Month: September 2016

The acoustic music world is filled with stunning talent flying gracefully, if often sadly, under the radar of the commercial music industry.

It’s great for us, because we get to see tremendous musicians in small venues at reasonable prices. And it’s awful, because these phenomenal artists aren’t getting the recognition — or compensation — of many less-talented musicians who sing other people’s songs, don’t play their own instruments well, or at all, and are stuck in the rut dictated by something other than their own muse. (OK, this is an issue for a different post.)

I’m used to listening to excellent musicians at house concerts — mine or other peoples’ — and at the few venues in Portland that host these folks.

But I’m not used to dropping my jaw at astonishing talent. But I did the other evening, when I got to hear the Matt Flinner Trio.

So the expected part. Matt Flinner is an extraordinary mandolin player. I’ve known this for a long time, as I watched him when he was quite young and have loosely followed his career for 20-some years.

Bassist Eric Thorin and guitarist Ross Martin are equally skilled, versatile and entertaining.

But here’s the part I didn’t know about.

When they tour, they impose on themselves the requirement of “Song de Jour.”

Each of them must compose a song for that evening’s performance. They have to write it; score it for the others; and become proficient in their own as well as their band mates’ new works. All between 12:01 a.m. that day and the time of the concert.

And if they are playing with guest artists, as they are doing on their entire West Coast tour, they try to write something that complements the style of their fourth player. Since their usual style leans toward jazz, with a lot of dissonance and unusual chording, this can be a stretch.

When they performed with clawhammer banjo player Bob Carlin, they created tunes with an old-time feel. When playing with Tony Furtado, they incorporated traditional-sounding melodies reminiscent of Tony’s earliest solo banjo albums. All they while, they inserted their own styles — including Eric’s bass-driven syncopation, including lots of rests requiring precision stops interspersed with complicated rhythms.

I’d love to be there when they perform with Mike Compton, whose mandolin playing reflects Bill Monroe’s more than any other contemporary picker.

Some of their stuff is a little way out for this old bluegrasser’s taste. But a lot of it is very melodic and beautifully musical.

Their blend of three instruments, or four with a guest, is remarkably full and satisfying. Their timing, as always demonstrated on Eric’s tunes, is stunning.

And the whole effect really is jaw-dropping.

It’s great to be totally astonished in a happy way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I recently saw the film Iron Lady on the library shelf, and since it was something I’d been meaning to watch for a long time, I took it home and watched it.

The story of Margaret Thatcher, played so movingly by Meryl Streep, brought together several themes that had been bouncing around in my head.

First, I’ve been thinking about Angela Merkel and Theresa May. They are the leaders of two of the world’s most powerful nations. Soon, I hope, another woman will join them.

I have done a little bit of fantasizing about what a summit meeting would look like with three female heads of state.

Will they be as no-nonsense together as Margaret Thatcher was dealing with Parliament, the opposition and Argentina? Will it be important to them all to appear steely and focused and forego the kind of interaction that we associate with women’s get-togethers?

Maybe they will spend some time talking about spouses, shoes, hair coloring and their favorite sports (apparently all three of them follow certain teams avidly).

And will they take some time to talk about the special challenges they face as women who have worked so hard for so long to achieve the top positions in their nations? Will they form an international support network for women with the loneliest jobs in the world?

I wonder if Merkel and May get scrutinized as closely for their hair and their clothing. Does the European press talk about how much they pay their hairdressers and how much their jackets cost?

According to the film, Margaret Thatcher was criticized early on for being shrill, and she studied how to modulate her voice and speak in a more measured, but forceful, way. At the same time, the men in Parliament were jumping up and down, frothing at the mouth and screeching.

We know things haven’t changed for Hillary Clinton. We know she’s too . . . .whatever. Shrill; uninspired; bold; tired; effusive; well-dressed; poorly-dressed, etc. There are so many lists of the conflicting criticisms she receives daily.

Would anyone dare to tell Angela Merkel that her voice is too shrill? Is Theresa May surrounded, as Thatcher was, with male advisors who tell her how to dress and speak?

I guess she’s got a thing for shoes. I wonder how her cabinet feels about that, or if they care. Does the British public warm to her because she wears colorful footwear?  Has any previous prime minister made the pages of Footwear News?

So these random thoughts bring me to Meryl Streep portraying Margaret Thatcher. First, what a performance. And second, Meryl Streep has informed my understanding of Hillary Clinton better than almost any other source (I’m a little ashamed to say).

I’ve known of Clinton’s record of fighting for poor children and families every since she got her law degree. I know that she has been a strong advocate for women’s rights here in the United States, and that she has spoken out fearlessly around the world since her days as first lady.

But I didn’t realize all she had done for women’s rights internationally until I first read excerpts of an introduction Meryl Streep gave.  Now, I go back to it over and over to remind myself how one person can make a difference.

I love this speech. I love hearing about the personal advocacy Hillary Clinton has shown for brave women around the world. I love the admiration that one strong female role model shows for another. I love the human-ness and the commitment and the hopefulness.

Watching this is like taking a spiritual bath, washing away some of the hatred and the sniping and the nastiness that seems to have embedded itself in our POTUS campaigns since the first Clinton ran for president. It reminds us that people are working on each others’ behalf all over the world, and that the United States is still looked upon as a leader on behalf of human rights.

I love this speech. I think I’ll watch it again after dinner.