Jay Harvey Upstage

Gray box at black box: Ben Asaykwee and Claire Wilcher Five years ago, in a country far away (it seems) from the present, just before COVID was on everybody's tongue and in the air they breathed, "White City Murder" debuted at the Phoenix Theatre , which is now finishing its 40th-season celebration in a performing-arts home with "Cultural Centre" formally added to the place's name. On Friday night, a season-crowning production of Ben Asaykwee's virtuoso musical fantasy on the legend of H.H. Holmes opened. It's focused on Holmes' nefarious activity around the 1893 Chicago world's fair, which itself was a virtuoso fantasy of scientific and purported social progress, embodied in its white architecture. The pseudonymous Holmes was a 19th-century serial murderer (a side effect of his specialty as a con man and swindler) who established scary residence near the site of the thronged Columbian Exposition (the fair's formal name). His complicated

Years ago one of the alternative tabloids that flourished briefly here published an interview with the Osmo Vänskä has the vision and the vehicle. Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's new music director in which he delivered a dismissive assessment of Gustav Mahler's music.  I wish I'd saved it, because Raymond Leppard summed up the personal mood swings embedded in Mahler's works somewhat in this manner: "Oh, I'm glorious and blessed by God; Oh, I'm such a  sh*t!" My attempted paraphrase becomes an exact quote in the second phrase, as I was shocked that a symphony music director would express his disdain in such vulgar terms. But the Leppard dislike took hold, and I believe the only Mahler that Leppard programmed as music director (1987-2001) was the gentle, heaven-focused Symphony No. 4, which never visits the outhouse. Despite the permanent vogue Mahler now enjoys, there has long been a history of rejection, or at least resistance, among some professio

Center stage are Gabrielle Cavassa and Joshua Redman, with support from bassist Philip Norris and (barely visible) pianist Paul Cornish and drummer Nazir Ebo. You're free to supply the punctuation in the title of the album Joshua Redman is touring behind, because there's no question where he is. He's centered in a format in which a vocalist is fully a member of the band, and she's the mesmerizing Gabrielle Cavassa . "Where Are We" tracks, interpreted live, formed the basis of the saxophonist's two-night stand at the Jazz Kitchen this weekend. Hearing the first set Saturday night, it was evident Redman wanted to give himself lots of territory for sheer blowing, but he also was emphasizing his collaboration chops. His discography is rich in a tendency to share the spotlight as a bandleader, but this is his first undertaking  including a vocalist in the front line. And there are plenty of places to be celebrated in song from the early 20th century into the pr

Mark Cudek's range as artistic director of the Indianapolis Early Music Festival is especially impressive as the current festival prepares to pause for a holiday break before ending the weekend of July 12 and 13.  On Friday, June 28, the festival moved into its accustomed home at the Indiana History Center for a program presented by The Bach and Beethoven Experience, whose artistic director put together a program based on her own family experience rooted in the Chickasaw tribe, one of Five Civilized Nations forced to move from their original homelands to unsettled land west of the Mississippi. Creator and arranger of the program, Brandi Berry Benson is a violinist who appeared onstage heading six musicians, two others of whom have tribal affiliations. One was percussionist Michaela Marchi (Isleta Pueblo), whose playing idiomatically supported the instrumental ensemble of strings and flute.  The other was  Rachael Youngman , whose tribal affiliation is Chickasaw. She filled a k

Re M ȁrkable results in Beethoven He knew everybody was eager for the Beethoven Fifth, so  Jun M ȁrkl  kept his post-intermission remarks from the podium concise. The Japanese-German conductor, who becomes the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra 's music director in September, first had some thanks to offer.  He praised the orchestra's members in both musical and personal terms. He wrapped up with compliments to the audience, making the obvious but necessary point that the best the ISO has to offer comes out only when there are people in the Hilbert Circle Theatre seats. And there were plenty of them Friday night, as the 2023-24 Classical Series drew to a close. The program of works by Beethoven, George Gershwin, and British composer Hannah Kendall will be repeated at 5:30 this afternoon.  A wise senior music critic once told me and a gaggle of newspaper newbies something designed to check any loftiness we might be cultivating when we write about major repertoire: "Remember th

