Imani Winds showcase their populist versatility at Wolf Trap
The Imani Winds performed Sunday afternoon at Wolf Trap. Photo: Titolayo Ayongade
Several things made Sunday afternoon’s performance by the Imani Winds at the Barns at Wolf Trap more accessible and enjoyable than many concerts.
First, each member of the wind quintet introduced a piece on the program, offering biographical information about the composers and musical insights, but also making it personal, noting their favorite moments in the work. And at intermission, WETA’s Rich Kleinfeldt led a brief Q&A session with the players, who answered audience questions and also discussed interesting aspects of the instruments they were playing.
The group’s comments were as well-delivered as their playing, befitting a veteran ensemble that tours full time, including an upcoming Asian foray. Combining accessibility and personality with the Grammy-winning quintet’s varied program of living composers made for a delightful experience.
One of the high points was a rendition of Stevie Wonder’s Overjoyed, which Imani’s clarinetist, Mark Dover, arranged for the group. In his introductory speech, Dover’s passion for Wonder’s talent was clear, as he urged audience members to listen on YouTube to Wonder’s performance of the song during a 1983 episode of Saturday Night Live, which inspired Dover’s arrangement.
Dover simulated the sound and rhythm of Wonder’s energetic piano style by writing a slew of rapid-fire block chords for the ensemble, followed by the oboe and bassoon taking turns with the melody. The best was to follow as Imani’s French hornist, Kevin Newton, picked up a microphone and sang a chorus in a style approximating Wonder’s soulful, slightly nasal and somewhat smoky style. It was not only an excellent rendition for a horn player, it was very good singing on its own, prompting an enthusiastic reaction from the audience.
Imani’s aptly chosen opening work primed the audience for the Wonder selection and the rest of the jazz and blues-tinged program.
Valerie Coleman’s Red Clay and Mississippi Delta references music on the casino boats and juke joints along the Mississippi River. This high-energy scherzo immediately tested Imani’s players with brisk tempi and jazz lines that required virtuosic playing as well as wailing by clarinetist Dover and oboist Mekhi Gladden. That the Imani players are more than familiar with jazz idioms was immediately apparent. Blues and jazz lines swung palpably, never sounding stiff as is often the case when they are produced by classically trained artists.
Also apparent in the Coleman was Imani’s musical chemistry, as the players blended notes that resulted in sounds rarely heard in larger ensembles, for example an ear-piercing chord in the Agitato-Cantando movement of Finnish composer Kalevi Aho’s Wind Quintet No. 1. Moreover, it was a thin line separating the group from soloists, who didn’t have to strain to be heard.
This sensitive yet high-intensity playing was manifest throughout the program, as was Imani’s extremely tight ensemble. These were put to good use in Paquito D’Rivera’s A Little Cuban Waltz. This work, which Imani commissioned from the Cuban-American composer-saxophonist-clarinetist, is a recreation of an improvised clarinet solo D’Rivera played on the album I Missed You Too! Surprisingly, the clarinet has a limited role in this short composition. Instead, Gladden’s oboe was featured, though the entire ensemble got an opportunity to play several fast bebop figures during this jazz waltz. Monica Ellis deftly swung a bass line, allowing others to solo over it, eventually ending in an unrestrained solo section that transitioned to the ensemble playing a unison line before abruptly stopping.
Turkish composer-pianist Fazil Say’s Alevi Dedeler Raki Masasinda was the most programmatic piece of the afternoon. It tells the story of elders drinking and chatting, opening with a Turkish theme that returns throughout the work. Loaded with comedy, it featured Ellis’s bassoon, which seemed the most talkative elder, while Newton’s horn interjected impolitely with quick snorts (or were they the sounds of snoring?). At one point, the elders ceased talking, drifting off into a brief nap.
The performance ended with oud player Simon Shaheen’s Dance Mediterranea, arranged by Jeff Scott, which required several players to improvise solos over the ensemble’s chords. The highlight, though, was Brandon Patrick George’s opening flute solo, a calm breeze before the generally fiery piece’s Middle East-flavored dance music.
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center performs music for winds and piano, including Klughardt’s Wind Quintet in C Major and Farrenc’s Sextet for Winds and Piano in C Minor 3 p.m. March 1. wolftrap.org
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