Kulikova Plays Tárrega on her Fifth Omni Video

Reader may recall that, yesterday morning, the Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts released the fifth video to be produced in association with The Romero Sessions, presenting solo performances by guitarist Irina Kulikova. As expected, that release took place at 10 a.m. this morning and may now be viewed through a YouTube Web page. The video is slightly more than four and one-half minutes in duration, presenting what may well be the most familiar solo composition in the guitar literature, “Recuerdos de la Alhambra” (recollections of the Alhambra), by the late nineteenth-century Spanish composer Francisco Tárrega.

I suspect it would be fair to say that anyone of my generation came to know this music from a recording made by Andrés Segovia. Sadly, I never had the opportunity to experience a recital by Segovia. The good news is that MCA Classics released The Segovia Collection around the time that compact discs were replacing vinyls. The tracks from all of his recording sessions became readily available through a box of nine CDs. The title of the third CD in this collection was My Favorite Works; and (no surprise) “Recuerdos de la Alhambra” was one of the tracks. Sadly, the nine CDs in this collection no longer seem to be in stock.

The theme of Tárrega’s composition consists of the slow unfolding of a sequence of sustained notes, suggesting that the recollection is a poignant one. Since the sound of a plucked string of any instrument does not sustain for very long, Tárrega used tremolo, the rapid repetition of a single note, to realize the gradual unfolding of the theme. At the same time, there is an accompaniment of arpeggiated chords played on the lower strings. The Wikipedia page for this composition observes: “Many who have heard the piece but not seen it performed mistake it for a duet.” Captain Obvious could not have put it better!

Irina Kulikova towards the conclusion of her performance of “Recuerdos de la Alhambra” (screenshot from the Omni Foundation YouTube video)

That said, Kulikova plays this piece with what might be described as a “focused calm.” That sense of focus keeps her emotions in check. Nevertheless, one comes away with the sense that she is the “overseer” of what her fingers are doing; and, if her face yields any disposition at all, it seems to be one of satisfaction. I found this a refreshing departure from all of those instrumentals and vocalists who seem to make it a point that I see just how committed they are to their work. There is no questioning Kulikova’s commitment. However, I am glad she is more interested in my listening experience than in showing off that commitment!

Dave Scott Quartet to Begin July at Chez Hanny

Trumpeter Dave Scott leading a quintet (none of whose other members will be joining him this month) in a performance at Smalls Jazz Club in New York on June 15, 2023 (from the YouTube video of that gig)

Following up on a third concert at the end of last month, Chez Hanny performances will resume around the middle of the current month. The performers will be the members of the Dave Scott Quartet. Scott will lead on trumpet. He is no stranger to Chez Hanny, having led both a quartet and a quintet, respectively, on previous visits. The other members of the current quartet are, respectively, pianist Leonard Thomson, David Ambrosio on bass, and drummer Mark Ferber. Like Scott, all three of these musicians have made previous appearances at Chez Hanny.

As usual, the show will begin at Chez Hanny at 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 14. As always, the venue will be Hanny’s house at 1300 Silver Avenue, with the performance taking place in the downstairs rumpus room. Admission is now $25; and checks will be accepted, as well as cash. All of that money will go to the musicians. There will be two sets separated by a potluck break. As a result, all who plan to attend are encouraged to bring food and/or drink to share. Seating is first come, first served; and the doors will open at 3:30 p.m. Reservations are preferred and may be made by sending electronic mail to jazz@chezhanny.com.

An “Anniversary” Release from Smoke Sessions

I recently learned that this is the 25th anniversary of the Smoke Jazz Club, which seems to be significant enough to have its own Wikipedia page. It also has its own record label, Smoke Sessions Records, which was launched ten years ago in 2014. One of the club’s traditions was the celebration of an annual John Coltrane Festival at the end of every calendar year, running from the end of December to the beginning of January.

