joebrent
Jun-17-2009, 5:29pm
Just back from Dusseldorf Monday night, where I gave the mandolin masterclasses at Annika Luckebergfeld's musikschule. Mike Marshall made many of the same points a few weeks ago when he came back from Caterina's school, but not enough can be said about the high level of musicianship among the young mandolinists in Germany today. Annika and Caterina have a great deal to be proud of in their shaping of the next generation of German mandolin virtuosi.
The Meisterkurs began on Friday with some private lessons and a concert at the musikschule. The Back Bay Guitar Trio (who were doing the guitar masterclasses) played a full set, which was really wonderful to hear. They're sort of a jazzier, trio version of the Assad Brothers, with virtuosic arrangements and some fun stuff thrown in like harmonica and slide guitar playing (try doing that on a nylon string guitar, by the way, it ain't easy!). Nice getting to know them over the weekend, too, they're darned decent guys, and fantastic players. They invited me up for a blazing encore of Minor Swing. Then I played a short set, including Victor's Grote Markt on Joe Cleary's mandolin, and an electric set of Flaming Lips arrangements I did, and some adventurous versions of 'Amor em Paz' and 'Freedom Jazz Dance'. Was very well-received -- I think modern jazz was kind of a new thing for German ears, but the audiences were exceptionally appreciative, and the students especially came into it with ears wide open. The highlight of the Friday night concert, though, was I think the set by Kosho, a guitarist who's pretty well known in Germany for his solo sets and his work with Xavier Naidoo. He played a short set of his beautiful Michael Hedges-style songs, and we all encored together on Thelonious Monk's Well You Needn't. Kosho is a very distinctive guitar player and songwriter, I would love to get him over the States, I'm certain he could find an audience here.
Saturday was packed with lessons and rehearsals, and that night the entire mandolin orchestra, made up of students, played with Kosho on arrangements he had written himself of his and Xavier's tunes, and then the orchestra played a set of their own. Again, I can't say enough about the very high level of musicianship the students displayed. They tackled some very difficult music in a short amount of time, and played beautifully and had a great time. That night, I went out into the city for the first time and saw the incredible fireworks show that accompanied 'Japan-Tag', an annual festival where the whole town dresses up like Japanese anime characters and gathers in Altstadt ('Old-Town', the area in Dusseldorf sometimes called "the world's longest continuous bar") for revelry.
Sunday was filled with more lessons and rehearsals for the Gershwin arrangements I did and the final concert where many of the more accomplished students got to show off a bit. I coaxed some of them to take a few choruses on Autumn Leaves, and the Trio got the entire group to do a massive, 20-some-odd chorus version of Minor Swing. Finally, they presented Annika with a green Red Sox hat and declared her an honorary member of Red Sox Nation! (In doing so, they mistakenly said I was for the Yankees, but for the record, I've been a Sawx guy my whole life, and am doubly happy they didn't get her a dreaded pink cap...)
All in all, a very successful trip, and I wish I could make it to CMSA to hear Annika and Fabian this Fall, they're really a fantastic duo, one of my faves.
The Meisterkurs began on Friday with some private lessons and a concert at the musikschule. The Back Bay Guitar Trio (who were doing the guitar masterclasses) played a full set, which was really wonderful to hear. They're sort of a jazzier, trio version of the Assad Brothers, with virtuosic arrangements and some fun stuff thrown in like harmonica and slide guitar playing (try doing that on a nylon string guitar, by the way, it ain't easy!). Nice getting to know them over the weekend, too, they're darned decent guys, and fantastic players. They invited me up for a blazing encore of Minor Swing. Then I played a short set, including Victor's Grote Markt on Joe Cleary's mandolin, and an electric set of Flaming Lips arrangements I did, and some adventurous versions of 'Amor em Paz' and 'Freedom Jazz Dance'. Was very well-received -- I think modern jazz was kind of a new thing for German ears, but the audiences were exceptionally appreciative, and the students especially came into it with ears wide open. The highlight of the Friday night concert, though, was I think the set by Kosho, a guitarist who's pretty well known in Germany for his solo sets and his work with Xavier Naidoo. He played a short set of his beautiful Michael Hedges-style songs, and we all encored together on Thelonious Monk's Well You Needn't. Kosho is a very distinctive guitar player and songwriter, I would love to get him over the States, I'm certain he could find an audience here.
Saturday was packed with lessons and rehearsals, and that night the entire mandolin orchestra, made up of students, played with Kosho on arrangements he had written himself of his and Xavier's tunes, and then the orchestra played a set of their own. Again, I can't say enough about the very high level of musicianship the students displayed. They tackled some very difficult music in a short amount of time, and played beautifully and had a great time. That night, I went out into the city for the first time and saw the incredible fireworks show that accompanied 'Japan-Tag', an annual festival where the whole town dresses up like Japanese anime characters and gathers in Altstadt ('Old-Town', the area in Dusseldorf sometimes called "the world's longest continuous bar") for revelry.
Sunday was filled with more lessons and rehearsals for the Gershwin arrangements I did and the final concert where many of the more accomplished students got to show off a bit. I coaxed some of them to take a few choruses on Autumn Leaves, and the Trio got the entire group to do a massive, 20-some-odd chorus version of Minor Swing. Finally, they presented Annika with a green Red Sox hat and declared her an honorary member of Red Sox Nation! (In doing so, they mistakenly said I was for the Yankees, but for the record, I've been a Sawx guy my whole life, and am doubly happy they didn't get her a dreaded pink cap...)
All in all, a very successful trip, and I wish I could make it to CMSA to hear Annika and Fabian this Fall, they're really a fantastic duo, one of my faves.