Eugene weekly., July 28, 2005, Page 30, Image 30

BY BRETT CAMPBELL
Prêt à Porter
OFAM explores one of America’s greatest
songwriters.
T
ime’s passage often flattens historical
figures and events into misleading
stereotypes. Today, Cole Porter’s rep-
utation rests on the relentlessly witty, upbeat
songs he wrote that cheered Depression-bur-
dened America, like “Let’s Do It,” and “I Get
a Kick Out of You.”
But Porter’s glibness shouldn’t obscure
the melancholy and even anguish lurking just
beneath the whimsical surface of some of his
most poignant numbers; songs such as “Love
for Sale” (banned in some quarters because of
its subject matter, prostitution), “Ev’ry Time
We Say Goodbye” and “What is this Thing
Called Love?” have endured long beyond the
shows that spawned them because they
acknowledge the confusion, vulnerability and
even danger that “True Love” (another peren-
nial) inspires. Add classics like “In the
Still of the Night,” “Night and Day,”
“Anything Goes,” “So in Love” and so
many more, along with lesser-known
gems such as “Dream Dancing,” and
you have one of the real giants of 20th
century music, up there with the
Gershwins, Rodgers, Harold Arlen and
very few others.
Porter’s durable songs wouldn’t
have lasted this long if he had been as
shallow as his foppish image, and this
summer’s Oregon Festival of
American Music’s series of Cole
Porter concerts (Aug. 4-12) entertain-
ingly reveals Porter’s true dimension.
As last year’s film De-Lovely showed,
Porter — a hard-working, well-trained
musician — earned his complex les-
sons in love, as he pursued affairs with
many men while married to a woman
whom he truly loved, “in his fashion,”
to quote another of his songs. (Many of
those jaunty numbers were also written
in a vise of intense, decades-long pain caused
by a riding accident.) And while that movie
had a scene in which Porter (played by Kevin
Kline) tells a singer not to worry so much
about the melody and to focus on the words
and feelings, anyone who doubts the musical
worth of Porter’s songs need only turn to the
thousands of versions purveyed by America’s
greatest jazzers, such as Sonny Rollins and
Miles Davis, who found immense possibili-
ties in those gorgeous harmonic progressions.
Even some moderns like Elvis Costello and
Alanis Morisette sounded pretty convincing
on the movie soundtrack. So while listening
to some of the admittedly bright, frothy hits
played by the OFAM musicians next week,
look a little deeper and you might glimpse the
darkness beneath.
To demonstrate that Porter’s words and
music boast enough depth and breadth to sus-
tain a half dozen concerts, OFAM has enlisted
a strong lineup of nationally known musicians,
from impressive festival vets like clarinetist
Ken Peplowski and trumpeter Randy Standke,
to newcomers Tony Award nominee Ann
Hampton Callaway and the luminous singer
Sylvia McNair, who’s branched out beyond
her acclaimed classical repertoire to popular
styles. The festival also includes free showings
of films featuring Porter songs, talks by
experts on his music, and a fully staged
restoration of his 1934 musical, Anything
Goes. I’ll tell you more about that and the fine
classical/orchestral concerts next week; for
now, here’s a quick overview of the first-week
concerts (all but one at The Shedd) that should
especially interest jazz and pop fans.
• All of You Thursday, Aug. 4, at 7:30
pm, Silva Concert Hall, Hult Center. This big
band concert features Callaway and provides
a good overview of the whole series.
• Now You Has Jazz Friday, Aug. 5,
at 2:30 pm.
• Cole Jazz (with Callaway) Friday,
Aug. 5, at 7:30 pm.
These small-group shows, led by OFAM
jazz adviser/pianist Dick Hyman, are a good
choice for jazz fans who want to hear how
vocal and instrumental jazz giants trans-
formed Porter’s songs into vehicles for
melodic and harmonic improvisation.
• Kiss Me, Kate Saturday, Aug. 6, at
2:30 pm.
Songs from the other great Porter musical,
featuring a jazz sextet and vocal quartet. A
ew
must for show tunes fans.
Dr. Richard Strom, DC
is pleased to announce the association of
Dr. Brandon Tinlin, DC
Evening & Saturday morning hours.
Practice includes Nutritional Medicine.
S TROM C HIRORACTIC C LINIC
1413 Charnelton Street • 344-0328
30 JULY 28, 2005