The opening concert of this year’s 21C festival was given by the Imani Winds (Brandon George Rule – flutes, Toyin Spellman-Diaz – oboe, Mark over – clarinet, Kevin Newton – horn and Monica Ellis – bassoon) and pianist Michelle Carr in Mazzoleni Hall on Saturday evening. It was a programme of 20th and 21st century works with a kind of French/jazz theme.
So one of the fun things about this writing project that I started twelve years ago is the unexpected ways that it has sometimes developed. One gets involved with projects, one meets people and one ends up connected with their other projects that may stray some way from, say, opera or art song. So last night I found myself at a film screening and CD release party for the new CD from Hilario Durán and His Latin Jazz Big Band. It was fascinating. First of all I really liked the music; original compositions and covers arranged for something like eighteen brass, woodwind, guitar/bass and percussion players with Hilario conducting from the piano and guests on some of the tracks including the amazing clarinet and sax player Paquito D’Rivera, vocalist/violinist Elizabeth Rodriguez, drummer Horacio “ElNegro” Hernández and bass player Marc Rogers.
operaramblings 