{"id":11842,"date":"2014-05-22T17:36:49","date_gmt":"2014-05-23T00:36:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=11842"},"modified":"2014-05-22T17:39:18","modified_gmt":"2014-05-23T00:39:18","slug":"big-marcus-shelby-band-uniquely-weds-jazz-to-shakespeare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/big-marcus-shelby-band-uniquely-weds-jazz-to-shakespeare\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Marcus Shelby band uniquely weds jazz to Shakespeare"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Woody’s [rating:3.5]<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Marcus Shelby skipped the hat and wore less conspicuous shoes for his Cal Performances tribute to Duke Ellington. Courtesy photo.<\/p><\/div>\n

To be inventive or not to be inventive, that is the question.<\/p>\n

When it\u2019s bandleader-bassist Marcus Shelby doing the asking (as well as the innovating), the answer is a resounding \u201cyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a Cal Performances concert at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley celebrating Duke Ellington\u2019s 115th birthday, Shelby flaunted his calculated risk of failing \u2014 by juxtaposing swinging big-band jazz and Shakespeare.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t fail.<\/p>\n

Instead, he and his 15-member, mostly-brass ensemble evoked toe tapping, applause, whistling, cheers and foot stomping with each section of the obscure but stimulating \u201cSuch Sweet Thunder.\u201d<\/p>\n

The suite had been popularized by the Duke on vinyl but written by his longtime collaborator, Billy Strayhorn.<\/p>\n

Shelby\u2019s sidemen brought out each segment\u2019s uniqueness, helping me see how Strayhorn was in effect trying to cover the entire jazz landscape in a single symphonic work.<\/p>\n

And each segment\u2019s pithiness left me wanting more.<\/p>\n

Because the music was based on the plays and sonnets of the Bard, it was a big deal but not a big surprise that Shelby integrated soliloquys by five actors from Cal Shakes, more formally known as the California Shakespeare Theater.<\/p>\n

While all the spoken-word interludes were top-notch, I found some connections to the music tangential at best and, thereby, hard to distinguish \u2014 even given information that \u201cthe essence\u201d of Shakespeare\u2019s material was being emphasized rather than any one scene or character.<\/p>\n

I did find a few links clear-cut, though.<\/p>\n

A Juliet balcony scene obviously bonded with a ballad, \u201cThe Star-Crossed Lovers,\u201d and a bluesy waltz-time \u201cLady Mac\u201d danced a direct path to \u201cLady Macbeth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSonnet to Hank Cinq\u201d was, of course, a hip reference to Henry V, and \u201cSonnet for Sister Kate\u201d might have had a little to do with Willie the Shakes\u2019 \u201cTaming of the Shrew.\u201d<\/p>\n

In my mind\u2019s eye, by evening\u2019s end I\u2019d labeled the experiment fascinating and a success.<\/p>\n

Even though I\u2019d have liked the music alone.<\/p>\n

The pre-intermission set of the concert, which also marked the 15th year of the Shelby group and the 40th anniversary of Ellington\u2019s death, consisted of more familiar melodies.<\/p>\n

It was dubbed \u201cThe Legacy of Duke Ellington: 50 Years of Swing!\u201d<\/p>\n

And swing it did.<\/p>\n

For me, the highlight was an unbilled rendition of \u201cTake the \u2018A\u2019 Train,\u201d but I was also delighted by \u201cPerdido,\u201d the show\u2019s bouncy opener; \u201cC Jam Blues,\u201d its rousing closer; and \u201cDon\u2019t Get Around Much Anymore\u201d and \u201cHit Me With a Hot Note\u201d in the middle.<\/p>\n

The San Francisco-based Shelby, who took only one solo, happily spotlighted other musicians from his troupe as well as his guest stars.<\/p>\n

Into the latter category fell scat vocalist Faye Carol (the high-strutting, scat-singing \u201cQueen Bee\u201d who\u2019s worked with Shelby for 20 years), violinist Matthew Szemela (who occasionally kept time with both feet at the same time), sax vet Jules Broussard (whom the bandleader labeled one of his mentors) and trumpeter Joel Behrman.<\/p>\n

Perfection was elusive, however.<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t appreciate a trumpet solo despite Shelby\u2019s explanation that some of its notes were un-trumpet-like.<\/p>\n

And I cringed when Carol grew raspy several times on \u201cIn My Solitude.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duke Ellington composed almost 1,000 pieces of music. The concert only skimmed the proverbial surface. But it did provide a glimpse into the man\u2019s genius \u2014 through an exciting evening of standard and not-at-all-standard jazz.<\/p>\n

In case you missed the Shelby orchestra, Cal Performances offers other excellent jazz choices. Try, for example, vocalist Mavis Staples on Oct. 30, Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra on Nov. 16, the Peter Nero Trio (playing Gershwin compositions) on Feb. 8, Cassandra Wilson (singing Billie Holiday tunes), or pianists Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock on March 19. Information: www.calperfs.berkeley.edu\/buy\/<\/a> or : (510) 642-9988.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Woody’s [rating:3.5] To be inventive or not to be inventive, that is the question. When it\u2019s bandleader-bassist Marcus Shelby doing the asking (as well as the innovating), the answer is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11842","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-woody-weingarten"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"