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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 2005)
Bravo • Winter 2005 Herbie Hancock performs at the Silva Concert Hall Feb. 3. Putting Our Best Note Forward Eugene brings in the 21st century’s big names. By Brett Campbell T he winter and spring music seasons’ source of greatest abundance is the Oregon Festival of American Music. Jazz fans around the Northwest are already looking forward to the Feb. 3 Directions in Music concert featuring legendary keyboard player/composer Herbie Hancock, sax titan Michael Brecker and young trumpet star Roy Hargrove. That show — so big it’s happening at the Hult Center — is probably the top jazz pick of the season. But the April 10 show at the Shedd with the Dave Holland Big Band, one of the finest ensembles now working in jazz, is a close second. Holland’s small group con- cert last year might have been the most incen- diary jazz show I’ve seen in Oregon, and this www.eugeneweekly.com one may just shake the old church’s rafters. A sleeper show that fans of moody, well- crafted improvisational music should not miss is the March 17 concert by the Tomasz Stanko Quartet. A veteran of Germany’s high-quality ECM label (home of Keith Jarrett, Arvo Part, Charles Lloyd and many other great musicians), Stanko has been put- ting out darkly beautiful music for two decades. Other strong Shedd jazz shows in- clude violinist Regina Carter on Jan. 28, the great pianist Mose Allison on Feb. 11, and the return of the phenomenally telepathic Bill Charlap Trio on Feb. 12. The Shedd has a strong lineup of American roots-based performers, too, in- cluding the return of Cape Breton fiddle diva Natalie MacMaster on Jan. 26, the always- fascinating Darol Anger’s American Natalie MacMaster Fiddle Ensemble on performs at the Feb. 5, Cajun swingers Shedd Jan. 26. BeauSoleil on Feb. 27, bluegrass master Ricky Skaggs on May 12, and slack-key guitar legends Keola Beamer on May 15 and Led Ka’apana on March 10. If you value intelligent, emo- tionally-charged rock, don’t miss the great Austin singer-songwriter Alejandro Escovedo on April 6 at the Shedd, even if you’ve never heard of him. All that, and we still haven’t mentioned my top spring concert recommendation. One of the 20th century’s most forward-looking com- posers/performers, Laurie Anderson, brings her electric violin and synthesizers, sly humor, and singular songs and narratives to town March 12. That show should appeal to hipsters and classical fans alike—or anyone interested in the future of music, for that mat- ter. Classical music lovers will also want to be at the Shedd for some too-rarely-heard music of two earlier 20th century masters, Samuel Barber and Benjamin Britten, in the American Symphonia’s April 7 and 8 con- certs. Don’t miss Broadway diva Audra McDonald on May 25 either. American music is also alive and thriving at the University of Oregon’s Beall Concert Hall, where, in addition to the Music Today Festival’s riches (see accompanying article), UO faculty violinist Kathryn Lucktenberg performs still another concert of 20th century American music on Jan. 13. The UO’s ac- claimed Chamber Music Series has three strong offerings, too: Berlin’s Philharmonia Quartett on Jan. 20, the Paris Piano Trio on Feb. 15, and the outstanding young string octet Concertante on March 3. Each year the school’s World Music Series brings an amaz- ing musician from India and on Feb. 25, it’s Kartik Seshadri. The UO is also collaborat- ing with Lane Community College jazz artists in a new Oregon Jazz Festival January 21-22. Another Beall Hall show on Jan. 26 fea- tures UO artists in songs and chamber music by Tchaikovsky, part of a tribute to the Russian romantic who is also the centerpiece of the Eugene Symphony’s season, with many of his most popular works featured in orchestra concerts on Jan. 27 and 29. My rec- ommendation is the Feb. 24 concert featuring the 20th century Russian master Sergei Prokofiev’s magnificent music written for the classic film Alexander Nevsky, along with a new work by resident composer Philip Rothman. The Eugene Opera offers Verdi’s Rigoletto on March 11 and 13, while the Eugene Concert Choir pays tribute to the late local composer Jon Sutton in its Jan. 22 concert. As it has in recent years, the choir ends its 30th season on May 7 with yet an- other ambitious choral-orchestral work: Beethoven’s epic Missa Solemnis, backed by the Oregon Mozart Players. The OMP has a strong season of its own, highlighted by the premiere of music director Glen Cortese’s chamber version of Mahler’s sub- lime “Song of the Earth” (sung in Chinese!) on Feb. 19 and 20. Another one of my prime picks of the season is Peter Schickele con- ducting Bach’s “magnumest of opuses,” The Abduction of Figaro. Schickele is one of the best things to ever happen to classical music. Not only is he a fine composer, popularizer and explainer, he also punctures the field’s pomposity with much-needed humor. This should be a blast, with the OMP augmented by the rumbles of their namesake rolling in his grave. Finally, the Oregon Bach Festival brings its usual wealth of classics, along with one of the most significant single contemporary music events in Eugene history: The West Coast premiere of the first great work of the 21st century, Osvaldo Golijov’s Passion After St. Mark. You’ll be hearing a lot more about that here soon. Most local clubs and concert halls are still filling their schedules, but we do know a few highlights already. The Hult Center is bring- ing the excellent klezmer/new music clar- inetist David Krakauer on Feb. 15 and 16. DIVA continues to grow as a progressive per- formance venue, bringing live music to the Imaginify MetaMedia conference on Jan. 28, Daniel Tapio Heila’s Knotty Ensemble accompanying moving images with impro- vised music on Feb. 11, the Eugene Sacred Harp Singers on Feb. 25, the pioneer of sam- pled music Carl Stone on March 26 (in con- junction with his UO show that weekend, an- other top recommendation), and the return of the virtuoso San Diego percussion impro- viser Nathan Hubbard with his new vibes trio on March 30. The McDonald Theatre al- ready has Leo Kottke, the Vienna Choir Boys and other popular acts scheduled. Be sure to check EW’s weekly music columns and calendar to find out about the other events still to come. ■ Soloist Robert Sullivan performs with the Oregon Mozart Players Jan. 8. Bravo! EW’s Winter 2005 Guide to the Performing Arts ■ 3
