Stomp

Tuesday, April 12 and Wednesday, April 13 at 7:30p.m., Fine Arts Center Concert Hall
$50, $45, $15; Five College, GCC and 17 & under $30, $20, $15

STOMP is explosive, provocative, sophisticated, sexy, utterly unique and appeals to audiences of all ages. The international percussion sensation has garnered an armful of awards and rave reviews, and has appeared on numerous national television shows. The eight-member troupe uses everything but conventional percussion instruments – matchboxes, wooden poles, brooms, garbage cans, Zippo lighters, hubcaps – to fill the stage with magnificent rhythms. The return of the percussive hit also brings some new surprises, with some sections of the show now updated and restructured and the addition of two new full-scale routines, utilizing props like tractor tire inner tubes and paint cans. As USA Today says, “STOMP finds beautiful noises in the strangest places.” STOMP. See what all the noise is about.

Stomp

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Maria Schneider Orchestra

Saturday, April 9 at 8 p.m., Fine Arts Center Concert Hall, Chamber Seating
General Admission: $12; $7 students

A big-band group led by composer-pianist Maria Schneider blends the freedom of jazz and the structure of classical music. Schneider has garnered nine Grammy nominations and two Grammy wins, and her music has been hailed by critics as “evocative, majestic, magical, heart-stoppingly gorgeous, and beyond categorization.” Since 1994 Schneider has honed her compositions and conducting to highlight the uniquely creative voices of the group, made up of many of the finest musicians in jazz today.

William Parker

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Magic Triangle Jazz Series hosts Hafez Modirzadeh and Bobby Bradford Quartet

by Glenn Siegel

The spirit of Ornette Coleman and Ed Blackwell was in the air throughout Hafez Modirzadeh and Bobby Bradford’s two-day Amherst residency. Their visit culminated with a Magic Triangle Series concert on Thursday, where tenor saxophonist Modirzadeh, cornetist Bradford, along with bassist Ken Filiano and drummer royal hartigan, transfixed 100 people in Bezanson Recital Hall with a transcendent 80 minute performance. Bradford, the 81-year old Los Angeles-based patriarch, was a dear friend and musical colleague of Ornette and Blackwell. Modirzadeh spent lots of quality time with Ornette, picking his brain and getting valuable feedback from the alto master. hartigan studied extensively with Blackwell at Wesleyan University.

So there was reverence for Ornette’s indomitable spirit and wonder at the elliptical nature of his thinking, and stories about the time he left his horn at an Italian airport with $50,000 dollars stuffed into the bell (returned safely), and the time Ornette followed someone’s smoking sax solo during a cutting contest by playing his horn with his right hand in his pocket.

The concepts of spirit and reverence were omnipresent during the visit, which also included a well-received class visit and concert at Amherst College, sponsored by Professor Jason Robinson.

During the Magic Triangle concert, hartigan, a 1981 UMass graduate, paid tribute to one of his mentors, Fred Tillis, with a touching speech. Dr. Tillis, responsible for much of the flowering of multicultural arts on campus and now 86, came to the stage to greet each musician. hartigan is a master of West African drumming traditions and began his composition, “Wadsworth Falls”, with an Asante rhythm and praise song, with Tillis’ name inserted. I teared up.

When I first contacted Modirzadeh at his Bay-area home about bringing a band to Amherst, he said he wanted to invite Bobby Bradford. I was thrilled because: of his historical importance to the music; he has never been to our area; he has strong ties to two of my local heroes, Terry Jenoure and Marty Ehrlich; his reputation for having enriched his Los Angeles jazz community for so long; he can really play.

Over the two days, Modirzadeh displayed heartfelt deference, born not only out of health and energy concerns, but by the sheer thrill of spending an extended period of time with a respected elder. He peppered Bradford with lots of questions about Ornette among other subjects, and understood the significance of the occasion enough to professionally record both concerts. Dennis Steiner’s Archive Project also preserved Thursday’s concert for posterity.

At a dinner in their honor at the home I share with Priscilla Page, we had the opportunity to introduce the musicians to members of our music-loving community. Jenoure and Ehrlich got to catch up with their old friend (there’s now a photo of the three of them floating somewhere on the inter-web), while they reminisced about the extraordinary series of John Carter records they made together in the 1980s. When scheduling a Thursday band rehearsal at UMass or Amherst proved daunting, my home became the woodshed. I loved seeing how the music comes together.

