The Evolution Ensemble, Photo by Andrea Angeli
I had an amazing experience in Italy last month. It really brought home why I love doing what I do so much. It's that special ability music has, as a medium, to exchange energy from person to person. It can be a very uplifting, healing force.
I was in Milan, Italy, with one of my favorite groups: Dee Alexander's Evolution Ensemble. Aside from the actual travel part (getting there for drummer Ernie Adams and me turned into a little adventure...a story for another time), everything went amazingly well.
The concert itself was held at 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning! Yet, as unbelievable as it may sound, the 1000+ seat theater was packed. They even added 100 or so seats and still turned people away at the door. I wish I could say that level of appreciation for music is the same here in the U.S....but, again, that's also another story for another time.
Our concert was a tribute to Jimi Hendrix, so we, of course, played an all Hendrix concert. But the music was arranged, de-ranged, mashed, mixed, and everything else. The Evolution Ensemble is a very eclectic group, and Dee is a musician (who happens to sing) with a huge range of styles. She's also one of the best communicators of music. What I mean, is that Dee knows how to engage any audience and bring them into the performance where they know their energy is a big part of what we do on stage.
After the hour-and-a-half set was over, we got a curtain call for an encore. For that, we did a medley of James Brown's music re-arranged. During the encore, the people sitting nearest the stage got up at some point and came to the foot of the stage. Everyone was dancing and singing. It was a really amazing experience for us all. I later heard from one of the photographers there, that he'd never seen that happen at Teatro Manzoni.
What it boils down to is this: we got to be a part of not just a cultural exchange, but also an exchange of energy...good energy! Music was the medium for 1200 or so people to come together in Milan that morning and exchange something that lies beyond language barriers. We lifted them, they lifted us, we lifted each other up.
What's better than that??
I was in Milan, Italy, with one of my favorite groups: Dee Alexander's Evolution Ensemble. Aside from the actual travel part (getting there for drummer Ernie Adams and me turned into a little adventure...a story for another time), everything went amazingly well.
The concert itself was held at 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning! Yet, as unbelievable as it may sound, the 1000+ seat theater was packed. They even added 100 or so seats and still turned people away at the door. I wish I could say that level of appreciation for music is the same here in the U.S....but, again, that's also another story for another time.
Our concert was a tribute to Jimi Hendrix, so we, of course, played an all Hendrix concert. But the music was arranged, de-ranged, mashed, mixed, and everything else. The Evolution Ensemble is a very eclectic group, and Dee is a musician (who happens to sing) with a huge range of styles. She's also one of the best communicators of music. What I mean, is that Dee knows how to engage any audience and bring them into the performance where they know their energy is a big part of what we do on stage.
After the hour-and-a-half set was over, we got a curtain call for an encore. For that, we did a medley of James Brown's music re-arranged. During the encore, the people sitting nearest the stage got up at some point and came to the foot of the stage. Everyone was dancing and singing. It was a really amazing experience for us all. I later heard from one of the photographers there, that he'd never seen that happen at Teatro Manzoni.
What it boils down to is this: we got to be a part of not just a cultural exchange, but also an exchange of energy...good energy! Music was the medium for 1200 or so people to come together in Milan that morning and exchange something that lies beyond language barriers. We lifted them, they lifted us, we lifted each other up.
What's better than that??
The Evolution Ensemble at Teatro Manzoni, Milan, March 2012, Photo by Andrea Angeli
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