Brave Combo
Carl Finch, Keyboard and Accordion; Danny O’Brien, Brass; Jeffrey Barnes, Woodwinds; Lyle Atkinson, Bass; Alan Emert Mansfield, Drums
Carnegie Hall Citywide is the program formerly known as Neighborhood Concerts. Why the name change occurred, I have no clue. This concert took place in Bryant Park—a first for Carnegie sponsoring concerts there.
Brave Combo, from Denton, Texas, provided some good old-fashioned fun music. Audience participation was encouraged, so folks danced polkas, a waltz, and the ever-popular conga line. I observed. The concert kicked off with a polka played by electric keyboard, trumpet, clarinet, electric bass, and drums. Other combinations switched out trombone for the trumpet and saxophone (tenor and soprano, I think) for the clarinet. And at least one number swapped accordion for keyboard.
As there was no printed program, I tried taking notes as things were announced from the stage. We heard salsas, merengues, and a cumbia (a Colombian rhythm and dance form) version of the Mission Impossible theme. A tribute to the twist was a mini-medley of Hernando’s Hideaway and Hava Nagila. The music for a Greek circle dance (tsakonikos?) seemed very similar to klezmer music. The Clarinet Polka had a cute Rhapsody in Blue riff as its intro.
After a while, though, I decided that I didn’t need to stay for the entire concert. The informality of the open-air, park setting allowed me to feel OK about that. And, as announced from the stage earlier, the Hokey Pokey was scheduled to make an appearance. I wanted to make sure I avoided that.
I’m certainly glad I went, and I had a good enough time. Weather permitting, I’ll be back on July 25th for a classical music concert (5:30 p.m., for about ninety minutes) featuring a group called Decoda. Also, these Citywide concerts are part of a full summer season of events under the umbrella name of Bryant Park Picnics, featuring music, theater, and dance. I hope to take in another open-air production of Twelfth Night toward the end of the month. There’s a lot of stuff out there, and I’m always on the lookout for more.
ConcertMeister
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