Taking in some impressive and world-class concerts

By Dave Babbitt – Special to the Sydenham Current

I love concerts.

If money were no object, I’d be on the road constantly.

Over the past two weeks I’ve managed to take-in two very impressive concerts, but for reasons other than simply great music.

As a pseudo trumpet player, for many years I’ve longed to see Wynton Marsalis in-person.

Wynton is one of the greatest trumpet talents of our time.

He has many Grammy awards to his name but most impressive is the fact that he is the only musician to ever win a Grammy award in both Jazz and Classical music fields in the same year.

There are many great trumpet players, but even amongst the greats, Wynton is a generational talent.

I’ve been dazzled by his virtuosity via CD for many years, but I couldn’t pass-up the rare opportunity to not only see him in a live setting, but in the newly renovated Massey Hall, known far and wide for its incredible acoustics.

Wynton Marsalis is far more than a trumpet player, however.

He is a composer, band leader, jazz historian, teacher, and in this case, the leader of the Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra (JLCO) a Big Band of world renown, whose ranks include some of the very best jazz musicians in the entire world.

Put Wynton Marsalis in a Big Band and it’s a win-win for me!

It’s not good enough for members of the JLCO to be a world-class player on their instrument, however.

Every musician must have an incredible knowledge of the historic jazz greats, be able to play in each of those styles, AND be a writer and arranger.

And even these musicians, the best of the best, must go through an incredibly gruelling audition process.

To say that the concert was stunning would be an understatement.

The band is a tour-de-force of BOTH power and gentility.

The arrangements were all by members of the orchestra including Wynton himself, and were nothing short of stunning and wide-ranging in style.

Jazz is an acquired taste however, and I recognize that.

Most non-musicians simply see jazz as an opportunity for a musician to play as many notes as they can in the shortest time possible.

The defining feature of jazz is improvisation, and while a great jazz solo won’t leave anyone humming a tune, for the musically educated, it’s a thing of beauty.

It’s next to impossible for me to teach someone to appreciate jazz without them having some sort of music background and a rudimentary understanding of music theory and its precarious ground that I tread if I suggest that jazz is too sophisticated for most to understand, because I do not want anyone to think I’m suggesting that I’m “smarter than the average bear”.

I’m not.

The greatest thing about this concert however, was how it ended.

I fully expected to hear the band rip a blistering fast chart, allowing each musician several bars to demonstrate their incredible chops, but that didn’t happen.

It ended simply with the rhythm section (piano, upright bass, and drums) along with Wynton himself.

The trio backed-up Wynton who up until this time had rarely taken a solo all night.

Wynton allowed the band to feature the musical and arranging talents of all the other band members instead of himself.

The encore was for Wynton, however.

Just a trio and the master himself.

I cannot even begin to describe the beauty of this very slow number that I don’t even know the name of.

All I can tell anyone is that the audience was silent, completely still, and ended on the longest, softest, most beautiful single note that I’ve ever heard exit the bell of a trumpet.

It was the antithesis of any pop concert I’ve ever been to.

As Wynton once said, “music today is too loud. It’s almost…..violent.”

I’ll never miss the man and his band again if he’s within driving distance.

The other concert I attended was by pop/crooning, Canadian music sensation, Michael Buble.

Clare and I travelled to Hamilton to see him last Saturday evening.

I recall an interview with David Foster, amongst the most demanding music producers in the world speaking about Michael Buble and his incredible gift of voice.

His pitch and tone are so excellent. i.e. One won’t hear Michael Buble singing with Auto-Tune and over-processed vocals.

He’s also what would be considered a musical stylist.

While he does compose quite a bit of his own music, he also covers other artists material, but always puts his own spin on the music making it his own.

It was understood that we were in for some great singing, but there were other elements that really stood out and made our evening so enjoyable.

First of all, he backs himself with a real Big Band.

Nothing in my books is as exciting and powerful as a Big Band.

A Big Band starts with a great rhythm section, a keyboard, guitar, bass, and drum kit.

Does anyone recognize that music aggregation?

It’s a rock band.

Then add an incredibly powerful horn section consisting of four trumpets, four trombones and five saxophones and what do you have?

A Big Band.

But his backing band didn’t stop there.

There was also a 16-member live string section.

Not a synthesizer, but real strings.

He also had three incredibly talented background vocalists who harmonies and blend were over-the-top good.

But they didn’t just sing.

They were also incredibly great dancers yet didn’t distract from the music like at a Madonna concert.

The set and special effects were also next-level.

The best part though, and I don’t expect anyone under the age of 60 to understand this, was that everyone including the band, was dressed in a suit.

That had nothing to do with the music, but it was pure class!

Michael himself was in a suit with tie and jacket a la Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and all of the other great vocalists of the past and he didn’t so much as loosen his tie all night.

I go to church and hardly anyone there even wears a suit anymore with many even coming in ratty jeans.

Dress standards have tanked almost everywhere.

I associate dressing in one’s best with respect, and I felt respected by Michael Buble that evening.

It’s pretty special when the artist demonstrates respect for the audience!

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