YBCA presents Converge | Jazz & Stitch, with a Jazz Pop Up Jam featuring a panel discussion with Myra Melford and a performance by the Erik Jekabson Sextet
2014-04-17
Lam Research Theater @ YBCA
701 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA
5:30 PM, Thursday, April 17, 2014

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• 4 PM - 5:30 PM – Stitch and B*tch Embroidery Session
• 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM – Panel Discussion “Nurturing the Jazz Legacy”, how to do it, both at YBCA and in the Bay Area. Myra Melford and YBCA Music Curator Isabel Yrigoyen will talk about Jazz@YBCA followed by short presentations by the Jazz@YBCA partners.
• 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM – Eric Jekabson Sextet

[5:20 PM walk in during soundcheck, hear two tune fragments, then they wrap things up]

[5:29 PM announcements from Isabel, then panel discussion, featuring short talks from each speaker, then a very brief Q&A session]
[6:11 PM Eric Jekabson talks a bit; wrap up from Isabel Yrigoyen; break]

[6:18 PM Introduction by Isabel Yrigoyen; JC intro; no QR at start]

1. [6:19 PM] Streamline
2. [6:30 PM] Still Crazy After All These Years
3. [6:37 PM; add QR] Mamacita
4. [6:47 PM; drop EJ, EN] Summertime
5. [6:52 PM; drop QR] I Love You
6. [7:00 PM; add EN] Ask Me Now
7. [7:06 PM; all in] Just a Closer Walk With Thee
   [show ends 7:19 PM, no Encore]

• Myra Melford: Associate Professor of Contemporary Improvised Music at Cal;
• Brent Miller: cofounder, Center for New Music;
• Susan Muscarella: founder & president of the Jazzschool;
• Marcus Shelby: bandleader;
• Angela Wellman: Dean of Oakland Public Conservatory of Music;
• Isabel Yrigoyen: YBCA Performing Arts Manager & Music Curator;
• others TBD.

• Erik Jekabson: trumpet;
• Kanoa Mendenhall: contrabass;
• Eric Nakanishi: alto saxophone;
• Quinn Rocklinone: soprano saxophone;
• Arabelle Schoenberg: piano;
• Dillon Vado: drums.

I walk in during soundcheck and experience immediate disorientation – why is the music already happening? – which clears only when the band comes to a halt in the middle of Still Crazy After All These Years to let us know that they're done getting ready and that the panel discussion will begin shortly.

The panel talk is almost worthwhile – it's mildly interesting listening to each of the speakers – but ultimately, I don't hear anything that makes me think I was doing more than biding time before Erik's set.

The set is pretty darn good, especially considering that all of the performers aside fro EJ are young kids. Of course they could stand a few more years experience, but everyone's gotta start somewhere, right? My biggest criticism is that except for Dillon, the oldest and likely most experienced of the group, most of their soloing and much of the comping had a tentative feel, as if to silently suggest “I think I'm on track, but I'm not quite sure about it.” Of course, they could play rings around me, so who am I to criticise?

Another observation I have to share is that it was both odd and interesting to listen to QR playing the soprano saxophone in that it seemed to me that he played mostly in the lower register of the instrument's range. Whether this was a factor in his ability, a practical decision based on confidence in his ability to play in tune, a technical decision (I'm thinking lower notes = looser embouchure = less effort) or what, I don't really know. Guess I should have asked him after the show ended!

Back to the previous event ☸ Back to the 2014 yearbox ☸ Back to the 2014 event list! ☸ On to the next event!