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Concert Review
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The Daily Gazette, Concert Review >>
When I was a kid, my dad went through a brief banjo-playing phase. In the evenings, he would get out a songbook and play folk/spiritual tunes such as “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Rock My Soul” and “Puff the Magic Dragon.” At the time, I thought he was a great musician, but whenever I mention this banjo-playing phase to my father he usually says, “I can’t really play the banjo, you know.” Well, he sure fooled me! Regardless, I’ve retained some affection for the banjo — a nifty instrument that doesn’t really get the respect it deserves. On Saturday I headed out to The Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy to see Jayme Stone, a Canadian banjo player whose new album, “Room of Wonders,” interprets folk dances from throughout the world. Stone has considerable talent, and he was joined by an impressive cast of musicians: Grammy Award winning-fiddler Casey Driessen, bassist Greg Garrison of the Punch Brothers and guitarist Ross Martin. These guys are all incredibly talented. Not only that, but they specialize in the sort of genre-hopping, boundary-pushing approach to music that I find really invigorating. The show spanned the globe, opening with a Bulgarian folk dance that was both haunting and rollicking, and moving on to Norway, Ireland, Italy and Africa. A gifted raconteur, Stone took time to explain where his songs came from and what drew him to them, and although these explanations were interesting and informative, it was his joyous playing style that really conveyed his passion for exploring musical sounds, traditions and textures from around the world. In the Sanctuary’s preview of the concert, Stone says, “The world itself is like one vast room full of all these wonders. That’s perhaps a hallmark of this day and age. The whole world feels open and accessible. And as a musician, you walk into a room — a concert hall or a living room — anywhere in the world and by having instruments there, you can evoke other places, other centuries and other wonders.” One of the highlights of the evening came when Stone sat down and, accompanied only by Garrison, played a beautiful and technically impressive version of Johann Sebastian Bach’s “French Suite No. 6.” Stone has studied with banjo master Bela Fleck, but his music made me think of fiddler Mark O’Connor, whose music blends elements of folk, classical, jazz and bluegrass; some of Stone’s original pieces sounded like the twangier, more rollicking cousins of the compositions featured on “Appalachia Waltz” and “Appalachian Journey,” O’Connor’s collaborations with bassist Edgar Meyer and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. (Driessen, I learn, has studied with O’Connor.) In other words, Stone can do things with a banjo that my father never dreamed of. Events at the Sanctuary don’t always get a huge amount of attention, but I’ve never seen a bad musical performance there (highlights: jazz violinist Billy Bang and Malian kora player Mamadou Diabate), and Stone’s heartfelt display of virtuosity ranks among the best. (For the uninitiated, events at the Sanctuary cost a mere $10. Since the quality of the musical performances is usually on par with something you’d pay $30-$40 to see at The Egg, I’d say this is a very good deal.) 03/21/11 >> go there
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