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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, JUNE 3, 2017
Duplicitous dexterity dazzles SEA farers in final concert
Piano Cameleons
Review
B Y B URNEY G ARELICK
Seacoast
Entertainment
Association’s season finale
steered the concert vessel down
the third stream, commingling
classical music and jazz for a
dazzling performance by the
Piano Caméléons on May 24 at
the Florence Events Center.
Coined by composer Gunther
Schuller in 1957, the third
stream is a musical genre that is
a synthesis of classical music
and jazz with improvisation as a
vital component. Schuller was
referring to the Modern Jazz
Quartet.
In
2013,
the
Piano
Caméléons jumped into the
third stream to ride the rapids of
both genres and create a bub-
bling brew celebrating the
sound of music.
Classical music is all about
the composer, and the per-
former takes his cues from what
is written. Jazz is about the per-
former and his interpretation of
the composer’s score. That is
how the Piano Caméléons
described the difference at the
pre-concert talk prior to the
final SEA presentation in the
2016-17 season series.
The young pianists, John
Roney and Matt Herskowitz,
came to Florence from
Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to
give their first performance in
the United States.
Instead of Hawaiian leis,
Florence welcomed the duo
with a city blooming with rho-
dodendrons.
A chameleon is a lizard that
can change colors or a person
that can change opinions or
behavior, depending on the situ-
ation. The Piano Caméléons can
change tunes by arranging and
improvising
time-tested
melodies from the classical
repertoire to create jazz har-
monies.
A caméléon without the “h”
is still a chameleon because it’s
the French word for the quick-
change artist, and French and
English are the official lan-
guages of Canada. Often and
especially in Quebec, French is
preferred. In fact, the liner notes
of the Piano Caméléons’ won-
derful CD are bilingual, in
French and English. The lan-
guage of music, however, is
universal.
Roney and Herskowitz both
started piano lessons at age
SSD to host
‘Twilight’
update meetings
Siuslaw School District
Twilight Afterschool pro-
gram director Lisa Utz will
be hosting ongoing advisory
group meetings to update the
community on Twilight pro-
grams, and to gather input
and feedback for program
development and improve-
ment.
The district would like to
hear from parents and fami-
lies, students, teachers, com-
munity members and busi-
nesses. The district needs
members of the community
to make known their support
of current “Twilight” school
programs.
The following dates and
times have been scheduled
for open forum meetings
through the end of year:
• June 5 at noon at the
Siuslaw SD District Office
• June 8 at 5 p.m. at the
Siuslaw Elementary Library
• June 13 at 4 at the
Siuslaw SD District Office
For more information,
contact the Twilight pro-
grams office at 541-997-
5462.
Voice Your
Opinion!
EDITOR@
THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM
three, Roney in Toronto and
Herskowitz in upstate New
York. Herskowitz took to piano
like the proverbial duck to
water. Roney, on the other hand,
hated it because his older sister
was also taking piano lessons.
Roney slid off the piano
bench as soon as he could and
devoted himself to skateboard-
ing and became an awarded
master. At the ripe old age of
nineteen, he retired, exchanging
his skateboard for a piano key-
board to become a serious stu-
dent and he fell in love with
jazz.
Roney said that skateboard-
ing taught him spontaneity and
improvisation, both of which
helped him master the art of
playing jazz.
Herskowitz was already a
classical piano master with an
affinity for jazz. The two met
and decided to match wits and
genres, and the rest is history.
The FEC grand piano shared
the stage with its own compan-
ion, a rented grand from
Portland. The two pianos faced
each other center stage under a
large screen that projected
images of the two keyboards.
SEA farers could not only
watch the pianists play, they
could also watch their hands
and marvel at their digital dex-
terity. It was dizzying but hard
to look away!
The grand ivories were vig-
orously tickled, so tickled pink
with delirious delight that they
had no desire to holler uncle.
Neither did the crowd.
The program included recog-
nizable classical works. One
pianist played the composer's
piano part while the other
played the orchestra’s part, sup-
porting the melody and harmo-
ny. Then the pianists began to
improvise on the composer’s
themes, sprinting up and down
their respective keyboards-
overhand, underhand, forehand,
and backhand-challenging each
other riff by riff, fooling each
other and always complement-
ing each other and the compos-
er.
It was prestidigitation. Like
scrappy kittens on the keys, the
magic fingers of these Flying
Arpeggios scampered for treats
and always landed on their feet.
The show began with Bach
and ends with Bach, quipped
Roney, waiting for groans, but
no one was taken aback by the
expectant silly pun.
Bach’s Prelude No. 9 in C
minor started the concert and
his Prelude No. 6 ended it. The
opening Bach was followed by
Chopin’s Nocturne in Eb major
Opus 9 No. 2.
Later, Chopin returned, excit-
ed to see how the Piano
Caméléons
treated
his
Revolutionary Etude Op. 10
No. 12.
That
mad
Russian
Rachmaninov’s Prelude in C
sharp minor Op. 3 No. 2
received a jazzy spin, and
Grieg’s Concerto in d minor 1st
movement made Peer Gynt
long to grab Anitra and swing
dance in the Hall of the
Mountain King.
Debussy’s Clair de Lune
couldn't have been fuller and
brighter, ringed like Saturn in a
rainbow of colors from a giant
box of crayons.
The dazzling duo changed
genres on Gershwin, turning his
jazzy “Fascinating Rhythm”
into a classical piece.
Beethoven contributed a cou-
ple of movements from his
Sonata Pathétique. But for jazz
fans, the pièce de résistance was
when the Piano Caméléons
rolled out both barrels on
The Florence Organic Farmers’ Market
will start its 21st season on May 20
and continuing through October 28.
The market is open SATURDAYS, 10am – 2pm
at 310 Highway 101 (Pro Lumber)
The market accepts WIC
and Farm Direct Nutrition vouchers.
For more information, call Maria at 541-902-8815.
Brubeck's “Blue Rondo a La
Turk” — already a fabulous
jazz improvisation of Mozart’s
Rondo alla Turca. But who
could have guessed so many
shades of blue could tumble
from the keys as the Piano
Caméléons
extemporized
Mozart to an even greater
extent!
One of the SEA farers
jumped from his seat hooting
with joy and the pianists were
so tickled they offered him a
free CD. This was exactly the
reaction they'd hoped to achieve
by commingling classical music
and jazz.
After a standing ovation and
the Bach end piece, the pianists
were persuaded to play an
encore. They were ready with
Schumann’s
Träumerei
(Daydreaming)
No.
7,
Kinderszenen (Scenes from
Childhood).
It is the closing salutation on
the Piano Caméléons’ CD:
“Whenever you may listen to it,
we’d like to wish you a good
night and sweet dreams.”
Bonsoir and merci.
Good night and thank you for
a dazzling concert to conclude a
spectacular season.
Sweet dreams, SEA farers,
until October when SEA sets
sail once more.