Just about every pianist I’ve seen at Hatch Hall over the
years has been excellent, but Eldar is in a
class by himself. He’s the Vladimir Horowitz of jazz, or for the younger
generation, let’s say Lang Lang. The point is, Eldar is one of the world’s greatest pianists — and we had
him all to ourselves tonight.
Eldar, whose last name is Djangirov, was recognized as a prodigy when he moved from
the former Soviet Union to Kansas at 10 years old. In his teenage years, he was
talked about with the same sense of awe that Joey Alexander now enjoys. Now 29,
he has developed into an absolutely thrilling performer.
He started his set with a frenzied rendition of “A Night in
Tunisia,” in which snippets of melody would float over his impressionistic
foundation. (Eldar revisited this mode of
improvisation throughout the set.) He began The Beatles tune “Blackbird” more
like a woodpecker, pecking at one note repeatedly while building up the chords
and melody around it. And he actually slowed down for a while on “Willow Weep for
Me,” but it didn’t last for long as his right hand took off on another flight.
Eldar played other standards, like
“Take the A Train” and a player-piano-inspired version of “Body And Soul,” but
my favorite moment was when he took on a Bach prelude, but not without
providing his own wildly imaginative variations.
The three other musicians in Pedrito Martinez’s quartet at Kilbourn Hall waited until
the second to last tune to leave the stage and let Martinez demonstrate why he
is regarded as one of the hottest Afro-Cuban percussionists working today. With
four conga drums in front of him, Martinez filled the hall with wave after wave
of complex polyrhythms.
Throughout the set, he had shown his prowess as an expressive
singer who got his songs across despite the language barrier — although
attempts to involve the audience in singing part of a tune didn’t quite work.
The songs were infectious and the group often used four-voice harmonies.
But Martinez’s quartet played one of the loudest sets I’ve
ever heard in Kilbourn. The group obviously wanted it
that way, complimenting the soundman and even giving
him a shout out. I controlled the volume with the earplugs I always have with
me, but the audience didn’t seem disturbed by it.
At the Lutheran Church, bassist Arild Andersen began his trio’s set with bowing in the higher register of his
double bass. He was playing into electronic devices that would form harmonies
and counterpoint as he layered his choruses, and he eventually began to pluck
and strum, building to a ferocious solo. Anderson was eventually joined by
drummer Paolo Vinaccia and tenor saxophonist Tommy
Smith — each equally experimental.
Smith, a long-time collaborator with Anderson, played with
more of an adventurous edge than he did in his straight-ahead Kilbourn Hall set Saturday night in a duo with Makoto
Ozone. This trio went on to explore the more avant-garde side of jazz that
seems to have found more of a home in Europe than it has in the United States.
Monday night, I hope to catch Lizz
Wright’s set at Harro East. Then I’ll take in the
Moscow Jazz Orchestra at Xerox Auditorium, and end the night with Mika Pohjola at the Lutheran Church.
This article appears in Jun 22-28, 2016.
When Makoto Ozone came on stage during the Arild Anderson concert the music went in a slightly different direction and for 20 minutes the first set audience was treated to what will surely be a highlight if the 15th XRIJF. The set ended with a rousing, sincere standing ovation..
Is it me, or has this edition of XRIJF become more of a chore, instead of a pleasure?
Overfilled venues, impossible wait times for featured acts, i.e. Eldar , and (some) patrons more interested in their smartphones which is particularly grating in venues like Kilbourn, Xerox auditorium and Lutheran Church over the performances have left us disappointed. With few exceptions, the performances get a big ‘meh.’