Conrad Herwig , an adept veteran trombonist, has made a specialty of small-group arrangements of jazz masters in Latin-jazz stylings . "The Latin Side of McCoy Tyner" (Savant) is a fine continuation of the series, especially given that as a composer Tyner (1938-2020) created sturdy pieces with lots of momentum as well as heart. Conrad Herwig has made Latinizing jazz classics a specialty. Tyner's heavily accented piano style isn't obsesssively expanded to the septet Herwig heads here. The arrangements welcome the occasionally laidback nature of Latin-American music. But the impressiveness of Tyner's approach is effectively translated to a band that depends on the animated verve of Camilo Molina's conga drums.  The traditional three-man rhythm section fits indelibly into that vibe, with a guest appearance on "Walk Spirit, Talk Spirit," by Latin-jazz piano maestro Eddie Palmieri. Much of the credit for the rhythm section's solidity goes to pianist B

There is no final chapter in addiction stories, "Spay" teaches us. When physiology and psychology join arms and march ahead through vulnerable lives, the forces of reason, morality, and love faint and pull their flags out of any ground in which they have tentatively planted stakes. "Spay" opened this weekend in an American Lives Theatre production on Phoenix Theatre 's Basile stage. The last line (from offstage) in this expansive, troubling one-act drama by Madison Fiedler is succeeded by a final blackout. On Saturday night, the audience seemed a bit startled into silence until the lights came back up on a curtain-call-arranged cast. I think the playwright, as well Jen Johansen, making her directorial debut, were hinting "That's it!" as well as 'No, this is not it!" It's conventional by now that many modern plays avoid clearcut resolution. In the case of "Spay," the central problem of substance abuse bakes in the need to for

The connection of the music to winged creatures was slight here and there, but the theme "In Flight" stayed consistent throughout the concert the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra played Friday night under the direction of its music director designate, Jun M ȁrkl. Jun  M ȁrkl and the ISO soar together. The important thing about thematic programming of classical music is that images both general and specific can be held in the mind while the ears are cajoled and programmatic unity takes shape. M ȁrkl 's shrewd program choices keep the flight connections aloft, ending with "The Pines of Rome," whose concluding movement blasts away birdwatching to privilege returning legions processing in triumph back to the ancient imperial capital after military triumphs elsewhere. What was up above at Hilbert Circle Theatre in "The Pines of the Appian Way" was thus the extra brass, no birds, that the score calls for to swell the victory celebration. "One of the

Dinner guest brings Don Giovanni's comeuppance to the table. Stage directors' practice of setting a scene behind the overture is a practice that sometimes  seems intrusive. Whether you know the opera or not, traditionally the audience would become accustomed to just settling in and taking in the overture as an abstract sketch of the action and more pertinent music to come.  Now for an overture to introduce the raising of an opaque curtain is somewhat old-fashioned: Modern lighting and the use of a scrim can establish a veil of illusion that the words and action blended in the libretto will substantiate and clarify over the hours to follow. The audience immediately shoulders more of a duty than simply to stop chatting and iPhone perusal and to listen; we are interpreting from the first note on. Accompanying several compelling minutes of music, Alison Moritz presents a mimed scenario in Cincinnati Opera 's production of "Don Giovanni," which opened the company's

Guest Serrato solos, flanked by Dixon and Floyd Rob Dixon  has long led  "Triology," a band name sometimes wrongly rendered as "Trilogy." But aside from that, he has accustomed any audience attracted by his marquee name to appear with a trio, "plus 1" attached to allow for guests.  On Friday night at the Jazz Kitchen , the bandstand held six musicians under Dixon's leadership and affable hosting of a full house. There were engaging anecdotes and reminiscences from the tenor saxophonist and Jazz Mayor of Indianapolis, speaking to the variety of his personal connections with music he has both played and loved as a listener. Hia special guest in the front line was alto saxophonist J. Serrato of Austin, Texas. The roster was filled out by local musicians Reggie Bishop, keyboards; Brandon Meeks, bass; Richard "Sleepy" Floyd, drums, and Joe Harrison, guitar. Meeks and Floyd are longtime Triology regulars. Serrato proved to be an excellent guest. De

