Ljova and the Kontraband

They bill themselves as embracing “Eastern-European and Gypsy melodies, Latin rhythms, Jazz-inspired improvisations, and deeply rooted Classical forms.” Yep, I heard all of that on Saturday at the Rite of Summer Music Festival on Governors Island. The best thing about the day was the fact that it was about fifteen degrees cooler there than in Manhattan. That said, the group included Ljova (viola), Patrick Farrell (accordion), Mike Savino (bass and banjo) and Satoshi Takeishi (percussion). Mr. Takeishi was sitting in for the regular percussionist; I never heard the banjo (maybe it appeared at the second concert of the afternoon).

Though the first three numbers were played without any introduction, we did get bits of information after the fact. The first piece sounded very New-age-ish to me, with lots of repetitions of phrases. Apparently it was based on a theme from Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring,” (get it? as a prelude to the Rite of Summer festival?)—it wasn’t apparent to me. The second piece, called Blaine Game, had more hints of gypsy/klezmer music. It was episodic and more of an up-tempo piece. The third was a gypsy waltz, opening with viola and accordion, then the bass and percussion joining in a little bit later. This piece had more structure, with a real beginning, middle, and end.

A set of folk songs followed, sung by Inna Barmash. There was a Yiddish folk song, a children’s song (Mr. Rabbit—new to me), a song telling the story of a bitter bride, and a song/aria from a Stravinsky opera (Mavra, also new to me—http://tinyurl.com/89md4ho)*. Ms. Barmash (after some sound/microphone problems) displayed a clear, pleasant voice, well suited to the material. She played with phrasing, bending pitches from time to time, and adding distinctive touches to the vocals.

The set that followed included a Lullaby (which also included some pitch bending from the viola), A Pretty Penny, written as part of a film score for Penny Dreadful, though it didn’t make the cut, and a mountain/country folk song described as “meeting Bobby Brown soul.”

While this blend of musical styles did not really appeal to me, it was fun to sit on a beach towel in the shade of a huge tree, eating a picnic lunch, and beating the heat on a heat-wave Saturday afternoon. There are two more concerts in the series. I’m definitely going, weather permitting, to the JACK Quartet in August. We’ll see about Todd Reynolds on Labor Day weekend.

ConcertMeister*Sorry about the lack of a link—I'll explore more later.