Columbus Jazz Orchestra hopes to infuse audience with joy
‘We’re going to imbue people with music’ says Byron Stripling, artistic director of CJO
When Columbus Jazz Orchestra Artistic Director Byron Stripling listens to the music of composers George Gershwin and Irving Berlin, he hears lessons for the present.
Berlin, who was born in 1888, and Gershwin, who was born in 1898, each lived through the 1918 influenza pandemic.
“What better people could we go to to help us know how to live our lives after this?” said Stripling, who, this weekend, will lead the orchestra in a concert that celebrates the music of those composers and others.
“Gershwin, Berlin & Beyond,” the orchestra’s season-opening concert, will be performed Oct. 14-17 in the Southern Theatre. Masks and proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test will be required for all in attendance.
Music written in the aftermath of last century’s pandemic was often resolutely — if counterintuitively — forward-looking, Stripling said.
Celebrating the post-1918 pandemic
“After that flu pandemic, there was a great song written called ‘I Want to be Happy,’” said Stripling, referring to a song by Vincent Youmans and Irving Caesar. “What did these guys have to be happy (about)? They found that morsel of happiness, and they blew it up into a song. This is what this concert is for me:
Reflecting on the past and learning from those lessons of history.”
Among the pieces to be performed are “Blue Skies” by Berlin; “Oh, Lady Be Good!” by Gershwin; and a bevy of other songs that Stripling and company hope will translate into pure pleasure for listeners.
“We’re going to imbue people with music, and for some people, that will be the first bit of musical joy (since the pandemic),” Stripling said. “That hopefully will be a booster shot to help them get through their day.”
Lena Seikaly to pay tribute to Ella Fitzgerald
Guest vocalist Lena Seikaly, making her third appearance with the orchestra, will be featured throughout the 90-minute concert, which will take place without an intermission.
“This is America’s unique music,” said
Seikaly, a 35-year-old resident of Washington, D.C., of the tunes on tap, many of which were first heard in Broadway shows.
A number of the songs Seikaly will sing were also recorded by Ella Fitzgerald , whom the guest artist considers her musical “queen bee.” Seikaly wants to emulate Ella’s style while staying true to herself.
“It’s really fun to try to sing like Ella,” Seikaly said. “I don’t think I sound like her exactly, but ... she’s definitely one of my biggest inspirations. There’s that rope you have to walk: paying tribute but also making sure you sound like yourself.”
And Stripling has plenty of praise for Seikaly’s own gifts.
“There’s a depth to her voice and experience to her voice,” he said.
Saxophonist Patrick Bartley Jr. to share stage
In his first appearance with the orchestra, guest saxophone soloist Patrick Bartley Jr. will be featured.
The South Florida native took a long and winding road to the saxophone: He grew up pursuing visual arts, but while still in elementary school, he was encouraged to play music. He picked clarinet, then switched to baritone sax and finally to alto sax. Key in his decision was attending a concert featuring alto saxophonist David Sanborn — and there were other influences, too.
“Charlie Parker and Cannonball (Adderley) and all of the people I was into — they all played alto,” said Bartley, 28, who resides in Fort Lauderdale.
Less important than how Bartley came to the instrument, of course, is the magic he makes with it.
“My mind was blown away with how great this guy was,” said Stripling, who was wowed by videos of Bartley on Youtube and will give the guest artist plenty of leeway come showtime.
“I’ll just say (to Bartley), ‘You do your thing, and when it sounds like you’re about done, then I’m going to bring the band back in,’” Stripling said. “I want him to have that flexibility to do his thing on stage.”
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