BELA FLECK, ZAKIR HUSSAIN & EDGAR MEYER - Toronto - 9/29/2009

[Kanada Kev]

ANything good on the horizon for Nov/Dec?

http://tr.im/AgL4

Ravi, Baaba, Keb, etc.

[Kanada Kev]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/three-brilliant-musicians-one-stunning-concert/article1307618/

Three brilliant musicians, one stunning concert

The Royal Conservatory means business about using Koerner Hall to cross musical genres

Li Robbins

It was three for three at the Royal Conservatory of Music's Koerner Hall Tuesday night. Three musicians astonishing in their technical prowess. Three decidedly different points of musical origin. And the third time the new hall has been home, in its short life, to a terrific (and sold-out) concert.

Not to say that the astonishing ones – Bela Fleck, Zakir Hussain and Edgar Meyer – hit it out of the park every time, to continue (then conclude) the baseball metaphors. As a trio their musical aspiration is to have an intricate and largely improvisational conversation, without an entirely shared lexicon. With that challenge comes fairly high risk potential, and sometimes the results were more stunning than others. (That alone should tell you something, though – the baseline was “stunning.â€) As typically advertised, the meeting of these three virtuosos is about bluegrass (Fleck), world music (Hussain), and western classical music (Meyer). But this does a disservice to the music these three gentlemen (or “gentlemen … and musicians too,†as at one point Hussain quipped) play. Leaving aside the fact that Hussain, the world's most famous tabla player, is originally from an Indian classical-music tradition, not a “world†one, and the unparallel banjoist Fleck is to bluegrass as Charlie Parker was to swing, the music they play together takes no pains to emphasize specific musical styles. Of course all three performers have a long history of genre busting.

Opening with Bahar , a Hussain composition based on a wistful melody evocative of Appalachia, the direction was clear – an entire show supporting the title of their debut, recently released recording, The Melody of Rhythm . Tablas, under Hussain's hands, are profoundly melodic instruments, and they dominated. (Mostly because of Hussain's phenomenal playing, but also, it must be said, due to a slight sound imbalance.) One of the music's overriding characteristics throughout was its air of intense busyness, both because of lack of a “comping†instrument, and the extreme abilities of each performer as a soloist. Sometimes those solos were most gripping when they overlapped to the point where the distinction of “solo†was almost lost, concluding with crisp figures punctuated by Hussain's hands drawing back as though physically boomeranged away from his drums. That said, the second half of the concert was marked by a Meyer bass solo so fiercely beautiful one member voiced what many were clearly feeling: “unreal.â€

Another through line was a shared humour that at times turned goofy (Hussain quoting the William Tell Overture or sparring with Fleck over who could produce the silliest sound). At other times it was used refreshingly and effectively to pull back the performer curtain. (“Should we say anything?†asked Fleck after several tunes were played without preamble. “No,†said the laconic Meyer. “It will appear coolest if we don't say anything,†Fleck agreed.) For those familiar with Fleck and Meyer's previous collaborations, the deadpan wit was no surprise. But Hussain's impish irreverence sparked fresh tomfoolery. Case in point – when an audience member called out, as though it were a Q&A, “Tell us how you got together†his response led to some musically accompanied whimsy figuring a mythical “Indian kebab shop.â€

But back to the music. The Royal Conservatory intends to present across musical genres in its new facility, and it really could not have chosen a better way to start than with these three musicians who ignored categorization, and were able to do so by virtue of how brilliantly they played.

Special to The Globe and Mail