The Jazz Culture Feature
Fred Ho in a happy moment during dress rehearsal ofhis theatre piece at BAM
FRED HO, GREEN MONSTER BAND & MARTIAL ARTISTS at BAM
The Sweet Scientific Suite: A Musical Homage to Muhammad Ali’s indomitable spirit,”strength, perseverance and humanity”. [Performed October 11 and 12 at BAM] Composer: Fred Ho Dancers: Marquez Varges, Daniel Napolitano, Mathieu Williams, Emmanuel Brown Conductor: Maria Incontrera, Directed: Young Jung Kim, Projection Design: Paul Lieber The Jazz Culture, VII:5
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Costumes: Barbara Register Lighting Ben Hagen Green Monster Big Band Personnel:
Trumpet: Mark McGowan, Winston Byrd, Kevin Bryan, Nabate Isle, Saxophone: Baritone: Fred Ho, Ben Barson, alto: Darius Jones, Jim Hobbs Tenor:, Don Braden and Bhinda Keidel, Trombones: Bob Pilkington, Marty Wehner, Chris Stover, Earl McIntyre, David Taylor Keybaords: Art Hirahara, Guitar: Amanda Monaco, Drums, Royal Hartigan Bass: Ken Filiano “The Sweet Science Suite: A scientific Soul Music Honoring Muhammed Ali,” running time: an hour and ten minutes. Fills the stage at BAM. Caught Fred Ho’s original theatre piece, that contains jazz solos and sections of jazz during some of its Five Movements. Perhaps Fred Ho has invented a new multimedia form: Combining Hip hop, jazz elements, Visual media, and martial arts dances (kata, etc.). Mr. Ho is a virtuoso baritone player, with a top register in the sky. “The Sweet Science Suite” is an original and vivid multimedia piece mélange ofAfro-Asian elements in various musical modes. Refreshing and visually captivating in its constant and struggle oriented martial arts mélange, combined with modern music with jazz influences, “The Sweet Scientific Suite” is turbulent and larger than life and is a psychic sound portrait of Mr. Ho’s struggle against cancer since 2006, expressing the spirit of a cancer patient fighting for his life. Filling the lovely stage of the 870-seat Harvey Theatre of BAM, The Sweet Scientific Suite….” draws upon 2
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[Muhammad] Ali as a historic figure in my fight against cancer,” said Mr. Ho. Now in Stage 4c Colorectal cancer, Mr. Ho has courageously pursued his music, and composed this piece as a tribute to his idol Muhammed Ali, his warrior icon. Fred Ho has won five Rockefeller Foundation fellowships, a Harvard Grant, 3 NY Foundation for the Arts scholarships, a National Foundation for the Arts fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, written ten books, and won many other awards. In this work, Mr. Ho was influenced by Duke Ellington, Sun Ra, Stravinsky, and Asian opera forms. Aside from Mr. Ho’s solo performance during the Third Movement, particularly enjoyed the solos of Don Braden and Mark McGowan, and the work ofArt Hirahara, Royal Hartigan and Ken Filiano. The martial arts performers/dancers were outstanding, and the Kapiota choreography lent itself to covering the stage in circular movements. The years of martial arts training came in good stead as the martial artists/dancers were in constant motion doing aggressive moves for over an hour. Millions ofAmericans love the martial arts, which at least in certain disciplines were created by peasants who needed to defend themselves against armed marauders, and this appeals to the spirit of this country that champions the underdog. Needless to say, a lot of fights took place. In a typical martial arts fight class, you go through 25-30 sparring matches per hour. The enactment of Muhammad Ali’s life, as a beginning fighter in training, evolution into a champion, rejection of service in the war in Vietnam, losing his heavyweight championship medal, and a triumphal depiction of his moral victory and unceasing devotion to the truth as he found it. The First Movement: This may mark the first time martial arts dances have been choreographed with a long music work. The three dancers are sparring, fighting and working out, showing the training stage of martial artists, sometimes in unison. The first trumpet played a solo with a high run cascading to a growl The Jazz Culture, V.II:5
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accenting a lot of offbeats. The alto sax and lead trumpet engaged in flights of raucous expression, combining earthiness as an expression of the fighting spirit. The Second Movement: A fighter in gold trunks followed by a trio in a series of provocative and interesting moves, like the orchestral intro to a Broadway show. A solo dancer did a kapoeta solo, in swirling martial arts moves that covered the stage dramatically. Under which the trombone player played well soloing with a mute, with flurries of 16th notes rushing to a downbeat, and a constantly repeated bassline. While the sequined trio onstage flashes gleaming metal chuks, the orchestra ends on a series of long tones. The Third Movement-Mr.
Ho appears onstage playing his baritone saxophone with delightful virtuosity, easily plummeting the heights and depths of his instrument, with a singular sound, varying his dynamics, drawing from the blues scale and hitting a lot of notes in the stratosphere of his instrument, playing in all registers, a monologue of technical command and articulation. This is followed by an instrumental segue of the band and Mr. Ho to a new section, hitting notes that have never been heard on a baritone and ending on a low long tone, he alternated in a free interlude with the band. The Fourth Movement: Two tenor saxophones play as the
image of the war in Vietnam in slides are projected on a huge screen. There is an image of a moon, then a helicopter flying, while a vocalist sings a series of long tones. There was a pretty repetitive bass line with the desolation of the war portrayed by martial artists dressed as soldiers marching on the stage, band playing a slow theme sounding like a minor pentatonic [pretty] melody, then the martial artists portray a battle scene. The music ends in waves of sound depicting the fury and lost feeling of the war. There is a another good trombone solo over one chord, then alto saxophone and trombone solos (well conducted) screeching in 4 The Jazz Culture, V.II:5
agony. The Fifth Movement: A man in a suit alone onstage,
with a heavy weight medal (Muhammad Ali) which is taken off by a man in red white and blue, after which there is a lot of marching onstage, and a good solo by Mark McGowan, mostly melodic long tones. The band then depicts anger as slides of starving masses are shown on the screen. There is a pretty tenor solo by Don Braden. There are sections here influenced by Duke Ellington, in a mellow mood accompanied by acrobatic tumbling on stage, with tempos varying segueing to a fast Latin beat. There is a huge typewriting slide on stage: “Fred Ho and the Green Monster Band� followed by images of Muhammad Ali, segueing to a big band dance ballad, while fighters onstage in red trunks. There is a good keyboard solo with mellow warm melodies. At points during this section the band breaks into effective silences, or pauses. This segues into a triumphal march finale, with the fighter onstage raising his fist in victory. Slides of an Asian jungle appear; monks in various countries accompanied by a lower register saxophone section. Adding to the finale, the martial artists onstage go through fast choreography and end by weapons twirling of long metallic poles. The band is turbulent, and there is an exciting drum solo while the martial artists do a dynamic kata onstage with chuks. The band accelerates to rapid sections of 16th notes, discovering interesting repetitive patterns with three note and five note licks. As it crescendos, there is a certain wildness that suddenly breaks and the band stops. During a few sections of the first movement the band swings in 4/4. At other times the meter changes to 7/8 or 5/4, well conducted by Maria Incontrera. Although the piece is intricate the ensemble and martial artists hold it together and the theme is clear. An accolade to the incredible musicianship and level of the martial artists. Mr. Ho is a self taught composer/arranger. He said the martial The Jazz Culture, V.II:5
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arts component mixed Kung Fu, Wuxu, Kapoeta, jiujitsu, karate and other martial arts with “a musical vision quest to find the fighting spirit that comes from the inspiration of the warrior spirit ofAli in my war against cancer.” He added that the piece “draws upon Ali as a historic figure in my fight against cancer.” Mr. Ho has created perhaps the first stage production to mix the dance aspect of martial arts with a grandiose vision of the human spirit struggling under duress and suffering. Mr. Ho started the piece in January 2010 when he learned he had colorectal cancer. In five-six weeks he wrote the full score. Originally there was a dance component but he threw it out and opted for martial arts instead. It has been seen as a Guggenheim Foundation Work-in-Progress.” Mr. Ho described the piece as having Five Movements, an Afro-Asian fantasy that winks at the 1970 black exploitation soundtracks. He wanted to provide inspiration for those who are oppressed by power to “never give up.” “You’re seeing me in the last six months of my life,” he added. It was hard to believe as the reader can see from the photo taken at the BAM theatre. Mr. Ho has been a band leader for decades, not the simplest profession in the world, as well as composing multicultural music that adds to the bridges between cultures in the “melting pot” that New York purports to be. Too often, many neighborhoods and ethnicities in New York have been voluntarily segregated, each neighborhood’s denizens separated by language, culture, prejudice and fear and school and electoral zoning laws. Mr. Ho has bravely broken out of that parameter to pioneer music that combines influences ofAfrican American and Asian elements, acting as a catalyst to making our society truly a “melting pot” where people of different races or nationalities understand and respect each other’s contributions to world culture and particularly the culture of the United States. Contact Mr. Ho’s group at: bigredmedia@hotmail.com
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Dr. Barry Harris and Sheila Jordan, great artists who come from the same branch ofthe jazz tree--Detroit--embrace at St. Peter's Church during All Night Soul
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PhotoEssay of Coming Articles
Charles McPherson Rick Stone
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Dado Moroni The Jazz Culture, V. II:10
Dizzy Gillespie's 96th Birthday Party at Baha'i Reverend Nat Dixon and Reverend Kaz Takahashi outside the Japanese American United Church
George Mraz, George Coleman, Kenny Barron & the jazz lovers of the world
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
October Babies Tyler Mitchell, bass,
Cecil Bridgewater, trumpet, Jack Di Monte, vocalist, Rick McClaine, vocalist, Michael Sergio, vocalist Larry Ham, Pianist The Jazz Culture Newsletter
Private Jazz Tours in NYC are available; also music teachers in various countries for students & jazz lovers. email: info@thejazzculture.com. Ads are available in The Jazz Culture Newsletter. The Jazz Culture Newsletter has been read in 57 countries in the past year.
