We interrupt the Bach for a little jazz ...Byline: Fred Crafts The Register-Guard Make no bones about it. Pianist Gabriel Kahane is a "rising star" triple threat player - classical, jazz and rock. Yet, as accomplished as the 22-year-old recent graduate of Brown University is in those genres, his real passion lies in songwriting. "I don't want to sell myself as the great hope for American song, but that's what I'm trying to do," says Kahane, who describes his material as "somewhere between Shostakovich and Rufus Wainwright." "Song is something that's really important to me - finding ways to really stretch American song, trying to find a richer harmonic and melodic language." Kahane will be a member of a jazz combo - which will include his pianist father, Jeffrey Kahane, and trumpeteer-vocalist Guy Few - to perform some of the finest jazz and pop songs in an ``American Songbook'' concert on June 30 at the Oregon Bach Festival The Oregon Bach Festival is an annual celebration of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, held in Eugene, Oregon in late June and early July. It was co-founded by German conductor Helmuth Rilling and the former president of the American Choral Directors Association, Royce Saltzman, . Jeffrey Kahane and Few stepped in after Thomas Quasthoff Thomas Quasthoff (born in Hildesheim, Germany, November 9, 1959) is a German bass-baritone generally regarded as one of the finest singers of his generation. Although his reputation was initially based on his performance of Romantic lieder, Quasthoff has proven to have a remarkable canceled due to bronchitis. Also performing the jazz set will be Richard Todd
Richard Todd (born June 11, 1919) is a British actor. Biography Born Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd on French horn French horn, brass wind musical instrument. Fundamentally a metal tube of narrow conical bore, it is curved into circles because of its great length. The horn ends in a wide flare. It is a development (c.1650) of the small hunting horn. , Forrest Moyer on bass and Alan Tarpinian on drums. The younger Kahane's interest also lies beyond those songs to be featured in "American Songbook." He's interested in songs rich in language and texture, such as the ones written by Wainwright and Ryan Adams David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is a prolific American alt-country/rock singer-songwriter from Jacksonville, North Carolina. Raised by his mother and grandmother, Adams dropped out of school at age 16 and performed with several local bands before moving to Raleigh and . Songs like that, he says, may be the indirect savior of classical music because they draw young audiences into the concert halls for one type of music that may end up hooking them on another. "Instrumental music poses a challenge to young people," Kahane says. "But if you can offer songs that are challenging harmonically but have some sort of universal element that everyone can connect to that's another way to go about creating a bigger audience." Kahane is writing songs. And people are taking notice. He won the 2002 Kennedy Center ACTF ACTF Australian Children's Television Foundation ACTF American College Theater Festival ACTF Army Constructive Training Federation ACTF Advanced Components Test Facility ACTF Anti Chronos Task Force ACTF Altitude Control Test Facility Musical Theatre Award for the musical "Straight Man," which he wrote with Thomas Beatty. But he is also a young man of talents that often pull him in many directions. As a jazz pianist, he has appeared with Grammy nominee Karrin Allyson Karrin Allyson is a Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist for Concord Records. External links
 `ĭs ōbĭs`pō), city (1990 pop. 41,958), seat of San Luis Obispo co., S Calif., near San Luis Obispo Bay; inc. 1856. Mozart Festival, where he also appeared
as soloist with the festival orchestra in the W.A. Mozart Triple
Concerto.
As a classical pianist, he currently is performing the Robert Schumann Piano Quintet A piano quintet is a chamber musical ensemble made up of one piano and four other instruments, or the name of a piece written for such a group. The most common grouping is one piano, two violins, a viola, and a cello—that is, a piano with a string quartet. on a national tour with the Mark Morris Dance Group. And as a rock keyboardist, he is a member of the Brooklyn-based rock band The Rinse. But at the moment Kahane is back at the Oregon Bach Festival, where, as a teenager, he often joined his father. Having a famous parent can pose an obstacle for their children, but that hasn't been the case for Kahane. His father let him choose his own path, which actually saw him avoiding the piano for periods of time. "One of the things for which I am most grateful is my father chose to stay at a distance from my musical upbringing. That was sort of both a blessing and a curse," he says. "On the one hand, when I finally returned to the piano I knew it was an impulse that was totally my own. Then, on the other hand, I wish that someone had kicked me a little bit more and made me practice." As a result, Kahane says he occasionally feels like he is "playing catch up." But, he says "it's been worth it in terms of the lack of screwed-up psychology." He adds, `He's incredibly supportive. He's really been an ideal parent.' True to form, Jeffrey Kahane declined to comment for this article, preferring to let the spotlight shine on his son. Gabriel Kahane started playing the violin The violin player usually holds the instrument under the chin, supported by the left shoulder (see below for variations of this posture). The strings are sounded either by drawing the bow across them (arco), or sometimes by plucking them (pizzicato). at age 4, then moved to the piano at 7. He showed talent as a pianist but hated practicing. At age 10, he taught himself the guitar. When he was 15, his father brought home recordings by Oscar Peterson For the United States Navy sailor and Medal of Honor recipient, see . Oscar Emmanuel Peterson, CC, CQ, O.Ont. (b. August 15, 1925, Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. and Bill Evans
William John Evans (better known as Bill Evans) (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was one of the most famous and influential American jazz pianists of 20th-century. that hooked him on jazz, which, in turn, led him back to the piano. "Even now it's a bit of a struggle knowing whether I want to pursue jazz or composing or classical music or a bit of everything," he says. "I guess I'm trying to carve out to make or get by cutting, or as if by cutting; to cut out. - Shak. See also: Carve a path as a singer-songwriter." Looking back, Kahane sees the choices he has made as evidence that he "avoided" coming to classical music because he was "intimidated on some level (by his father). But at this point I'm not dwelling on that. I feel like I'm on a clear path of my own, and he's on his path. ``We're both very proud of each other." CONCERT PREVIEW American Songbook What: Jazz and pop standards with Jeffrey Kahane, Guy Few, Gabriel Kahane, Richard Todd, Forrest Moyer and Alan Tarpinian When: 8 p.m. Wednesday Where: The Hult Center, Seventh Avenue and Willamette Street How much: $27 to $49 through the Hult Center box office, 682-5000 CAPTION(S): Versatile young musician Gabriel Kahane is part of a Bach festival concert of American standards. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion