SOUNDTRACK: MIGUEL ZENÓN feat. SPEKTRAL QUARTET-Tiny Desk Concert #814 (January 4, 2019).
When I saw that the artist was a quartet, I assumed this was classical music. But then I saw that the main guy played saxophone. So was this jazz?
In the end it doesn’t matter. It’s glorious, modern instrumental music with instruments that at times fit so perfectly, you don;t realize there’s a reed in the strings. And at times an instrument that stands out like its own unique thing.
Saxophonist Miguel Zenón is a big thinker — that much is clear from his recorded output, with its deep and inspiring connection to the folk traditions of his native Puerto Rico. But you also get that sense from his turn behind the Tiny Desk, where we can watch the concentration on his face and those of his adventurous band, the Spektral Quartet. This is life-affirming music with curious twists and turns, expertly performed by amazingly talented musicians.
The three songs work on mainly the same principle: fast, intricate string melodies with sudden time changes. And a saxophone that either accompanies them or solos around them.
“Rosario” opens with the strings and sax playing an almost warm up sound before the pizzicato strings support the main sax melody. There’s some very modern frenetic striking string music (with no sax) which is followed by the same strings with a lead sax solo over it. The end of the piece features a delicately plucked cello and a lovely violin melody.
“Milagrosa” opens with everyone playing the same melody. It’s fascinating how much the sax does not contribute–until it does. But I’ll let the blurb talk about the amazing ending of this song:
There are two ways to marvel at the stunning unison playing that comes about three-quarters of the way through “Milagrosa.” First, listen with your eyes closed. The notes cascade at a such a fast clip, it can leave you breathless. Now, watch with your eyes open: It’s a joy to see Zenón and his band read the notes from the page, at times sneaking in visual cues with smiles just below the surface. It must be such a pleasure to make music like this.
The way the song starts and stops and starts again with such speed is really spellbinding.
He says that these songs were inspired by cultural and musical traditions from Puerto Rico. Specifically, the final song, “Villabeño” alludes to a subgenre of Puerto Rican music–from the mountains
It is the quietest and lest intense song of the bunch. The strings, even though they are largely playing staccato, are kind of hushed as Miguel plays the most jazzy solos of the set. There’s a brief moment near the end where the strings come back to the fore, but it’s more as a supporting agent than a competitor. It’s quite cool.
[READ: January 11, 2019] “Wrong Object”
I loved the way this story revealed the heart of itself.
It is written from the point of view of a therapist. She writes that she has a new patient and he is very dull: “He is a nondescript man.”
He said his problem was himself–that his wife was thoroughly nice. While she preferred a self-critical patient to a blamer, there was just nothing to him. Usually her notebooks were full after a session, but she wrote very little about him: “Talks about wife, what a good person she is. Annoying.”
She actually had to google him to find out even a little bit of information about him. She felt bored by him.
She was about to suggest he seek a new therapist when he finally revealed what he had been holding back.
“I’m a pedophile,” he said. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 