IT'S BEEN NEARLY 18 years since Bela Fleck and the Flecktones' founding lineup has toured together, so you might think there would be some profound reason for their reunion.
In reality, the logic couldn't be more mundane.
With saxophonist Jeff Coffin busy touring with Dave Matthews Band, the rest of the group — banjo virtuoso Fleck, bassist Victor Wooten and percussion wizard Futureman — realized they weren't ready to get off the road. Rather than tour as a trio (the lineup for 1993's "Three Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"), Fleck asked founding Flecktone Howard Levy, who left the group after 1992's "UFO Tofu," to make his long overdue return.
"There was a fun potential to get into some different music," Fleck said via e-mail, of Coffin's absence. "Howard was the first person we wanted to explore playing with."
The original Flecktones reunion commenced with two weeks in Europe, and the band makes its U.S. return at Strathmore on Nov. 18 — one of only five dates stateside before Coffin rejoins the group in December for its semi-annual holiday tour.
Levy, a jazz-harmonica master who's also proficient at piano, synthesizers and various percussive instruments, originally left the group after three albums because he found the band structure — even one as adventurous and experimental as the Flecktones — limiting.
Continue Reading "Liner Notes: The Reunion of 'Bela Fleck and the Flecktones'" »
GREAT FRENCH COMPOSER (and arranger, conductor and pianist) Michel Legrand has written some of the Western canon's most indelible — and incurably romantic — music for singers and for films.
After a hiatus from touring, the very busy Legrand comes to the Strathmore on Sunday armed with a partial version of his songbook and velvet-voiced singer Mario Pelchat for an intimate recital.
Continue Reading "Having a Legrand Career: French Composer Michel Legrand" »
SINGER AND PIANIST Michael Feinstein has carved himself a unique place in American music. He was among the first artists of the current era to breathe life back into the "Great American Songbook" and re-popularize standards by tunesmiths like Cole Porter, Jule Styne and Irving Berlin. He's also an archivist and worked with the aging Ira Gershwin to organize the family's musical catalog.
Feinstein's newest CD, "The Sinatra Project," finds him in both of these roles, singing a dozen songs originally performed by Frank Sinatra and also unearthing some obscurities. Express caught up with him by telephone before a performance in London.
» EXPRESS: Was there an attempt on the new CD to avoid familiar chestnuts like "My Way" and "I've Got You Under My Skin"?
» FEINSTEIN: Yes. Well, I hate "My Way." Sinatra hated it, too. He quite frequently used four-letter words in his description of that song. "I've Got You Under My Skin" is such a definitive performance and recording that I saw no point in trying to copy that. So instead, I took another Cole Porter song, "Begin the Beguine," which he sang and recorded in the 1940s and interpreted it as if he had done it in the 1950s. People who hear it think that it's a vintage Nelson Riddle chart, but it's not. So, yes, I did want to avoid things that were so closely connected to him there was no leeway for a different interpretation.
WHEN RAY LAMONTAGNE returns to the studio in February, one familiar face will be missing: producer Ethan Johns, who helmed the boards for LaMontagne's first three albums.
"It's complicated; it's hard to explain," LaMontagne said of taking over producer responsibilities. "Just to put it very simply, there's lots of concessions you have to make, the more cooks you have in the kitchen. At a certain point, I just feel like, I guess, it's just time for change."
After three albums over which the raspy-voiced singer has evolved — from the rootsy "Trouble" to the dark and emotional "Till the Sun Turns Black" to last year's joyous, full-band affair, "Gossip in the Grain" — fans expect an even starker shift. But LaMontagne isn't ready to talk about which direction he's chosen for the album, which he hopes to have out by next summer.
JOBARI PARKER-NAMDAR is no stranger to handling two things at once. While growing up, he juggled an interest in music with thoughts of a career in computer science. And now, as a fully committed singer and performer with numerous stints in local productions and a gig as the Strathmore artist in residence, he's got the balancing act down cold.
Raised in Montgomery County, Parker-Namdar left the area to attend the University of Michigan and study classical voice but returned to Washington a few years ago. A music and theater major at Howard University with four performances at Strathmore in October, Parker-Namdar has made a name for himself with his strong baritone, expressive performing style and ability to both sing and act, skills that landed him lead roles in productions like "The Stephen Schwartz Project" and "Jonah Live on Stage Water Whale and All!"
Parker-Namdar was always interested in singing, but didn't think it was a feasible goal until his junior year of high school at Duke Ellington School of the Arts. As soon as he found out he could pursue a career in the arts and still make money, "it sort of became more real."
Continue Reading "Local Star Gets Around: Jobari Parker-Namdar" »
TUESDAY: Blah blah outdoor film festival blah blah bring a blanket and your family.
It's August. You know how this works by now.
The Comcast Outdoor Film Festival lasts through Aug. 21, and we like tonight's screening of "Singin' in the Rain," maybe the best movie musical ever made, in which a silent film star struggles to adapt to talkies. But they'll be showing "Twilight" tomorrow if that's more your thing.
» Mansion at Strathmore, 10701 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda; Tues., Aug. 18, 8:15 p.m., free; 301-816-6958. (Grosvenor)
Photo courtesy Warner Home Video
THIS WEEKEND: The CityDance ensemble will be part of an unlikely team when it joins forces with technology company DANTE for "Carbon." DANTE has created a dance routine from a program originally produced to predict eruptions and save lives. More specifically, the musical score for two of the dances is structured on melodies created out of seismic data from three volcanoes on three continents. And, no, we are not kidding. This bizarre collaboration is onstage for two nights only, so be sure to catch it this weekend.
» Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, Sat. and Sun., March 14 and 15, $20; 301-581-5100. (Grosvenor)
Written by Express' Nathan Martin
THIS WEEK: Nerve-racking, high-flying acrobatics combined with the music of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra makes for a delightfully terrifying night. Avoid the mushrooms and take a chance with BSO and the Cirque de la Symphonie.
» Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, Bethesda; Thurs., Feb. 5, $30-$85; 301-581-5100. (Grosvenor-Strathmore)
Written by Express' Nathan Martin.
WEDNESDAY: Classical music is gorgeous, and never more so than when it's played by Joshua Bell and Jeremy Denk, who are giving a concert at Strathmore tonight.
OK, so maybe half the audience will be composed of women who just think Joshua Bell is gorgeous. God, anything that gets people into classical music is good, and I don't see you complaining about that troupe of gorgeous women that plays Beethoven.
The fact that Joshua Bell is a hunky dreamboat doesn't mean he can't also be a great violinist — and help the Post win a Pulitzer Prize. Thanks, Josh!
» The Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda; Wed., Feb. 4, 8 p.m., $47-$105; 301-581-5100. (Grosvenor)
Photo courtesy Business Wire
THE MAN WHO brought the National Philharmonic Orchestra to prominence is celebrating a birthday. Piotr Gajewski is turning 50 and will conduct the Phil through various pieces he has found significant in his career. Join the celebration of a renowned conductor this weekend.
» The Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane., North Bethesda; Sat., Jan. 10, 8 p.m.; Sun., Jan. 11, 3 p.m., $29-$79; 301-581-5100. (Grosvenor-Strathmore)
Written by Express' Eric Anderson
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