It was through that Festival that I first became aware of the record label. At the end of December in 2021, I wrote about Mabern Plays Coltrane. This album accounted for the final three nights of the festival on January 5, 6, and 7 of 2018. Pianist Harold Mabern (an octogenarian by that time) led a sextet with a front line consisting of Vincent Herring on alto saxophone, Eric Alexander on tenor saxophone, and Steve Davis on trombone. The other rhythm players were John Webber on bass and Joe Farnsworth on drums. Six of the seven tracks were Coltrane compositions, the other being the Coltrane “standard,” “My Favorite Things.”

Steve Turre on the cover of his Sanyas album (courtesy of DL Media)

Over the last couple of years, my encounters with Smoke Session have been a “sometime thing.” This is due, at least in part, to my effort to maintain a reasonable balance between the classical and jazz genres, with a preference for more cerebral approaches in the latter category. As a result, I returned to this label at the end of last month, when I learned about the release of Sanyas. On this album trombonist Steve Turre led a sextet. He was joined on the front line by trumpeter Nicholas Payton and Ron Blake on tenor saxophone. Rhythm was provided by pianist Isaiah J. Thompson, Buster Williams on bass, and drummer Lenny White.

The album is relatively brief by current standards, running just short of 50 minutes. Turre contributes only two originals, the title track (which is the first track on the album) and “Wishful Thinking.” Two of the tracks are standards from the early twentieth century: Jerome Kern’s “All the Things You Are” and Jack Strachey’s “These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You).” The remaining track is Lee Morgan’s “Mr. Kenyatta,” which he recorded on February 15, 1964 for his Search for the New Land Blue Note album, a major contribution to my own “jazz learning curve.”

Like Mabern Plays Coltrane, Sanyas was recorded over a three-day weekend at the Club at the beginning of August of 2023. Turre is the sort of leader that allows his colleagues to have their say, often coming up with a “response” to the “call” of one of those player’s solo takes. As a result, there is more than enough to draw the attentive listener into all five of the tracks on the album, whatever the overall brevity may be. Nevertheless, I have to confess that, as a result of listening to this album, I now find myself with an urge to go back to my Morgan collection!

Kulikova’s Fifth Omni Video in Los Angeles

Tomorrow morning the Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts will release its fifth video to be produced in association with The Romero Sessions presenting solo performances by guitarist Irina Kulikova. Those that read last week’s article know that the image at the beginning showed her full schedule, which means that they already know that this week’s offering will be one of the most familiar selections in the classical guitar repertoire. This is Francisco Tárrega’s “Recuerdos de las Alhambra.” Once again, the performance was filmed at Pepe Romero’s The Guitar Shop in Los Angeles, where Kulikova played one of his instruments (Guitar No. 274).

The Alhambra palace at dawn (photograph by Jebulon, made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication, from a Wikimedia Commons Web page)

It occurs to me that, while anyone interested in the guitar repertoire knows this music, they may not know how it was inspired. The Alhambra is, of course, located in Spain It is located in Andalusia, which is one of three autonomous communities in the country. Its Wikipedia page describes it as “one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Islamic world.” After the Christian Reconquista in 1492, it became the Royal Court of Ferdinand and Isabella, the monarchs known to anyone that knows the history behind Columbus Day!

This video will be released tomorrow morning, Wednesday, July 3, at 10 a.m. The YouTube Web page has already been created. The video was again captured by Gary and Jenny San Angel. Since this particular guitar is at Romero’s store, it is worth noting that it is available for purchase; and a Web page has been created for those interested.

The Bleeding Edge: 7/1/2024

Given that this is a holiday week, with the Fourth of July extending the usual three-day weekend by adding Thursday to the mix, Bleeding Edge activity is basically holding its own. As was the case last week, there will be a perfect balance of two previously reported events with two new ones. The former category is accounted for as follows (with the obligatory hyperlinks):

1. The LSG (Luggage Store Gallery) New Music Series event entitled All the Names, whose “names” have already been reported, will be the only Outsound Presents offering this month in Wednesday.
2. Similarly, The Lab will complete its 2023–24 season with the three-set program on Friday that was announced at the very beginning of last month.

