Feast of Music

Preview: Pianist Simone Dinnerstein at PS 321

(Photo: Lisa Marie Mazzucco)

On Tuesday, January 31, pianist and Neighborhood Classics music director Simone Dinnerstein will present a recital to celebrate the release of her second Sony recording, featuring Bach Partitas and Schubert Impromptus.  Ms. Dinnerstein is best known for her surprise success with her first recording, the Goldberg Variations.  7 PM at PS 321 in Park Slope (180 7th Ave.) / $15.

Charles Bradley Invokes James Brown at Hiro Ballroom

by Talia Page

Charles Bradley's story is an interesting one.  Born in Florida and raised in Brooklyn, Bradley fell on hard times repeatedly throughout the course of his 63 years, working as a chef in a mental hospital and suffering through the tragic murder of his brother in his mother's home. As a result, he was never fully able to pursue his lifelong passion for music.  After spending much of his life traveling to various cities and states across the country, Bradley finally got the attention of Gabriel Roth of Daptone Records when he performed his James Brown tribute act at Bedstuy's Tarheel Lounge in the early 2000s. Roth connected Bradley with Thomas Brenneck, guitarist for both the Budos Band and the Dap Kings, who helped Bradley record his debut LP, No Time For Dreaming, which landed on many of last year's best-of lists. 

Last night at Hiro Ballroom, Bradley revived his James Brown tribute as Black Velvet, backed by Jimmy Hill and the Allstarz Band.  With a clear passon for his idol, Bradley defied both age and gravity as he danced, bounced, and writhed like a man half his age through the Godfather's greatest hits.  During wardrobe changes, the audience was treated to a series of female vocalists performing Gladys Knight's "Midnight Train to Georgia", Beyonce's "Love on Top", and the late Etta James' "At Last," effectively covering the bases of the all-ages audience.

Bradley, who is gearing up for a worldwide tour with his Extraordinaries, is living proof that good things really do come to those who wait.

Vienna/Budapest Pics

(Bruckner Organ, St. Florian)

I've finally gotten around to putting up my music-related pics from my recent trip to Vienna and Budapest, which started as a sightseeing tour and turned into something of a pilgrimage. Click on the links below the jump to see them.

Kamala Sankaram's "Miranda" at HERE

It isn't easy to get a new opera off the ground these days. First, someone needs to write a libretto. Then, someone needs to write the music. Then comes the long, painstaking process of figuring out what works musically and dramatically, and what doesn't. And, then, after all of that, you need to find someone who's willing to stage it. Just ask David T. Little or Missy Mazzoli, whose "Dog Days" and "Songs From the Uproar," respectively, have been in various stages of workshop for the past three years. ("Songs" is finally having it's world premiere at The Kitchen next month, staged by the intrepid Beth Morrison Projects; "Dog Days" will receive its premiere at Montclair State University in September.) 

Three years ago, composer/performer Kamala Sankaram was invited to join HERE's Artist Residency Program (better known as HARP), where she was given the resources and time necessary to develop her own operatic project, Miranda: a sort-of postmodern murder mystery co-written by Rob Reese, who also served as director. Excerpts from Miranda were previously shown during HERE's annual Culturemart Festival in 2010 and 2011; throughout the process, artists were given hands-on training with everything from marketing and production planning, to budgeting and grant writing. 

 
(NY Times)

Miranda finally received it's first full production two weeks ago on HERE's mainstage (I saw the performance on Friday, 1/20.) Crafted in the Victorian-futurist style known as Steampunk, the one-act opera concerns the murder and subsequent trial of diet-pill heriess Miranda Wright (performed by Sankaram.) A bailiff (Jerry Miller) served as an engaging and enthusiastic M.C., instructing the audience - the de facto jury of the made-for-TV trial - on rules and protocol. A metallic-voiced computer projection named D.A.V.E. (short for "Differential Autonomous Verification Engine," sung by countertenor Eric Brenner) served as virtual judge. Among the accused were Miranda's father, Izzy (Pat Muchmore, best known as the founder of Anti-Social Music), Miranda's mother, Anjana Challapattee Wright (Rima Fand) and her fiancee, Cor Prater (Drew Fleming). The singers were joined by reed players Ed Rosenberg and Jeff Hudgins. 

The music was catchy, combining rock and electronica with hints of jazz, funk, and classical. Sankaram led the way with her penetrating coloratura soprano, sounding like a Mozart heroine while simultaneously playing the accordion. Muchmore did the same on countertenor and cello, while Fleming plucked at an electric guitar and Fand played violin. One wonders if such double-duty will become more and more prevalent among performers as opera continues to go the way of grassroots.

In the end, Miranda's mother is found guilty (in spite of the audience's confused verdict), and Miranda and Cor share a heartrending final duet that moves from vocal to purely instrumental. By that point, I couldn't even imagine leaving the transition to a pit band.

(NY Post)