Buying a Voice
Marzo 21, 2004 in Spettacoli da Simona Margarino
Grown in the deep South of America (Arkansas and Texas), where to be black and sing splendidly is nearly an axiom, Amina Claudine Myers shows the possibility of a convergence of Jazz, Gospels and Blues. The synthesis is here made just by means of her voice, an instrument and the memory of John Lee Hooker, the king of Boogie, passed away somewhat like two days ago (June, 21st, 2001).
From a certain point of view, to combine different sounds and melodies in a single performer may be an unsafe bet, though. And whenever it is the soul of a woman to embody sensations that can belong to the spirit of many people, the resulting music is not often predictable; it can please and dislike alternatively. Anyway, any solution will do, as long as this provokes a reaction: if it appears fine, no question is urged; whether it seems disagreeable, on the contrary, it is merely because it probably reaches vibrations we are not used to.
In the end, what remains of Mrs. Myers’s concert in Turin –during the Piccolo Regio’s Linguaggi Jazz- is a complex mixture of contrasting emotions, meaningful details, a number of images, a shopping list for the most varied tastes:
a (sadly) half-empty theatre,
a stage destined completely for a black piano, stained with finger-marks,
a circle of light and no other tinsel,
something that is out of place,
something that creates an unrepeatable atmosphere,
a creaking stool,
a microphone that croaks at times,
a music from within, a heart that shouts its love, even with too much romanticism, unbearable because almost extreme,
an artist doing her job. At best.
SABATO 20 MARZO AMINA CLAUDINE MYERS
TRIBUTE TO JOHN LEE HOOKER
AMINA CLAUDINE MYERS, pianoforte/voce
PICCOLO REGIO PUCCINI
Piazza Castello 215 – Torino
Abbonamento a 11 concerti posto numerato: 120 euro.
Vendita biglietti senza maggiorazione:
Associazione Culturale Centro Jazz Torino
011-884477 (lunedì – venerdì, h 14-20, sabato h 14-18)
Web site: http://www.centrojazztorino.it
PROGRAMMA “LINGUAGGI JAZZ”:
SABATO 27 MARZO Teatro Regio di Torino Concerto- Evento
GATO BARBIERI QUINTETTO
featuring
ENRICO RAVA
Gato Barbieri sax
Enrico Rava tromba
Danilo Rea pianoforte
Ben Street contrabbasso
Clarence Penn batteria
di Simona Margarino