The two new events are as follows:

Thursday, July 4, 9 p.m., Madrone Art Bar: According to my records, this is my first account of a performance at this venue. It is located at 500 Divisadero Street, which is at the corner of Fell Street. It will host the UNITED BRASSWORKER’S FRONT, which was founded early in the beginning of this new century but has been in hibernation for many years. Founder Darren Johnston will lead this revival performance on trumpet, joined by the only other original member of the group, Henry Hung, who also plays trumpet. The other brass players will be trombonists Danny Lubin-Laden and Alan Williams, joined by Luke Kirley on tuba. Rhythm will be provided by Jordan Glenn on drums. Given the date of the performance, I would not be surprised if they drown out the sound of any fireworks.

Kanoko Nishi-Smith showing her unique approach to playing the koto (photograph from the BayImproviser Web page for this performance)

Friday, July 5,  7 p.m. and 9 p.m., Medicine for Nightmares: It looks like Other Dimensions in Sound, curated by reed player David Boyce, will again present a two-set evening. Boyce will give a duo performance with Kanoko Nishi-Smith, who was classically trained on piano but will probably bring her koto for this gig. Once again, the venue is located in the Mission at 3036 24th Street, between Treat Avenue and Harrison Street. As always, there is no charge for admission, presumably to encourage visitors to consider buying a book.

A Disappointing Afternoon with Pocket Opera

Otto Nicolai, composer of The Merry Wives of Windsor (1842 lithograph by Josef Kriehuber, public domain, from Wikimedia Commons)

Yesterday afternoon my wife and I returned to the Legion of Honor for the latest installment in the 2024 Pocket Opera Season, Otto Nicolai’s The Merry Wives of Windsor. Unless I am mistaken, I have had only one previous encounter with this opera. It was through a black-and-white television set in Israel during my first full-time job following the completion of my graduate studies. The production seemed to be from the United Kingdom, and it was sung in English (with subtitles in Hebrew).

I had known the overture to this opera since childhood. (It also served incessantly as theme music for one of the Boston radio programs.) I had no trouble recognizing the themes during the telecast, and the staging was straightforward and engaging. Mind you, from a contemporary point of view, it could not hold a candle to the raucous account of the play in a Shakespeare in the Park production that was telecast on PBS. The fact is that Nicolai’s music was too sweet for William Shakespeare’s sharp edges, and Donald Pippin’s English-language account of Salomon Hermann Mosenthal’s rather bland libretto never quite did the trick.

However, what matters most in any opera is the music; and yesterday’s account left more than much to be desired. In the first place, the reduced ensemble of the Pocket Philharmonic fell way short of what Nicolai had in mind. Furthermore, the transparency of the one-to-a-part playing just never hit the nail on the head. This was particularly evident in the First Violin Chair, where Yasushi Ogura consistently fell short of homing in on the right pitch. Robby Stafford tried to do his best to lead from the keyboard, but that just weakened his own piano-playing.

In that context it is a bit of a wonder that any of the vocalists maintained a secure grasp of pitch; but, for the most part, they prevailed over the shortcomings of the orchestra. Unfortunately, only a few of them delivered well-develop characters. Fortunately, one of them was Kenneth Kellogg as Sir John Falstaff. There was never a dull moment when he was on stage, and his vocal work was consistently engaging. The only other vocalist that was equally engaging was Rena Harms in the role of Alice Ford. The two of them managed to keep the narrative rolling along, even when it had to coast through the duller episodes.

Nicolai composed this opera in 1849. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, its success never advanced beyond the German frontier (wherever that happened to be at the time). However, as he was approaching the age of 80, Giuseppe Verdi undertook his final partnership with Arrigo Boito; and the result was Falstaff. Finally, a composer gave Shakespeare the justice he deserved!