By Bob Yanega
I am the type of person who is not overly excited about going to hear improvisational music, but I typically enjoy it once I’m listening to it.
So it was somewhat comforting when Joshua Stauffer, Executive Director and guitarist for the group welcomed the surprisingly-large-for-a-Thursday audience by acknowledging that “this is not the sort of music you go to hear every day and, even as professional musicians, it’s not the sort of music that we go to hear every day!” He further encouraged the crowd to “rest in the experience… use this space as a conduit for your own imagination.”
The first piece, “Today” was meant to reflect what each musician had experienced in the past 24 hours, and it started out with a simple but haunting sound on the bass, played by Joel Negus and then was joined by guest percussionist Anthony Taddeo lightly drumming at a perfect pace, as the piece rose and accelerated. Josh added clear, piercing notes from the guitar and soon Chiara Fasani joined in on violin and Robert Nicholson on cello.
The second piece was titled “3 Against 2” and was developed out of some themes that they experienced while playing together in preparation for the concerts. Fasani and Stauffer started the piece and just as we were tempted to think that they were “The Two,” Taddeo joined in while bass and cello remained silent.
The music ebbed and flowed until it was replaced with Nicholson and Negus feeling their way into the piece and making a strong case for “The Two.” “The Three” picked it back up, anchored once again by incredible percussion featuring the beautiful sounds of a bongo cajon that Taddeo had made for him out of reclaimed wood. The interplay and occasional overlap continued until the piece reached a more somber, but satisfying finish.
After one further piece, the ensemble began the second half of the concert, which consisted of one long idea that was inspired by the reading of the Hebrew Psalms. The group had read a number of the psalms and had selected 5 words — such as “longing,” “emerge,” and “radiant,” which they used to construct the 5 movements of the piece. It began with Anthony Taddeo caressing the cymbals and as that grew in volume, he was joined by the guitar and then Negus simply drumming his fingers on the strings of his bass, creating a secondary beat that played off the cymbals masterfully.
I confess that I took Josh at his word and let my mind wander during this long piece, reflecting on the busy day that I’d had and even flipping through a book on display nearby (one of the advantages / temptations that present themselves when holding a concert in a great bookstore).
In the end, the music drew me back in and left me with a sense of refreshment and, along with the rest of the audience, the feeling that we had shared a very intimate and moving musical journey. My hunger is only temporarily satiated however, and I look forward to hearing more from this young but highly talented
and creative ensemble.
Bob Yanega is a freelance writer, speaker, fountain of ideas, and renaissance man. He is also the founder and executive director for The 1990 Project, a nonprofit organization that has created a series of Choosing Success™ Programs to promote successful scholarship, entrepreneurship, and workforce training to high schoolers in NE Ohio.A lifelong Clevelander and unofficial Cleveland ambassador, Bob recently published a children’s book, The Littlest Lamppost, which has a strong Cleveland connection. His website is http://www.BobSense.com.
Shaker Heights, OH 44120