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Concert @ Carnegie Hall 3/16: Toots Thielemans + friends


Mark Zeger

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I saw the concert and it was outstanding. My first time in Carnegie Hall and it did not disappoint.

 

Nice when you have friends like Herbie Hancock, Ivan Lins, Paquito D'Rivera, Joe Lovano, Eliane Elias, and Oscar Castro-Neves. Plus a great button accordion player, Ludovic Beier (I have no clue how to play a button accordion but he plays the daylights out of it.) Another friend, Tony Bennett, was in the audience (right below my seat in the balcony).

 

It started with Herbie alone on stage offering a glowing speech about Toots. He then brought out Toots and serenaded him with by a solo piano piece. They then dueted on "I Do It For Your Love" and "Dolphin Dance".

 

As if the first half of the program wasn't great, I was in heaven for the second half that was all Brazilian music starting with an Oscar Castro-Neves reading of "Waters of March/Aquas De Marco" (my favorite Jobim tune). Eliane Elias should have had the Diane Krall's career because she delivered a very strong performance as a pianist and singer. Ivan Lins' name on the bill was what initially drew me to the concert so it was a little disappointing that he had a cold greatly affecting his voice. Still, I have a great love of his music so even a hampered performance is OK by me.

 

Other highlights:

 

Toots playing a medley of "Windmills of Your Mind" & "Umbrellas of Cherbourg", such great songs for his harmonica.

 

Joe Lovano and Toots dueting on "Body and Soul".

 

The finale, Ivan Lins' "Madalena", segued into the out chorus of "Birdland"...with Joe Lovano playing all the Wayne Shorter quotes from the original. Brilliant!

 

(I never made it to the second half of a planned twi-night doubleheader, a late set at the Blue Note with Roy Hargrove and Slide Hampton. The Carnegie Hall concert ended too late.)

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I thought of you during that concert, Linwood, because you really would have loved it. I hope you're still playing your chromatic harmonica at age 84 like Mr. Thielemans.

 

I forgot to mention 2 things. Sitting above the stage in one of the hall's horseshoe shaped balconies, I could look down and watch Herbie's hands while he was playing. It's dizzying. During the finale, he and Eliane Elias played with four hands on 1 Steinway!

 

Any man would be fortunate to sit at a Steinway next to Eliane Elias. :cool:

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Mark,

thanks for the report!

Sounds like my dream concert! :love:

Korg PA3X Pro 76 and Kronos 61, Roland G-70, Integra 7 and BK7-m, Casio PX-5S, Fender Stratocaster with Fralin pickups, Fender Stratocaster with Kinman pickups, 1965 Gibson SG Standard
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Great review. Seeing Herbie backing Toots would have made a great show for me. But, having all the other great musicians on stage like Lovano, Paquito and the brazilians is awesome.

Originally posted by Mark Zeger:

As if the first half of the program wasn't great, I was in heaven for the second half that was all Brazilian music starting with an Oscar Castro-Neves reading of "Waters of March/Aquas De Marco" (my favorite Jobim tune). Eliane Elias should have had the Diane Krall's career because she delivered a very strong performance as a pianist and singer.

I think you'll like this video clip of the incomparable Elis Regina singing *Aguas De Marco*. I guess this is from a TV program from the 70's backed by a piano trio ( I don't know the players, maybe you might know them)
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Here is the 3/18 NY Times review of the concert:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/18/arts/music/18toot.html

 

 

Mo-

 

Thank you so much! What a great way to start a Monday morning: Elis Regina and a good cup of coffee. :cool::thu: I realize saying "'Aquas de Marco' is my favorite Jobim tune" might not be accurate. It's like picking a favorite Stevie tune. Can't be done.

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Mo,

many thanks for the link! It was a real treat to look at Elis Regina singing this song. Too bad she is no longer with us...

Korg PA3X Pro 76 and Kronos 61, Roland G-70, Integra 7 and BK7-m, Casio PX-5S, Fender Stratocaster with Fralin pickups, Fender Stratocaster with Kinman pickups, 1965 Gibson SG Standard
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