered something to concertmaster Peter Otto. Within seconds the whispers spread throughout the orchestra, and soon after “Take Five” ended, the musicians launched—quietly—into Brahms’ “Lullaby.” Mr. Militello again took up his flute, and he and Mr. Brubeck engaged in a charming and subtle duet of the famous piece before Mr. Brubeck stepped out on his own. They sang the last note, after which the full house erupted in cheers and a standing ovation.
My ninety-year-old companion just smiled and said, “He still has it!” Indeed.
The orchestra season picks up again in January. For more information, visit the website: http://www.ClevelandOrchestra.com or call the ticket office at 216.231.1111.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz, who writes: My most recently published book is Ardenwycke Unveiled (e-book and trade paper). Cerridwen has another contemporary romance from me, But Not For Love, currently available only as an e-book, but perhaps will be in print later this year. I hope to soon get around to completing some of the 30+ incomplete books in my computer!Actually, I’ve just re-issued my very first published book (from Berkley in NY 1993) Secret Shores which is available now in regular print, plus large print and as a Kindle.
By the way, Cerridwen has also accepted two of my short stories in their Scintillating Samples (complimentary reads) area: Song of the Swan and Unexpected Comfort. I love photography as well, as you can see here. Occasionally I teach writing workshops and sometimes do editing or ghostwriting on a free-lance basis. But over and above everything else, there’s always been the writing. I can’t imagine my life without it.
And now, after more than a few requests, I’ve started a blog about writing. You can find it here.
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One Response to “REVIEW: Dave Brubeck and the Cleveland Orchestra @ Severance Hall 12/16/10”
Drew
I was at the concert as well, and while I thoroughly enjoyed it (been a Brubeck fan since childhood) I thought there were a number of pieces which simply didn’t warrant the orchestra’s involvement. I would have preferred to hear the quartet more and the orchestra less, as it seemed like they were often behind or ahead of the lead players. Nonetheless, a wonderful evening and a true gift to see Brubeck play, even at 90.