Ping Chong, the great theater artist, who along with Talvin Wilks, is in residence with the UMass Theater Department preparing their new work, “Collidescope 2.0”, is a friend of Hafez and a long-time colleague of his sister, Leila. We all met up at the Hangar on Thursday after the performance and the theater rehearsal for one more celebration.

As the A-Team’s ‘Hannibal’ Smith used to say, “I love it when a plan comes together.” It’s not often that one’s expectations, fueled by months of anticipation and preparation, are fully realized. Yes, the music was sublime, but being close to the spirit that informs the music, that exceeded my wildest dreams. Another peak experience.

Shank’s Mare:Koryu Nishikawa V and Tom Lee

Thursday, March 30, 2017 7:30pm

General Admission: $25; Five College, GCC and 17 & Under: $10

Witness the unique tradition of Japanese Kuruma Ningyo (cart puppets) in this story of two wandering travelers along the great highway from Tokyo to Kyoto, whose paths intersect time and space. Created by American puppeteer Tom Lee and Japanese Master Puppeteer Koryu Nishikawa V, this work fuses traditional Kuruma Ningyo puppetry, video projection and live music to explore themes of life and death, and how traditions are passed on.

Bobby Bradford | Hafez Modirzadeh Quartet

with Ken Filiano and Royal Hartigan

Thursday, March 31 at 8 p.m., Bezanson Recital Hall
General Admission: $12; $7 students

One of the most original cornet players to emerge from the avant-garde, 81-year-old Bobby Bradford made his mark in Los Angeles, playing with Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy and John CarterOver two decades, saxophonist Hafez Modirzadeh has developed his pioneering chromodal concept, a cross-cultural musical approach developed from his own American jazz and Iranian heritages.

Bobby Bradford

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Wu Man and the Shanghai Quartet

Tuesday, March 29 at 7:30 p.m., Fine Arts Center Concert Hall,  Chamber Seating

$40, $35, $20; Five College, GCC and 17 & under $10

Wu Man and the Shanghai Quartet explore the great music of the East and West. The quartet will perform Mozart’s K. 499, as well as a new multimedia work by the eminent Chinese composer Zhao Jiping in collaboration with his son, Zhao Lin, performing some of some of his most famous scores of internationally celebrated films – Raise the Red Lantern, To Live and Farewell My Concubine, among others. The program also includes a suite of traditional Chinese folk songs arranged by violinist Yi-Wen Jiang, with pipa solos by Wu Man. Looking back to their roots, but with a contemporary vision, these artists meld western string quartet and pipa in an unforgettable evening of music.

Bobby Bradford

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Audience members are invited to stay for post-performance discussion with the musicians following the concert.

Andrew Drury’s Content Provider Rocks the Parlor Room

by Glenn Siegel

The last two concerts I have produced: the UMass Magic Triangle Jazz Series event on February 25 and Thursday’s Pioneer Valley Jazz Shares concert at Northampton’s Parlor Room were led by drummers. That, in and of itself, is not a big deal in today’s jazz world (see John Hollenbeck, Tomas Fujiwara, Mike Reed, Terri Lynn Carrington, Bobby Previte, Allison Miller, etc.) But some striking differences and similarities between the two bandleaders made me realize there is more than one way to succeed in music.

Where Matt Wilson (https://websites.umass.edu/facweb/?p=2329) appeared precise and polished, Andrew Drury looked a little disheveled, like he had just rolled out of bed. On more than one occasion, Drury began pieces by rummaging around his pile of miscellaneous percussion. Was he looking for something or had the “music” begun?

Where Matt Wilson had us laughing and fully engaged with his in-between banter, Drury confessed that he was having difficulty transitioning from intense music-making to the English language.

Where Wilson mostly worked inside established forms, Drury took a more expansive tact, employing more different textures and extended techniques.

Where Wilson brought a basic jazz aesthetic to the music, Drury had a rock feel to his playing.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much they had in common. Both are master drummers, of course, working with tremendous musicians. Both are totally versed and in love with the music’s history. Both are accomplished and dedicated jazz educators (check out Wilson’s “kids” CD, WeBop: A Family Jazz Party. Drury spent six months teaching music to members of the Oneida nation and is spending the next few months in public schools in Brownsville and East New York.) Both expressed gratitude for the audiences’ engaged listening.

