4 minute read
JAS, AMFS Collaborate to Bring Big Bass to the Stage
BY SAMANTHA JOHNSTON Festival Focus Writer
The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) and Jazz Aspen Snowmass (JAS) are teaming up again to bring bass sensations Christian McBride and Edgar Meyer to Harris Concert Hall on Saturday, July 22.
Meyer—a Tennessee-born bluegrass specialist and classical crossover—and McBride, who first attended The Juilliard School to pursue classical studies, but hit the road with legendary jazz saxophonist Bobby Watson, create a duo that is rare magic.
The powerhouse bassists first played together in Aspen in 2007. This will be their third time performing during the summer AMFS program.
“The first time we brought Edgar and Christian to the stage at Harris Hall, it was an absolutely mind-blowing concert,” says James Horowitz, president and CEO of JAS. “In all of the shows I’ve seen over all of the years, that one was a standout. It is one of my top ten, maybe top five.”
McBride and Meyer were both heavily influenced and inspired by double bassist Ray Brown who was known for his extensive work with Oscar Peterson and Ella Fitzgerald. Though McBride is known for blazing a path in the jazz genre and Meyer has roots in classical and bluegrass, it’s the sweet spot they share that McBride sees as unique.
“We both play an instrument that is meant to accompany, and we both were inspired by the man who brought us together—Ray Brown,” McBride says. “I come from the jazz and rhythm and blues world and Edgar comes from bluegrass and classical, but in the middle, we both love the blues.”
Common ground for this duo has less to do with the particular genre of music they play, and more to do with a continuing friendship and exploration of the music they can create together.
“Christian is the person who makes everyone around him better. The remarkable propulsion of his beat is an important part of his raising others, but the way that he listens may be even more important,” says Meyer. “I wish everyone could have the pleasure of interacting with him, but I’m certainly not going to give up my turn.”
McBride says he is still in awe of Meyer—a MacArthur Fellow and Avery Fisher Prize winner—and he wouldn’t miss an opportunity to share the stage with him.
“The thing that will never change for me is that, besides being one of my favorite collaborators, I’m still a huge Edgar Meyer fan,” McBride says.
Bass duets are about as rare as bassists who have developed solo careers, yet listeners will be treated to both in this special presentation.
“What you will hear is so rare,” Horowitz says. “The listener just needs to suspend their assumptions about the musical conversation that should take place between a bass player that plays classical and folk and one who plays jazz and electronic. It will musically be something you’ve never heard before.”
The big energy of the performance like this one comes largely from the passion both artists feel for engaging the audience and giving them a reason to tap their foot to the music.
“Oftentimes, well-trained, deeply ingrained artists and musicians get so deep into the weeds of our craft that we forget that there are people who may not know us, or our music and they just need to feel some good energy,” McBride says. “Some people don’t know or frankly don’t care about the science of our work—the chords and scales and words—they just want to be entertained.”
The evening’s program will be announced from the stage as both McBride and Meyer play with a sense of adventure and discovery, often playing what inspires them at the time.
“Our audience can expect a mishmash of cool originals, a few standards, a few show tunes, and we will also accompany one another on the piano for a couple of songs,” says McBride.
“I think you’ll have to be there,” says AMFS Vice President for Artistic Administration Patrick Chamberlain. “You’ll see two people at the absolute height of their powers who are complete masters of their instrument. They approach it from a slightly different lens, but with complete and total respect for each other, for the audience, and for the instrument. It’s just one of those nights that everyone will say, ‘Were you there when Christian McBride and Edgar Meyer played together?’”
