Elysha, Charlie, and I attended a performance by Arturo Sandoval, the world-renowned Cuban-American jazz trumpeter, pianist, timbalero, and composer, on Friday night at the Hope Center for the Arts in Springfield.
Sandoval plays with a band consisting of about half a dozen musicians, but he is the centerpiece of the performance.
It’s very much Aruturo Sandoval and company.
Charlie plays the trumpet, which is why we went to the concert, and he was not disappointed. Watching one of the greatest trumpet players perform about a dozen feet from you is incredible.
As a trumpet player, it must’ve been even more astounding.
But here is what Sandoval did that impressed me so much:
He infused variety throughout his performance.
Sandoval famously plays the trumpet, but he also plays the piano, the keyboard, and the timbalero throughout the show, too.
He sang a song, even though he acknowledges that he doesn’t have the best voice.
He sang scat, which I don’t ever love, but it was different.
He stopped the music entirely to tell a story.
He cracked jokes.
He even spent a few minutes criticizing rap music for its lack of melody and harmony.
Music, he explained, consists of three parts — melody, harmony, and rhythm — but most rap music is rhythm only, and even that is almost always produced by a machine.
“Most rap musicians couldn’t find middle C on a piano,” he said.
I happen to agree with him when it comes to most rap music. I like music that tells a story. I enjoy melody and harmony. I like verses, choruses, and lyrics I can hear and understand. I enjoy guitars, horns, and honest-to-goodness drums.
Unless I’m dancing, I don’t need the bass vibrating my windows.
But even if I disagreed with Sandoval, he made an argument in the midst of a concert. He stated a bold, possibly controversial opinion and educated me on music in the process.
It was an incredible display of virtuosity and an awareness of how to truly entertain an audience – not just by playing great music, but by offering a variety of elements that made the night constantly feel new and alive.
It’s why, when I perform an evening of stories, I always include some stories about the stories themselves. I squeeze in a little standup. I teach a strategy or two. I perform storytelling improv based upon audience prompts. Sometimes I even do Q&A, which is simply another means by which I can tell jokes and stories while satisfying curiosity.
An evening of five or six stories would be fine, but when you mix in a bit of comedy, some improv, and a lesson or two on storytelling, you can create something more dynamic and interesting.
Arturo Sandoval understands this better than anyone I’ve ever seen perform. He was happy at the prospect of seeing Sandoval perform.
I was thrilled by his actual performance.
If you have a chance to see him perform, do so. You’re in for something far more interesting than a concert.
You’re in for a genuinely entertaining show.
