[Harp-L] Madcat's 'gig' :)

[Bobbie Giordano <bogio@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Credits to: 
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/15546967.htm

Includes a GREAT picture of the legendary elder Brubeck.  Love it!!!

We all know the mention of Triple Play means Brubeck's son, Chris, Joel 
Brown and Peter "Madcat" Ruth.  This piece gives honor to our fabulous 
free-reed artiste, Madcat.  You deserve every bit, my friend! ;)  One of 
the 'best'!!  [oops!!!! :-o]

BTW... One of my all-time cinema weaknesses is "Cannery Row"... can't 
stop watching it to the end when it suddenly appears on TV, and never yet 
read the novel.  Anyway, I'm really looking forward to hearing this work 
by Brubeck some day... accented, of course, with sparks from Madcat! ;)

Congrats, Peter!!!
Harp Happy Y'all!
Bobbie
=====================================================================

A CLASSIC END TO FESTIVAL
Brubeck opera, Peterson, Jones finish it off in style

By MAC McDONALD
Herald Staff Writer

A pair of 80-year-old jazz legends brought the Monterey Jazz Festival 
Presented by Verizon to a close Sunday night with a historic summit in 
the main arena.

Pianists Oscar Peterson and Hank Jones brought the main arena concerts 
and the 49th annual festival to a thrilling and historic end with a 
performance that had the arena buzzing and set the tone for what promises 
to be a magnificent 50th edition next year.

Dave Brubeck, who played the first Monterey Jazz Festival in 1958, opened 
Sunday night's main arena concert with a crowd-pleasing multimedia 
presentation of his "Cannery Row Suite" jazz opera. He had planned to 
join Peterson and Jones at the end, but didn't feel up to it at the end 
of the night.

Brubeck and his quartet, introduced to the audience by actor, director 
and festival board member Clint Eastwood, actually opened his set with 
six tunes, including "Sunny Side of the Street," "Stormy Weather" and 
"Somewhere Over the Rainbow," in his inimitably classy, classic and 
understated style.

Brubeck introduced the suite with a droll, humorous story of how festival 
director Tim Jackson talked him into composing an opera that Brubeck 
wanted no part of -- until Jackson told him it could be 30 minutes long.

The piece itself, which opened with projected images of John Steinbeck 
and Cannery Row with narrator Thomas M. Steinbeck reading from the 
author's famous novel, featured Brubeck's band, the trio Triple Play 
(featuring his son Chris on trombone, bass and vocals), a chorus from the 
University of the Pacific and two exemplary jazz vocalists, Kurt Elling 
and Roberta Gambarini, both of whom performed during the festival.

The piece itself, whose lyrics were written by Brubeck's wife, Lola, was 
like old Cannery Row itself -- raw, vibrant and rough around the edges.

After a promising start that featured Triple Play members Joel Brown on 
guitar and vocals and Peter "Madcat" Ruth on harmonica and vocals (Ruth 
was a standout throughout the piece with his expressive harmonica 
playing), the middle section was a little soft and didn't offer Gambarini 
and Elling much to do.

But that was redeemed by a rousing, bluesy "Flop House Gang" in which the 
younger Brubeck, Brown, Ruth, saxophonist Bobby Militello and Brubeck 
himself really got to stretch and shine on their individual instruments.

Gambarini and Elling also finally got to show off their considerable 
vocal prowess, scatting and singing the blues. They also brought the 
piece to a bravura close, scatting together after final introductions of 
the members, while the audience stood in unison, clapping, shouting and 
cheering their approval.

In fact, the arena was still buzzing a full 20 minutes after the end of 
Brubeck's performance, virtually up to the beginning of Oscar Peterson's 
set.