No need to remind current listeners of the incredible circumstances of this Pro Musica season, but for future readers: this season is full of firsts: Never before have there not been an audience coming together at a concert hall. Never before, has the soloist (and other performers) come into the homes of his (their) listeners.
This was a “virtual” concert. Never before must comments be made about the projection and production itself. So much hard work was put into this, and the result was a visual triumph. Interspersed throughout, there were spectacular aerial shots showing off Detroit along the River, and sunset and evening over downtown. Most impressive! And the set where the concert took place was just right: very colorful.
The whole thing was a visual delight, and the program was a resounding success. Ms. Sharpe asked Mr. Waddles about his musical history and we were told that he was raised on classical music and that blues and jazz came years later.
His first piece for us was the Toccata from the Keyboard Partita # 6 (BWV 801). This is an intense, cerebral work, and Mr. Waddles was in control. “Toccata” means “touch” and that’s what it’s all about. Clean touch and no showboating. Marvelous!
W.C. Handy’s “St. Louis Blues” was terrific. The introduction, by Mr. Waddles, was presented in black and white filming; the original idea, and then, the Combo came in to elaborate, in color. Marion Hayden was on the bass and Dave Taylor patrolled the percussion section. It was great fun. Not something a PMD audience of, say, 1938, would have expected to hear, but Maurice Ravel, our first performer ten years earlier, loved jazz, and he would have approved!
In another break conversation with Ms Sharpe, Alvin Waddles gave a moving thumbs-up to the Detroit area for its musical richness and diversity.
The late Oscar Peterson (our neighbor from Canada) wrote “Love Ballade” for piano, and it is so lovely: think Chopinesque or Mendelssohnian. Mr. Waddles put his love and soul into it, and then was joined by the Combo, at all times keeping the spirit of the original. Again, think Ravel: the 2nd movement of his G Major Piano Concerto.
“Fats” Waller’s “Black and Blue” is something of an expression of the racial experience in America. In this, Alvin and the Combo were joined by Dominic Waddles, tenor sax and Alvin’s son. Alvin, himself, sang the lyrics. Powerful!! And moving. Had there only been a live audience present!
Mr. Waddles ended the program with a bit from Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story” (“Jump”), joined by Marion and Dave. An energetic ending to a historical evening.
Click here to watch the concert again!
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