I entered Hatch Hall — where keyboard wunderkind Joey
Alexander was about to play — with a lot of questions. Can a young
Indonesian boy really know the American idiom of jazz? Can any 11-year-old,
without significant life experience, know the meaning of what he’s playing? And
could reincarnation be real; could it be that Art Tatum has come back as an
11-year-old Indonesian boy? I had seen the videos and there was no doubt that
this kid was a phenomenon.
He did not disappoint. In his grey suit (minus tie) he looked
like a miniature musician. He sat down on the piano bench, cranked way up,
looked at the keyboard, and launched into a tune that would be a challenge for
any pianist: Thelonious Monk’s “Epistrophy.” He not
only nailed it, he did it with great stylistic flair.
Alexander spoke like the child that he is, a bit awkward in
front of all of the adults. But every time he sat down to play, he was simply
brilliant. Yes, there were songs like “My One and Only Love” that seemed a bit
premature (unless teddy bears count) but he played them wonderfully.
What’s most startling about Alexander is his frame of
reference. He’s not entering jazz with simple blues progressions; he’s entering
in the heavyweight category with Monk and John Coltrane. One of the set’s
stunners was his rendition of “My Favorite Things.” He clearly hadn’t based it
on the soundtrack from “The Sound of Music.” This was the Coltrane version. And
his encore, a Chick Corea tune, proved he could go
Latin when he wanted to.
His technique was beyond dazzling. Sometimes his left hand
was keeping up a complex bass pattern while his right hand was fluttering
impressionistically over the keys so fast it looked like a hummingbird’s wings.
His dynamics were also excellent; he knew when to be subtle and when to build
to a crescendo.
Hatch Hall couldn’t fit
all the people who wanted to hear Alexander. The good news is he’ll be playing Sunday at 4
p.m. at the Lyric Theatre at 440 East Avenue. Don’t miss it.
I had something to compare Alexander’s performance to because
I had just come from Kilbourn Hall where pianist Benny
Green and his trio played. Green is another dazzling pianist with
jaw-dropping technique. He put it to work playing great tunes by Horace Silver,
Cedar Walton, and others. My favorite was “He Has Gone,” a beautiful ballad by
Oscar Peterson.
Green and his excellent trio (bassist David Wong and drummer
Rodney Green) all wore suits and played in a fairly formal manner. But Green
really stretches out at the keyboard, sometimes leaning off the bench like a
jazz version of Jerry Lee Lewis, and his bunched up suit somehow emphasized
that wild side.
Benny Green will
perform solo on Sunday, June 21, in Hatch Recital Hall. 5:45 and 7:45 p.m.
I ended the night at Christ Church with another formidable
pianist, Andrew McCormack. He brought his superb trio (Peter Slavov, bass, and Colin Stranahan,
drums), which was enhanced by a great saxophonist whose name I waited for until
the end, but did not catch.
McCormack, a glistening pianist when he’s in the upper
register (which is a lot), and the saxophonist (a Coltrane disciple) played off
each other nicely in a set of strong original compositions. But the band was
best when it was not going full tilt. The churches’ acoustics are too good and
when a band really gets going, the sound, unfortunately, gets muddled.
Sunday evening I’ll start with one of the festival’s
most popular artists. Vocalist Tessa Souter will make her fifth festival
appearance at the XRIJF, but her first at Kilbourn
Hall. I’m not sure what to expect from Nils Berg Cinemascope at the Lutheran
Church, and that’s what makes me want to go. I’ll end the night with another
festival favorite: the great one-man band, Raul Midon
at Xerox Auditorium.
This article appears in Jun 17-23, 2015.
Hi,
Lucas Pino played sax in the Andrew McCormack Quartet.
Hope this helps. Enjoyed the review.
Best, Martin