The World Saxophone Quartet is playing at the Walker Art Center this weekend. And guess who's going?....we!
On Monday evening, gerg and I were tinkering on a PC monitor in our new office. Mark Wheat was broadcasting on The Current. Suddenly I stopped what I was doing cuz I heard Wheat say, "the 10th caller will receive 2 free tickets to the World Saxophone Quartet performance at the Walker this Saturday."
I flipped open my cherry blossom Katana and speed dialed the Current (it's #3 on my speed dial).
A dude answered the phone. "This is the current. You're the 4th caller. Try back." Then he hung up.
I immediately pressed "talk" twice, thereby redialing in a split second. BUSY SIGNAL!!!
"Crap!" (at this point gerg is wondering what the hell I'm doing)
I immediately press "talk" twice again. It rings twice.
Then, "This is Mark Wheat. You're the 10th caller!"
Me: "Mark Wheat! Sweet!"
MW: "You've won two tickets. Do you know what show they're for?"
Me: "The saxophone quartet"
MW: *laughs* "That's good. I get some callers who don't even know what they're trying to win when they call" (that's not an official quote, but it's close)
Me: *laughs*
MW: "I need your name, address, and phone number. I promise we won't bug you."
me: *provides name, address, and phone number* "You can bug me if you want."
MW: "I'll remember that. Take care and congratulations."
me: "Rokk on, Mark!"
I then inform gerg that we won the tickets. We high five and continue working on the PC. Not bad for a Monday. Not bad at all.
2 comments:
So!? How was the show! REPORT REPORT REPORT!
IIII and I had a back and forth about the show on Saturday.
ME: So gerg and I saw the World Saxophone quartet with tix I won from the Current and it was fuggin awesome. IF YOU LIKE JAZZ.
If hendrix fans showed up, they were prolly disappointed. It was very beat oriented...like the beat movement. The sax was used to play sounds and rhythms, not necessarily used to play melodies. In fact, without the bass player, you might not have realized they were playing Hendrix. Abstract. Jazzy. Lee Pearson is an amazing jazz drummer. The whole concert was puzzling and inspiring. Totally unpredictable. If saxophones could sound like rushhour traffic and people talking, this was it.
IIII: Saxophones often sound like rushhour traffic in the hands of the poorly trained....only after years of practice and performance can you actually charge people to listen to you revert to sounding like rushhour traffic.
Me: Their style made me feel like I was eavesdropping on a conversation. They were playing to each other, not to us.
IIII: I love that though. Obviously it is omnipresent in jazz since it's a lot of improvisation...but it still feels special.
Me: Their style made me feel like I was eavesdropping on a conversation. They were playing to each other, not to us.
IIII: Jazz series at the library over the next few months:
http://www.friendsofmpl.org/events_home.html#jazz
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gerg and I arrived early (my fault - I thought the show started at 8pm, not 9:30). That gave us the opportunity to stop at 20.21 for NA cocktails and eats. Gerg had mini Kobe burgers. I had a coconut shrimp soup. All was tasty, as usual.
The McGuire Theatre by Herzog & De Meuron at the Walker is gorgeous. Stunning acoustics and a lovely blending of eggplant and charcoal colored form and function.
http://expansion.walkerart.org/images/slide_theater_final.jpg
The performance was not for jazz newcomers. It was extreme jazz. These guys take improvisation to another level. Even as they're establishing the melody, they barely give you the foundation. Why reveal the secret? It's up to the listener to find it. In that way, the act of listening to the WSQ is exploratory in nature. Because you're presented with a cacophone of solos, you can either attempt to dissect, or accept the wonderful dissonance as a whole.
The drummer, Lee Pearson, was a rhythmic wonder. Steady, yet playful, neither harnassing the quartet, nor letting them wander free, Pearson truly accompanied the soloists. Jamaaladeen Tacuma was the glue. Steady and FUNKy basslines reminded us that it was actually Hendrix tunes inspiring the wild soloists.
The only lyrical piece came at the end of the show - a political complaint and the desire to escape the fate of Replublican policy and the war in Iraq was direct. We know where these guys stand now. The lyrics were bad, but I don't think they give a shit about bad lyrics.
Noise. Improvisation. Jazz. Loved it.
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