This afternoon the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival presented the world premiere of Blues in the City, a 90-minute work composed by jazz bassist Marcus Shelby performed by the Marcus Shelby New Orchestra. This involved innovative instrumentation with particular attention to Aaron Smith on trumpet, Dillon Vado on vibraphone, Destiny Muhammad on harp, Sylvia Cuenca on percussion, Luis Peralta on piano, and Shelby himself on bass. More importantly, the composition was structured around the words of Tongo Eisen-Martin, first disclosed by recordings but subsequently by the author’s delivery of “live” declamations.
Unfortunately, the performance itself fell far short of compelling. Yerba Buena Gardens is a large outdoor space, meaning that a suitable array of both microphones and loudspeakers was required to create an experience worth the trouble of listening. Because the musicians had begun to assemble on stage about an hour before the performance was scheduled to begin, there was more than adequate time for the tech crew to make sure that both microphone placement and mixer gains were suitably prepared to enable a satisfying listening experience. (In the latter case that would include recognizing that gain levels would have to be altered to direct listening attention, thus preparing a “score” for the “performer” behind the mixing board.)
Sadly, none of that preparation took place between noon and 1 p.m., when the performance was scheduled to begin. As a result, the beginning of the performance was delayed, first to address the audio problem and then to allow a series of introductions by “Festival dignitaries.” The good news was that the performance finally got under way a little after 1:30 p.m. The bad news was that audibility remained a significant problem.
My personal guess is that many of the staff members, particularly those with previous experience supervising pre-pandemic Festivals, were not part of the current support team. As a result, everyone was on the ascent of a learning curve, most likely the performers as well as the support crew. That said, however, I have to wonder whether Eisen-Martin’s declamations into his microphone would have improved with better audio technology. My personal speculation is that his capacity for diction falls short of the talent that brings his words to the printed page. Personally, I would like to listen to him revisiting his texts in a more intimate space where neither microphones nor loudspeakers would be necessary. I would be highly disappointed if, in such a setting, his delivery is as weak as it was when modulated by poorly controlled audio technology.
Meanwhile, I hope I shall have the opportunity to revisit Blues in the City in a more favorable listening environment.
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