by Jarrett Hoffman
JAZZ ON THE WEB:
Today you can hear local jazz online, both at noon and at night. For the price of a freewill offering, catch pianist Jackie Warren on Trinity Cathedral’s Virtual Brownbag series at 12:00 pm (streaming on the Cathedral’s website and on Facebook). And in a free concert, though donations are welcome, vocalist Evelyn Wright joins pianist David Thomas at the Maltz Performing Arts Center at 8:00 pm (streaming here).
Looking ahead, Wright and Thomas represent the start of a three-concert partnership between Jim Wadsworth Productions and the Maltz. Brazilian guitarist Moises Borges is up next on March 12, followed by trumpeter Dominick Farinacci and the students of the Tri-C Spirit of the Groove ensemble on April 6.
TODAY’S ALMANAC:
Leontyne Price — considered one of the greatest sopranos in history, and the first African-American vocalist to reach international acclaim in opera — turns 94 today. She was born in 1927 in Laurel, MS.
There are many lenses through which to examine her career, including the racially motivated obstacles she overcame, which could constitute a whole article. But it’s also important to simply appreciate her artistry. In an article for NPR published on Price’s 90th birthday, Tom Huizenga wrote, “Over years of interviewing singers and critics, whenever Price’s name comes up, something special happens. The talk turns to that powerful, gleaming voice and the strength of her artistic convictions, even in the face of adversity.”
That article contains thoughts on Price from soprano Jessye Norman, baritone Sherrill Milnes, and critic Tim Page. Norman reflected on being in middle school, when she first heard Price sing through a record her brother brought home:
Hearing this voice — this vibrant, beautiful, soaring, amazing voice, on whatever that stereo equipment was at the time, was quite overwhelming. I used to sit — very often alone — just listening to the sound and wondering what she really looked like and what her friends were like and what it must it be like to carry such an instrument around in one’s own body.
One recording that stood out in Norman’s mind was of Price singing Il trovatore with frequent collaborator Herbert von Karajan at the Salzburg Festival (listen here).
…that is truly, truly, truly great singing. And because it is what it is, it is more than simple singing. It is much more than that. Whatever those words should be, I don’t have them this moment, but it’s far more than singing.
Listen to that recording, especially towards the end, to discover what a perfect description that is.
Norman concludes her thoughts thus:
I hope that at this point in her life, that she’s able to understand and appreciate the amazing artistic life that she shared with the world.
Happy 94th.