Fourth Presbyterian Church Noonday Concert

Mark and Anne Burnell – Fourth Presbyterian Church Noonday Concert – July 20, 2018

Posted on by admin

My faith now has been restored in the Church’s outdoor jazz concerts, even when they’re indoors because of rain. The Burnells were a joy to see. Their arrangements were lively. There was humor and energy. Mark rocked the piano and did a great impression of a bass fiddle.

The Burnells appear at churches with some regularity. And, in addition to other venues at which they both perform, Mark’s trio regularly plays at the Tortoise Supper Club on State Street, without Anne, as a way, I suppose, of keeping the separation between church and State Street.

I haven’t seen their act before (though I would gladly see it again), so I have nothing against which to compare this performance, but they didn’t seem to let the venue restrict their playlist, which included the double-entendred (an adjective I just invented) Cy Coleman ditty, The Tennis Song, from City of Angels.

During the performance, Anne mentioned that she was wearing jewelry given to her by a couple friends in the audience, that she liked to wear the jewelry as a way of having her friends with her wherever she goes, but that she now had enough jewelry, so, if anyone wanted to give her gift, she could use some underwear. Something to think about if we get a group together to see her sing sometime in the future.

At the end of the concert, before two encores that pleasantly extended ten minutes past the scheduled conclusion of the program, the crowd rose in unison to give the Burnells a standing ovation. That seemed like no small feat given the average age of the Noonday Concert patrons (which doesn’t lend itself to them rising quickly from their seats), until I discovered that Anne also does fitness instruction for seniors.

Beckie Menzie and Tom Michael, cabaret – Fourth Presbyterian Church – July 13, 2018

Posted on by admin

I was ten minutes late for the performance because I was tied up on a conference call (yes, even in retirement, there is the occasional conference call). I wish the call had gone longer.

I know Menzie and Michael perform together a lot around town and that, in addition, Menzie is a sought after arranger and accompanist. But how do you make I’ve Got Rhythm boring? Did the fact that it was Friday the 13th have anything to do with it? How about the partial solar eclipse in India today?

I imagined Gershwin turning over in his grave, which, since we were in Fourth Presbyterian’s courtyard, made me think of Elegy in a Country Churchyard, which I’m sure I’ve never read (or wanted to), but probably have seen as a Jeopardy answer numerous times. I tried to take my mind off such thoughts by visualizing Sutton Foster tap dancing to the song. That always helps.

According to Wikipedia, cabaret “is mainly distinguished by the performance venue, which might be a pub, a restaurant or a nightclub with a stage for performances.” That was the problem. The church didn’t serve alcohol.

I would have gotten up and left, but it was hot and I had a seat in the shade, so instead I pulled out my cell phone and checked my emails. It also helped that a couple seemingly mutant pigeons (at least by their odd coloring) landed on the fountain in the middle of the courtyard, and one of them did its best imitation of the Drinking Bird toy for several minutes.

I’m not a religious person, but, since I was at a church, I decided to pray during the final song, McArthur Park (voted in 1992 as the worst song ever recorded), and my prayers were answered, as there was no encore.

Ian Maksin (Cello) – Fourth Presbyterian Church Noonday Concert – April 20, 2018

Posted on by admin

Maksin was introduced and sprinted to the front of the room, cello in hand, sat down, and immediately started playing, without a word. The program listed his first selection as a Bach suite, but even to my unsophisticated ear it didn’t sound like Bach. Phew, I was right. When he finished the selection, he stood and said yes, the audience was right in thinking it wasn’t Bach. He had added something of his own to the program based on some music he had recently heard in Turkey.

He also added a new composition of his at the end of the program that included an electronic element. I would have preferred it played acoustically.

In between, Maksin played a couple compositions by friends and three of his own, one of which included nine variations on a Russian theme, which he described as a journey through geographic regions. This reminded me of the great Victor Borge, who famously played his nine variations of Happy Birthday, as if played by Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Brahms, Wagner, Beethoven, Strauss, Mozart, Berlin, and Shostakovich.

In addition to his musical abilities, Maksin has an engaging personality, but Borge was a classic (and an excellent musician). Do yourself a favor and watch and listen to his Happy Birthday variations at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkkHz8xq7lE.

Maksin seemed very much to lose himself in the music, as evidenced in part by him closing his eyes (or so it appeared from where I was sitting) during much of his playing. This took me back to violinist.com once again, this time for a discussion about playing with eyes open or closed (http://www.violinist.com/discussion/archive/4385/). The key takeaway from my perspective is, don’t play with your eyes closed unless you know the music by heart (Maksin did).