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Once again, there was a cello in the combo. But Eric Longsworth mostly plucked his instrument like an upright bass -- interspersed with percussion of his own in nearly every bar. Stephane Chausse rounded out the trio, doubling on clarinet and bass clarinet. He was able to kick-start Mille's dreamy tempi into swinging 4/4 on either instrument. In fact, my favorite Mille original, "Place St. Catherine," shuttled engagingly between 4/4 and a leisurely 3/4 waltz.
Paula West -- There's little musical virtuosity or originality in this chanteuse's traversal of the songbook nor any great emotional depth in her exploration of the lyrics. But the voice is gorgeous, and West scores points for singing the rarely-heard verses of Rodgers & Hart's "Bewitched," Romberg & Hammerstein's "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise," and Hammerstein's lyrics for Jerome Kern's "Why Was I Born?"
Pianist George Mesterhazy's arrangements are a definite asset, enabling West to venture effectively into Bob Dylan territory with "Like a Rolling Stone" and "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right." His solos, however, were a hackneyed uninspired liability until about the eighth song in the set, and I wished he had yielded the balance of his playing time to guitarist Ed Cherry. Aside from the Kern and Romberg tunes already mentioned, West and her quartet clicked best on Oscar Brown's "The Snake" and Luis Bonfa's "Sweet Happy Life" from Black Orpheus.
"Gimme a Pigfoot," a staple for blues belters stretching back to Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday, marked the spot where Mesterhazy finally roused himself from autopilot and locked in. Made a huge difference.
Stefano "Cocco" Cantini -- Clearly a disciple of John Coltrane, soprano saxophonist Cantini mostly drinks from the well of music that came after Trane's signature quartet. Not the refreshing waters most listeners would choose to drink. Beginning with chameleonic pianist Vanburto Ciamaruti, the European sidemen "Cocco" brought with him for his American debut are a different matter.
To open, Cantini flashed his Trane creds with a wild solo that included a telltale "My Favorite Things" quote. Then Ciamaruti played more piano in his first two minutes in The Cistern spotlight than Mesterhazy had played all evening long, fusing the influences of Corea and McCoy Tyner in a synthesis all his own. It wasn't until the first encore, a searing 90 minutes later, that Ciamaruti managed his most impressive feat: with the lights dimmed, he actually calmed Cantini down in a tender, expressive duet.
Till then, the most domesticated sounds from Cantini came in a composition that reminded me of Trane's recording of Frank Loesser's "The Inch Worm." I thought that I'd erased that dud from my memory.
Classical
*BofA Chamber Music -- Over the last few years, chamber music host Charles Wadsworth has gradually overhauled his stable of guest artists. Less than half are recognizable from 20th Century Spoleto, including flutist Tara O'Connor and her violinist spouse Daniel Phillips, clarinetist Todd Palmer, pianist Stephen Prutsman, and half of the St. Lawrence String Quartet.
Wadsworth hasn't merely reloaded the vacant slots. He has brought in bassoonist Peter Kolkay and pre-eminent French hornist Eric Ruske, adding fresh colors to the palette and allowing the series to explore new repertoire. Most notable of these was Schubert's Octet in F for horn, bassoon, clarinet, contrabass, and string quartet. Grand music. A couple of subtle evolutions were on display at that performance, itself a landmark in Wadsworth's view.
Following the model of the esteemed Emerson Quartet, St. Lawrence leader Geoff Nuttall now alternates the first violin chair with Scott St. John. Meanwhile, Wadsworth is following a similar model, sharing hosting chores with Nuttall, who has been elevated to the associate artistic directorship of the series. Pssst ... he seems to know a little more about the music and the composers he introduces -- or he's less inclined to keep it a secret.
There's no letdown in virtuosity when you listen to the 2008 roster, and the choice of repertoire may be slightly more adventurous than usual. But Memminger is not as friendly a site for chamber music as it is for opera, and adjustment by the soloists and Wadsworth is a work-in-progress. The reverberant acoustic dulled the edges of cellist Alisa Weilerstein's performance of Barber's Cello Sonata and Phillips' brave solo traversal of Bach's Chaconne. Similarly, I'd much rather hear tenor Paul Groves' rendition of Vaughan Williams' On Wenlock Edge after the series moves back to Dock Street in 2010.
Memminger is more conducive to French horn, so it's serendipitous for Ruske to be playing such a prominent role this year. We heard him in four of the five concerts we attended, most memorably in Brahms's Horn Trio and a Dohnanyi sextet. But all of the music is choice, particularly for anyone wishing to dip a toe into chamber music for the first time.
