A Disappointing First Encounter with RJAM

Rufus Reid with his bass (from a May 22, 2024 entry on the Ravinia Backstage Blog)

While I have been announcing performances by students in the Roots, Jazz and American Music (RJAM) Departments of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) for at least half a decade, yesterday evening was my first listening opportunity. The program featured a visit from jazz bassist Rufus Reid, who led the ensemble in two of his compositions, “Quiet Pride” and “Dreamscapes.” The program began with “Freckle Face” by Sammy Nestico, led by Amelie-Anna Hinman. The program concluded with the one name familiar to me: Jimmy Heath. Jason Hainsworth conducted a performance of his “Bruh Slim.”

If there are any errors in the above paragraph, they may be attributed to problems with the livestream feed of this performance. There were no problems with listening to the performances of the four selections. However, there was a more-than-generous amount of verbal background. Apparently, the staff preparing the livestream technology was unaware of the need for other microphones to account for that content. As a result, any verbal utterances were inaudible. Presumably, there was generous background content in what Reid had to say about his music; but you couldn’t prove it on the basis of last night’s video feed!

Many readers know that I have had many opportunities to take advantage of livestream performances from SFCM. I have enjoyed many Chamber Music Tuesday events in this setting, even if my most recent encounter dates all the way back to last October! However, preparation for remote viewing of last night’s event fell miles short of any past chamber music encounters.

Ironically, Reid has composed string quartets, the first of which can be found in Ryan Truesdell’s three-CD compilation Synthesis: The String Quartet Sessions. Reid contributed a three-movement string quartet to this anthology. Perhaps a Chamber Music Tuesday recital would have given him a better shake than RJAM did!