Late to the two-night party by virtue of transportation difficulties, Ravi Coltrane 's man in the percussion chair, Ravi Coltrane leans into his work.  Ele Salif Howell, got the boss' indulgence to command the spotlight to end the first set Saturday at the Jazz Kitchen . Coltrane's decision to "give the drummer some" in compensation for his forced absence from the bandstand Friday seems to accord with the saxophonist's genial nature.  In many senses, the vehicle for Howell's extended exhibition was an inspired choice: "Los Caballos" by the bandleader's mother, Alice Coltrane. The pianist-composer carved out a niche of her own as the widow of John Coltrane, whom Ravi acknowledged by leading the band through the trailblazing saxophonist's "Expression" just before the set-closer. Though Alice Coltrane's original practically puts percussion in the front line, Howell's solo seemed disproportionate to me. It did have virtuosit

A son of the venerated East German maestro Kurt Sanderling, Michael Sanderling now lives in Florida.  The only Scandinavian country missing from this weekend's Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra repertoire is Denmark, as guest conductor Michael Sanderling pointed out in remarks to Friday's audience as the stage was being prepared for a Steinway piano to be moved front and center at Hilbert Circle Theatre. Sanderling hinted that the other guest artist, Kenny Broberg, might choose a Danish composer if the audience applauded heartily enough for an encore. As it happened, Broberg followed his dazzling performance of the Grieg Piano Concerto with Nicolai Medtner's Fairy Tale in F minor, op. 26, no. 3. The hint of Danish representation came only by implication, in the droll tone and deadpan delivery of some of what the German conductor had to say. He noted that the audience was getting the benefit of "a spectacle" as stagehands moved orchestra chairs out of the way to

  Mark Ortwein with his principal instrument I'm glad to finally post a review of "Stretching Boundaries," bassoonist  Mark Ortwein 's* aptly titled compact disc of works across a vast range of his bassoon-centered artistry. The timing is coincidental but revealing: He plays the national anthem on his electrified bassoon on a special day on a special occasion — Memorial Day and Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals .  The assistant principal bassoonist of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra has been blurring whatever boundaries are usually associated with his bread-and-butter job since coming to town in 2002. He has made a name for himself on the local jazz scene (mainly as a saxophonist) and with modifications on the double-reed orchestral instrument that initially gave him a berth in Indianapolis music. On "Stretching Boundaries," his plugged-in electrified bassoon is heard principally on the raucous "Breaking and Entering," a work driven b

  Lynne Arriale heading a trio with Jeremy Allen and Sean Dobbins  Lynne Arriale's overriding message to audiences as she tours behind her new CD, "Being Human" ( Challenge Records) can be summed up by the two pieces with which she ended her sole set Friday at the Jazz Kitchen.  The veteran pianist joined forces with two former Indiana University colleagues — bassist Jeremy Allen and drummer Sean Dobbins — to cap her return gig with the Beatles' "Let It Be" and her own "Joy."  The recommendation on behalf of peaceful acceptance in the first of those songs is gently contradicted by the exuberance of the Arriale piece from "Being Human." It's as if to say, "Yes, we know that calming ourselves down in the face of what has to be is good, but the opportunity to lift up out of even a peaceful passivity has to be seized." Not only capturing both melodies in her readily communicative style, Arriale also drew from Allen and Dobbins

 It's difficult to keep from basing a post heralding Lynne Arriale 's return to Indianapolis on the artistic Lynne Arriale fixes a steady gaze on being human. credo she detailed for me in an interview 21 years ago. Let's start with one revealing quotation from my Indianapolis Star preview of her Jazz Kitchen engagement in April 2003. "Commmunication for Arriale means unabashedly reaching out to music lovers who aren't signed-sealed-and-delivered jazz fans," I wrote, summarizing what she told me while touring behind the CD "Arise," which had been recently released by her new label at the time, Motema. "Being Human," her latest CD ( Challenge Records ), doubles down on that belief with a program of original compositions, each with a one-word title identifying a human quality the pianist prizes.  On the Dutch-label release, Arriale is accompanied by Alon Near, bass, and Lukasz Zyta, drums. The rapport is evident, and very much piano-centered