Lionelle Hamanaka, Publisher
Out of Town Jazz Culture Newsletter Subscribers Charles McPherson from California will be at the Jazz Standard on October 18 Dado Moroni will be at the Kitano on October 26
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October Listings Ray Blue October 1‐Jazz Ed Workshop in Peekskill October 4‐ Showman's 375 West 125 Street 9:30, 11:30, 1:30 am. October 5‐ Beanrunner Cafe, Peekskill NY, 8, 11 p.m. October 18‐Division Street Grill, 7‐10 p.m. October 19‐Cleopatra's Needle‐93 & Broadway, NYC 10 pm October20‐22‐Midwest Tour October 24‐ Jazz Ed Workshop, Peekskill, NY October 26‐CC Pro Am with Mike Longo Big Band at Paramount in Peekskill October 29‐Garage, 7th Avenue South near Christopher Sheridan Square, 6‐10 Kenney Gates, pianist. Philadelphia, every Tuesday, Sunday and some Saturdays at the High Note Cafe on Tasker & 13th, 5‐9 p.m. George Gee Orchestra at Swing 46, (346 W. 46 Street bet. 8th/9th Ave.) Tuesdays; sm. Sat. 9:30‐free dance lesson beforehand. Lionelle Hamanaka‐ October 10, Japanese American United Church, 6:00 p.m. 25th Street & 7 Ave. Steps on the Church (Methodist) Loston Harris October 22, the Carlyle, 9:30 p.m. Mad. Ave & 76 St Bertha Hope/Kim Clarke‐October 28, Local 802 322 W. 48 St., 6‐9:15 p.m. Mike Longo‐ October 22, hosts Dizzy Gillespie's Birthday Party at the Baha'i Center, 53 East 11th Street 8 p.m. Joe Magnarelli‐ October 14, JALC Jazz at Lincoln Center
October 1 3, Memorial Hall, Joe Magnarelli Quintet Protestant Community Church 1 00 Stokes Road, Medford Lakes, NJ 609-654-4220 Jim Malloy, Swing 46, 9:30 p.m. October 3, 10, 17, 24, 31. Ron McClure: Solo piano at McDonald's at 160 Broadway in
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Manhattan from 12‐4 PM on Tuesdays & Saturdays.(October 1,5,8, 12, 15, 19, 22, 26, 28) I play the "American Songbook," originals and rom other contemporary composers. October 10, JAUC, Steps on the Church, 255 7th Avenue, 6:00 p.m. Kuni Mikami: October 10, Japanese American United Church, 6:00 p.m. 25th Street & 7 Ave. Steps on the Church (Methodist) John Mosca & Michael Weiss: Vanguard Orchestra Every Monday night at the Village Vanguard Bill Saxton: Bill's Place every Friday, 148 West 133 Street, 9 p.m. Ranked #25 among 305 attractions in NYC Rick Stone Trio October 17 6‐10pm, The Garage, 99 7th Avenue South Rev. Kaz Takahashi: October 10‐Steps on the Church, Japanese American United Church, 255 7th Avenue, 6 p.m. Richie VitaleOctober 12 –Richie Vitalie at Measure at the Pamgham Place Hotel, 8‐11 pm October 19 –Richie Vitalie Quintet at Measure at the Pamgham Place Hotel, 8‐11 pm ENGLAND: John Watson Trio at the Palm Court, the Langham Hotel, London, 1c Portland, Regent Street 207‐636‐1000 every weekend 1) IMAGINATION UK Tour October 2013 featuring John Watson on keyboards/vocal! 2) Dave Koz & Friends at Sea John Watson on smooth jazz cruise! – video available 3) Hayman’s Gin Palace at the Langham 11th Oct‐ 30th Nov featuring the John Watson Trio! ‐ Thursday, Friday & Saturday nights
John Watson
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