Sugar Hill Music Festival (9/25/21)

 Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber, Duane Eubanks (trumpet), Abiodun Oyewole (poet, author, teacher), Sugar Hill Quartet, Charenee Wade (jazz vocalist)

Sort of. I didn’t hear all of the above-mentioned performers. The entire program was presented by While We Are Still Here, an organization dedicated to preserving Harlem’s history. The afternoon began a little late, as they had some sound system problems. We sang the first verse of Lift Every Voice and Sing, but we really couldn’t hear the song leader, so it didn’t quite kick off the event on the right note. Also, the artists listed above did not perform in the order listed above. So, here’s what I saw/heard.

Mr. Oyewole did an interview session with a professor (I didn’t get the name, as it was not listed in the program). One of his set pieces referred back to a time in his life when he decided not to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance. When asked about it (back then), he decided to create his own pledge, which he explained to us and then had us be the responders in a call-and-response pledge, from years ago. It was an effective set piece. After another brief sound system failure/fix, he also recounted remembrances from his years as one of The Last Poets. They’re worth a rabbit-hole look, if you’re so inclined. We then heard from Gabrielle David, of 2LeafPress – A Black/Brown Female-Led Press, whose new book, Trailblazers, Black Women Who Helped Make America Great, Americans First/American Icons, will be released on October 1, 2021.

Then (after another sound system problem), we got to some music. The Sugar Hill Quartet was a trio (piano, bass, drums) joined by guest saxophonist James Carter. They led off with a swinging rendition of Lester Leaps In, with Mr. Carter on tenor sax. It showed the familiar jazz tinges—all playing together, throwing the spotlight (as it were) to individuals, then rounding out the piece with all players again. Their second piece was mellower, though still powerful (Mr. Carter was on soprano sax for this one). At one point, the sound system crapped out again, but they played gamely on. I actually enjoyed the unamplified sound. Third up was The Minor Mode, an up tempo number with tenor sax. It was playful but almost borderline frantic for me. The fourth and final piece seemed somewhat improvisational. It began with solo sax riffs. As this was an outdoor venue, at one point a car horn honked and Mr. Carter matched it exactly from the stage. After the three others chimed in quietly, the sax stepped to the side and let the other three shine before joining back in and bringing the set to a close.

A bit of fundraising followed: (text ‘xxxxx’ to ‘xxx’, or scan the QR code, or go to various websites to donate) while they reconfigured the stage, and then we got to hear Charenee Wade, with a trio of a different pianist, different bassist, and different drummer. Ms. Wade started out with some light scatting and then eased into a bit of jazz-blues. Up next was Song of the Wind, which opened with a drum solo, added bass, added piano, and then added vocals, all in a slower tempo and with slightly Latin rhythms. Ms. Wade followed that with a version of I’ve Known Rivers (Gary Bartz, music/Langston Hughes/lyrics (poem)). It was a pleasant, straightforward setting of the text. I rather enjoyed it.

By this time, the afternoon had begun to enter early evening, so I withdrew. I was still able to hear the end of Ms. Wade’s set while waiting for my MTA bus. (Note to self—if/when you visit this festival again, plan on staying longer than you thought you would.)

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Alarm Will Sound (9/18/21)

 Ten Thousand Birds – John Luther Adams (2014)

Thanks to the Rite of Summer concert series on Governors Island, I heard this very interesting concert. A bit of history—the work was premiered by Alarm Will Sound in St. Louis in 2014, if my online search is correct. I only bring this up because there was no printed program. One had to scan a QR code or go to one of several websites Not good for me.

As a result, my writings will be catch-as-catch-can. As explained in the venue (Nolan Park, on Governors Island) the performers would be moving about, sometimes of their own volition, and sometimes as ‘suggested’ in programming notes.

I heard bird sounds presented by: French horn, clarinet, viola, trombone, double bass, flute, violin, cello (who played standing up), trumpet, bassoon, xylophone (on the porch of a building), piccolo, percussion blocks, piano, (somehow I don’t think the helicopters were in the score), some percussion-like bongos, tympani, (at one point, three string players flitted through the performance space, like birds flitting through a meadow), marimbas (plural), metallophone, oboe, piano, electronic keyboard … well ... you get my drift. And their drift. They drifted throughout the performance space and showed up in very strange spaces. As in, in your face spaces. For the record, my guesses were pretty darned good.

As for the music itself, it was repetitive, as would be expected for bird sounds. Toward the end, some new sounds were introduced, and they were a welcome addition. But for the most part, the sounds just washed over the audience, from odd areas, odd distances, and odd places. At one point a violinist was in a tree (I’m not making this up, you know!). Toward the end, a live bird started chirping. There were many smiles. One instrument that I asked about after the performance was called a bullroarer. It’s wooden, on a string, but like that plastic tube thing-y you swung around your head to make a woo-woo-woo sound. This was more refined.

I’m pretty sure I will never hear this piece again. But if I have the chance, I’ll jump at it. If you get the chance, jump!

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A Celebration of the Life and Work of Harry T. Burleigh (9/12/21)

Deep River – Steven Kirby, baritone; There Is a Balm in Gilead – Melisa Bonetti, Shaina Martinez, Laura Jobin-Acosta; My Lord What a Morning – Calvary-St. George’s Choir
Burleigh at Temple Emanu-El – Dr. Andrew Henderson; Jack Coen
A Jubilee – Kamel Boutrous
You Ask Me If I Love You – Laura Jobin- Acosta; One Year – Steven Kirby; He Sent Me You – Shaina Martinez
Go Tell It on the Mountain – Calvary-St. George’s Choir

A first for me, I attended a co-naming ceremony for a street on Sept. 12, 2021—HARRY T BURLEIGH PL (that’s the way street signs work in NYC).

After the ceremony, there was (gasp!) an indoor concert. Since it was in a church (a new one for me) and since every other pew was roped off (but most people, including me, wore masks), it was pretty safe for an indoor concert.

The first piece was slow and very moving. Stately. This would be a major theme. The second started with ethereal humming (also a recognizable motif).

I should probably do a mini-history lesson here. Burleigh integrated St. George’s choir in the early 1900s and, as a soloist, he also integrated Temple Emanu-El’s choir. Along the way, he arranged many spirituals, introducing them to mainstream America. (Plantation music as well, but that needs more exploration by me.)

Back to the music. My Lord What a Morning was a fairly straightforward setting, with a stronger second section that then scaled back down, ending quietly.

A video from Temple Emanu-El  followed, with a solemn organ meditation by Dr. Andrew Henderson. He also found, buried in the archives, a setting of May the Words (a Jewish/Hebrew text) set to the tune of Deep River, by Harry Burleigh. We heard it on video sung by the Temple Emanu-El choir.

The piano solo, A Jubilee, was composed in the style of a spiritual while incorporating touches of jazz.
Three Art Songs followed, probably trying to set his fate as a legitimate composer (though I don’t think that was necessary). You Ask Me If I Love You, One Year, and He Sent Me You were early–20th-century examples of art songs, no matter the skin color of the composer.

The final piece, sung by the Calvary-St George’s Choir was Go Tell It on the Mountain. While it was spiritual, I wish it had been more boisterous. Maybe I needed a William Dawson arrangement.

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