Conrad Askland

WHAT – Claude Bolling Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano

WHEN – Sunday May 6th, 7:30pm

WHERE – Brechemin Hall, University of Washington Music Building

WHO – Stephanie Bethea Doctoral Lecture Recital

Conrad Askland – jazz piano
Bryan Atterbury – drums
Toni Rush – bass
Ben Bethea – oboe
Jim Gaudette – french horn
Eric Frankenfield – violin
Jane Frankenfield – viola
Abby Frankenfield – cello
Roupen Shakarian – conductor

FLUTE RECITAL PROGRAM

Syrinx – Claude Debussy (1913)

Claude Bolling Jazz Suite Movements:
1. Baroque And Blue
2. Sentimentale
3. Javanaise
4. Fugace
5. Irlandaise
6. Versatile (With Bass Flute)
7. Veloce

The Great Train Race – Ian Clarke (1993)

Concerto for Flute and Orchestra – Carl Reinecke (1908)
Transcribed for chamber orchestra by Stephanie Bethea
Allegro molto moderato
Lento e mesto
Finale; moderato

This recital is given in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts. Stephanie Bethea has been a student of Felix Skrowonek, Zart Domburian-Eby, and currently Sarah Bassingthwaite.

CONCERT NOTES:
The recital went well last night. It was like Stephanie hand-picked all my favorite people – Jim Gaudette and Roupen were performing, and I ran into Jerome Chandler and Brittany Schmidt who I’ve worked with on shows before and are both very fun. One nice surprise was hearing Stephanie’s son Ben Bethea on oboe, he is a master of that instrument with a tone that truly has to be heard – it struck me that oboe might be my current favorite orchestral instrument, next to french horn of course. During the recital Stephanie demonstrated flutter tongueing, flute double stops and multi-note harmonics. There was a nice reception afterwards and I got to visit with everyone.

Stephanie and I had played at my church in the morning and she did very tasty improvisations over the hymns and praise music. It also gave us a chance to get a little looser on the Claude Bolling Suite. I’d like to make a couple changes and perform the Bolling Suite local at a small place like Althea’s or The Muse with an intimate crowd. Would make a nice upper crust snobby affair. I took great liberty with the Bolling Suite and improvised quite a bit of it – from talking to people in attendance this approach seemed well received, and Stephanie said she thought it kicked a lot of fun into it.

So at some point if I play it enough, I’ll improvise the whole suite – and then we’ll just call it a new name. 🙂

If you can read French – visit the Claude Bolling website.

About Claude Bolling:
Claude Bolling (born April 10, 1930), is a renowned French jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and occasional actor.

He was born in Cannes, studied at the Nice Conservatory, then in Paris. A child prodigy, by age 14 he was playing jazz piano professionally, with Lionel Hampton, Roy Eldridge, and Kenny Clarke.

He has written music for over one hundred films, mostly French, starting with the score for a 1957 documentary about the Cannes Film Festival, and including the films Borsalino (1970), and California Suite (1979).

Bolling is also noted for a series of “crossover” collaborations with classical musicians. His Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio with Jean-Pierre Rampal, a clever and charming mix of Baroque elegance with modern swing, has been a top seller for many years, and was followed up by other works in the same vein. It was particularly popular in the United States, and it was at the top of the hit parade for two years after its release.

Following his work with Rampal, Bolling went on to work with many other musicians, from different genres, including Alexandre Lagoya, Pinchas Zukerman, Maurice André, and Yo-Yo Ma. He has also worked with, and performed tributes to many others, including Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington, Stéphane Grappelli, Django Reinhardt, Oscar Peterson.

COMMENT:
I bought this on cassette over 20 years ago, and it continues to be #1 in my top ten list of favorite recordings. It is a perfect blend of baroque and jazz. I remember playing this in my car and my passenger was amazed at the structure of the music, particularly transitions within the pieces. I like all of Bollings series of “_____ and jazz piano” but this is the best of all. It remains fresh & creative. How could anyone not find this music compelling?