just like in hifi, if your system has no contrast, it won't be able to portray the extremes of emotions very wellmrs. costello has visibly gained some weights since she became a mother, something which she proudly declared during the concert in kl last night. she even mentioned about her famous husband but i guess not many people know who her husband is. and yes, krall has the most beautiful blonde hair i have ever seen ;-)
the acoustics in plenery hall are good, tho' nowhere approaching the dewan filharmonik petronas (DFP). from where we sat, the sound did not have enough volume. anthony wilson's guitar came across louder than diana krall's piano but it doesn't matter, the quartet played a tight set throughout the entire night.
what impressed me is how seasoned krall's voice has become. it has a kind of tone that is akin to the best of wine reserved for the connoisseurs. many people dislike krall because they think her voice is technically perfect but lacking of real emotions and this i have to disagree. listening to her rendition of joni mitchell "a case of you" with just the piano with pin-drop silence from the audience, i could feel my goose bumps raised and my heart stopped beating.
and anthony wilson's is a gem, his guitar is so soulful and sensitive. i actually mentioned to my producer (chow) that how i wished roger wang is here. i am not saying that roger is not as good as anthony wilson but he could learn a thing or two from anthony. what i love about anthony's guitar is the contrast in his playing between the fast numbers and the slows numbers. there is a good mix of slow and fast numbers in the set and when it comes to the slow (really really slow) ones, krall (and her piano playing) sounded so very seductive and sensitive; it touched and moved the soul. and anthony's guitar playing complemented very well, like hand and glove.
a lot of local musicians i know do not have enough of contrast in their playing, this much i can tell you. most of them revel in playing fast dynamic numbers but when it comes to slow ones, they lack sensitivity and delicacy. just like in hifi, many systems can play dynamic bang-slam-thank-you-mam pieces well but when it comes to music with one or two instruments in stripped down format, it can't deliver the emotions and sensitivity. if your system has no contrast, it won't be able to portray the extremes of emotions very well.
overall, krall and her quartet delivered a night of quality jazz. but i wished the venue could be smaller with more intimate crowd. i was told that krall and entourage adjourned to no black tie (NBT) after the concert to jam with local jazz musicians but it was too late for me to go to NBT.
talking about NBT, yes, two of 2v1g's gigs are full house next week! yay, give me five!
5 comments:
Dynamics is not about being able to play loud (as many think) but ability to reproduce and contrast both loud and soft music at the same time. Its a very important attribute in a hi-fi system.
My Gosh!!!Your descriptions were exactly fit what i thought.I was there too and really enjoy the intimate evening....I thought Scarlett J is your fav blonde?
The DPP would have been a better venue.
I had some friends who flew over from Britain and they were thoroughly impressed with the venue and the acoustics.John's wife said that it was even better than royal Albert hall and i truly agree.
I also find that the Malaysians crowds are a surperb bunch ;and always enjoy the concerts here much more than in singapore
As an Expatriate ,there are several things that surprised me about the concert;
1]How nice the venue was,very classy and more trhan average acoustics.
2]How knowladgable and polite the crowd was.
3]So many Jazz lovers among the young people!!!Or is it that Malaysians look younger than their age?
Thoroughly enjoyable...Good future for musics in Malaysia,IMHO
]
Diana Krall wasn't at her best I thought.
The accompanying musicians though was just electrifying so much so that at least for me,the night was magical enought..
Post a Comment