FASNY Headmaster Retires - Franco-American School of New York

In ReviewJu n e 20127Jazz: Roy Hargrove at the Village VanguardBy Julian SalzDespite what theuninformed or uninitiated earmay hear, there is no musicquite as brilliant or original in itssound as Jazz, the music whichwas the anthem of a youngand unfailingly optimisticgeneration. Sadly, the fascinationfor this sound waned with therapid and dramatic evolutionof the country which hadnursed it. And for more than30 years, what was and is stilltoday one of the centerpieces ofAmericana seemed abandonedto an art form appreciableonly to the “intellectual” andnostalgic. Thankfully however,America has not completelyforgotten the tones and rhythmsunimaginable by anyone else,and neither has Roy Hargrove.Th e 42 year-oldHargrove returned to theVillage Vanguard in the WestVillage this past April to showthe once “Mecca of Jazz” thatthe music and its audience wasstill breathing ferociously. ButHargrove is not merely one ofthe young lions who emergedinto the contemporary jazzscenes in the early 1990s.He is also at the forefront ofa neo R&B/soul group, theRH Factor, with which hewon a Grammy in 2002. Healso acted as a sideman forrapper Common and nowfronts the Roy Hargrove BigBand. As has now becomesomewhat of a tradition, hisquintet returned to one of thepremiere but discreet venues onManhattan’s lower west side toperform pieces from its mostrecent albums, “Earfood” and“Nothing Serious”.A Jazz show is unlikeany other form of live music,blending a mood, acoustic, andpersonality all its own whichdoes not exist in any other style.The Village Vanguard, whichhas played host to some of thebest artists and live recordingsin Jazz, is the perfect initiationto this music. The playersare only a few feet from you,displaying their groans andcries of approbation. Jazzmenare playing nearly every night,laboring to create somethingcompletely original. Thephysical, mental and spiritualdemands of this art form canbe seen on the grimaces, smiles,and shouts of the players. Jazzgroups also share a communalintimacy, a will to play together,to maintain their own musicalpersonality and agenda whileworking as an ensemble. Thisis why Jazzmen are consideredto be the best musicians inthe world, because their genrerequires total commitment tocommunal creation. They arejust as talented at listening toeach other as they are at playingwith each other.This is what RoyHargrove did masterfully,playing six songs that trulyshowed the crowd theexceptionality of his talentand innovation. His last twoalbums, mentioned earlier, arefusions of post and hard bopwith simple but incredibly richand soulful melodic ideas. Thelength and brilliant simplisticoriginality of his phrasingduring ballads is reminiscent ofMiles Davis, yet he also delightsin exposing the influence DizzyGillespie had on him in hisbop and Afro-Cuban inspiredpieces. His now longtime altosaxophonist Justin Robinsonpours just as much excitementas talent into his breathtakinglylong and complex solos, leapfroggingbetween pitches at analmost frightening but thrillingrate of speed. Pianist SullivanFortner showed why he is oneof the most creative players ofhis time with R&B and funkinspired riffs evocative of catchyhip hop instrumentals. QuincyPhillips created what can onlybe described as a shining sea ofperpetually crashing symbolsand fills, dabbling even in discoand rap beats that blendedsurprisingly well with AmeenSaleem’s cool bass.Hargrove’s quintet’sunique sound is driven by itscareful blend of the best of thenand now. Each musician playswith one ear leant to the pastand one towrds the future of Jazzwhich is just as unpredictable asit was in its heyday.Even if your ear is notone to be taken on an incrediblejourney by the solos of Coltraneor the tone of Miles Davis, youtruly have not fully experiencedlive music until you’ve seen ajazz show. Jazz doesn’t have tobe reserved for the intellectual,nostalgic or old, but right nowit seems to be doing just fine onits own.Dreaming in Outer Space with M83By Will HorikawaFollowing the release of acritically-acclaimed album HurryUp, We're Dreaming and MidnightCity, arguably the track of the year,M83 has been spending the majorityof 2012 on a worldwide tour, andstopped by New York's Terminal 5this May to play one of the venue'smost dazzling, energetic and electrifyingshows of the year. The Frenchoutfit took the stage right after a veryM83 performing at Terminal 5strange looking alien creature, noneother than the one feature on theMidnight City single artwork, whowarmed up the crowd while a cinematic,orchestral composition followedhis every move. Suddenly, thelights fade to black, and M83 begintheir set with the aptly named "Intro",a heart-wrenching synth trackwhich invigorates the crowd withlead singers Anthony Gonzalez &Morgan Kibby's escalatingvocals. The mesmerizingis also in full effectfor the very first time:the stage was filled withneon light cylinders andthe walls were coveredin a bed of scintillatingstars (This is almost tobe expected when yourband is named after agalaxy, Messier 83). Theband worked throughan eclectic set list, incorporatingsongs frommany different albums,and because of this,they were able to createa concert experiencethat is second to none:in less than 90 minutes,I felt as if I had been toa sold-out stadium rockperformance (Reunion,This Bright Flash), a 90'srave (Sitting, Couleurs),a local indie show (YearOne, Year UFO), an 80sparty (Steve McQueen,Graveyard Girl) an orchestralrecital, the listgoes on & on.But if there was onething to remember from M83that night, it would simply be thefact that, more than the vast majorityof independent bands today, theyunderstand and value the context ofa live show and put in effect so manynoteworthy adjustments to make theaudience's experience a memorableAlbum cover for M83’s Hurry Up, We’re dreamingone: be it mixing down new layers ofsounds over already familiar songs,processing mind bending electronicsthrough synth modules betweentracks or simply jamming out oncowbells, the band always looksready to perform like there's no tomorrow.