“We all had a ball,” Drury wrote in an email. “So much appreciate your good spirit and how it manifests itself in a great series, great audience, great dinner, great hanging out before and after the gig… and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to push the music and the group a bit further toward our next steps (most immediately performances in DC and NYC in about 10 days.) Very encouraging!”

Drury’s Content Provider, featuring tenor saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and alto saxophonist Briggan Krauss, treated 65 intrepid listeners to two ample sets of music. Without guitarist Brandon Seabrook, who is on the recent recording but could not make the Jazz Shares gig, the saxophonists had room to move and showcase their considerable skills.

Although the music moved from in-the-pocket funk and African-derived unison passages to basic sound science, it always seemed to retain its shape, purpose and point of view. With eyes closed, it was impossible to determine who/what was creating the undulating electronic sounds (it was Laubrock). I discovered that what sounded like guitar was being produced by Krauss. When I looked, there was Briggan strumming his saxophone keys. (He happens to be an accomplished guitarist.) The vocalized flute passages were actually Drury blowing into the side hole of his floor tom.

My almost grown sons, who had ventured to check out the music, laughed with incredulity. Whatever they ultimately thought of the music, I was glad they saw people claiming the space to express themselves outside of accepted conventions. Periodic murmurs and chuckles from the rest of the crowd confirmed their reactions.

That Andrew Drury, Ingrid Laubrock and Briggan Krauss are virtuoso musicians in complete control of their instruments made their sound production techniques more than novelty. They made music that moved and provoked us, and made us glad we were there.

Pilobolus Dance Theater

Tuesday, March 22 at 7:30 p.m., Fine Arts Center Concert Hall

$50, $45, $15; Five College, GCC and 17 & under $15, $12, $10

With its mix of acrobatic dexterity, inventive wit, and startling imagery, this internationally acclaimed company transforms itself into striking sculptural expressions that are “clever, endearing, and physically awesome” (The Los Angeles Times). Pilobolus Dance Theatre returns to the FAC for more spectacle and daring surprises.

Bobby Bradford

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Family Alphabet Workshop with Pilobolus
Sunday, February 21, 3 – 4:30 p.m., Fine Arts Center Lobby
This playful, productive and fast-paced workshop for families and people of all ages and abilities will create a unique community Family Alphabet. Children and adults will team up to take on the challenge of creating all the letters for a human alphabet. Limited to 30 participants (priority given to families), early registration necessary. Call (413) 545-0190 or email hrathbun@admin.umass.edu.

The Bach Suites| A Moveable Feast

Matt Haimovitz, Cello

Monday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m., Bowker Auditorium

$30, $15; Five College, GCC and 17 & under $10

Join us in a new and unique concert-going experience – unparalleled in the classical music world. Acclaimed cellist Matt Haimovitz offers a brilliant musical variation on the concept of A Moveable Feast. Bach’s Suites for Unaccompanied Cello are some of the most moving and spiritual compositions for a solo instrument. This concert, however, travels from one end of Rt. 9 to the other. On Sunday, he’ll begin the feast by performing three Bach suites in three separate locations around Hampshire County. Each suite will be accompanied by overtures, recently commissioned by Haimovitz. The feast culminates on Monday in Bowker Auditorium with a concert of the balance of the suites including overtures by Vijay Iyer, Mohammed Fairouz & Luna Pearl Woolf.

Bach Suites

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From Vietnam to America: A Musical Odyssey

Vanessa Vân-Ánh Võ, Vietnamese zither 

Friday, March 4 at 8 p.m., Bowker Auditorium

$20, $15; Five College, GCC and 17 & under $10

Marking the 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, Vanessa Vo explores the personal and spiritual journeys of the Boat People’s escape from war as they abandoned their lives in the search for freedom with an alien and unknowable future. Utilizing new music for Vietnamese instruments such as the zither (Dan Tranh), dulcimer, monochord and others along with ambient sound, spoken word, historical objects, the music is intended to convey stories of human transformations that resonate for all, not just Vietnamese refugees.

Bobby Bradford

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