[Dixielandjazz] Re: Regina Carter

[Stephen Barbone]

Hi Tamas and Listmates:

I appreciate your views on Regina Carter and have a couple of questions on points that are not clear to me.


> tamas at bohemragtime.com wrote (polite snip)
> Personally, I do not favour Regina Carter as much as she is well
> presented on today's jazz scene. I have the album of her previous group
> called Straight Ahead (five young black ladies) - well, that music is not
> OKOM at all but that does not bother me. The CD is not bad although there is
> a little lack of imagination and creativity, it's like sampling from all
> well-sold musical material. (Boring for me but that could just be my taste.)

OK, I'm with you so far.

> But then she turned to more traditional jazz thus I have her next album
> (actually I reviewed it a few years ago in the Hungarian version of
> Gramphone (called Gramofon). It starts with the two millionth recorded
> version of Lady be Good (and it does not sound much more interesting than
> the two millionth version of the tune)

I'm starting to get lost here. Is there some reason why tunes should not continue to be recorded? Even "Lady Be Good" can not have been recorded by more than 20 violinists, or am I wrong?

> then she turns towards the modern
> shit (sorry) and pop-like tunes, some Latin type things - her phrasing is
> far from Grappelli's or Venuti's, her ideas are just repetition of good
> (sometimes bad) old schemes - no original ideas, only patterns. And a lots
> of really bad tunes on that album. And electric effects in many cases - to
> make the violin sound better.

Do you mean ideas for violin, or ideas in general as applied on all instruments. If her phrasing is different from Grapelli and Venuti, is that not a new execution., or a new idea? Or is she just sloppy in phrasing?

> I don't know how much she has changed in the
> past three years but I assume her playing hasn't got any better. From a few
> tunes I estimate that she is not any good to qualify for a Guarneri. It is a
> shame that she is allowed to use such an instrument. Don't misunderstand me,
> it is not becuse of her technique (which is not bad but not exceptional at
> all - although I wouldn't mind hearing more musical talent in her playing,
> too). So as a classicla violinist who is active on the jazz field as well, I
> am strongly convinced that those good old Italian violins (and all really
> good violins) should not be used for jazz. They are just not designed for
> that. Jazz violin playing requires a totally different technical approach
> and, to be honest, sound quality is never so important in jazz as in
> classical music. And the ideal sound is different, too. There are
> similarities between the two but something is totally different. I am not
> happy to see at all that such violins are used for jazz. They should be
> exclusively preserved for classical jazz.

Did you mean to put "jazz" after the word classical, or did you mean "classical" as the last word above. Assuming "jazz" doesn't belong there, is there a different violin technique required for today's avant garde Classical Music? Or for Stravinski as opposed to the more traditional composers of classical music that predate Nicolo Paganini? Also, I note that in the article, Ms Carter explains certain differences between the 1743 Guarneri (Il Cannone) and her
regular violin. Tone production, placement of the high notes, bow pressure etc.

> I know what I am talking about as
> I heard many classical and jazz violinists and I do play both. (Don't take
> me wrong, I am not saying that I am any good in jazz violin, no, I rather
> stay back but I have good ears, I have fairly good classical background and
> I can judge these things.) And if Regina Carter was the best jazz violinist
> today it is a pity.

No, No, the reviewer said "At 36, Ms. Carter is widely considered the finest jazz violinist of her generation." He did not contend she was the finest jazz violinist alive today. I may have misled you with the subject box where I might have said; Regina Carter, the finest jazz violinist. Unfortunately I no longer have the post as I deleted it.

> It might be because all the great ones have died. There
> are plenty more who are at least as good as she is but she has the best
> agent and the most money behind. It is just the question of money and
> advertisment - PR and business.

In your opinion, is that why the City of Genoa owner of The Cannon let her be the first jazz violinist to use it? And how would you rate her as a classical violinist?

> Note that I do not know of Regina Carter's activity in the past three years
> but regardless of it I strongly think that it is a scandal to use Guarneris
> or Stradivaris for jazz. I am not flaming, I just have my opinion.

And your opinion is respected and probably shared by many. Regina Carter recorded using The Cannon about a year ago; The CD album is "Paganini: After a Dream" on Verve. and was released in April 2003.  I think all of us who are interested, might plunk down a few bucks and give it a listen. Here is a review of that album and information about Carter and The Cannon.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

Reviewed by Alison Wong September 8, 2003

Regina Carter hit the newsstands at the end of 2001 by becoming the first non-Classical musician and first African American to play the renowned Paganini violin "Il Cannone". Paganini: After a Dream, a figurative title that alludes to the album as the showcase housing the fulfillment of a lifelong dream, features the violinist playing "Il Cannone", a feat matched only by a handful of violinists in the world. Make no mistake in underestimating the magnitude of this
achievement.

Nicknamed "Il Cannone" (the Cannon) for its grandiose and booming voice, the violin boasts an impressive
heritage worthy of royalty. It was crafted by Giuseppe Bartolomeo Guarneri in 1742 and owned by the legendary classical violinist Nicolò Paganini, whose talent was such that rumors circulated that it came from the devil, to whom Paganini had sold his soul. Upon Paganini's death in 1840, the violin was bequeathed to the city of Genoa, where it now resides with its own set of bodyguards and caretaker. An audience with the violin requires square dancing around various
commissions and institutes with more pomp and circumstance than it takes to meet the queen.

The violin is physically bigger than average; of German descent, its sound box is shorter but thicker, and belly is more rounded to produce a fleshier, fuller sound. The vibrating string is longer and that's what gives it the resonating bass and sweet upper register quality. The sound that Carter produces is delicious; her playing is flawless with a technique that underlines her classical training.

After playing the violin in concert in Genoa to hyped up worldwide media attention and multiple standing
ovations, Carter capitalized upon this by recording Paganini: After a Dream 10 months later. The album
consists of several modified pieces from the French Impressionist movement of the early 20th century, a piece by the Argentine tango composer Astor Piazzolla, a light cinematic piece by Ennio Morricone, a composition by pianist Werner Gierig and a Carter original. The musical content represents a departure from the innovative jazz that Carter has produced to date that has announced her as a worthy successor to the likes of Stephane Grappelli and Jean Luc Ponty. The
official guardians of the violin insisted that only classical music be recorded on the album, suggesting that playing jazz on the instrument would be degrading and an insult. This has a slight detrimental effect on the album, where Carter's answer was not to "play like a classical player", but to "bridge the two worlds". When you listen to the album, at times it appears that the bridge is one of those rocky wooden swing bridges with several missing planks. In
particular, the opening track seems to be more of a fighting compromise on Carter's stance as a jazz musician.

The first track "Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte" by Maurice Ravel plays on the ear as being a little too
Disney-esque, to tell the truth. The opening begins with piano and soaring strings in unison with a sound that appears to have been transported straight from Fantasia. The hauntingly simple melody that follows is the perfect entrance for the violin. Its voice is commanding yet mellifluous, but unfortunately it doesn't benefit from the rhythmic play arrangement. Coupled with the Andrew Lloyd Webber-style piano and orchestral violin backdrop, it comes across as a
shameless attempt to tug at your heartstrings to delve into the center of your emotional angst. It improves as Carter segues into a jazz/salon interlude, but on the whole the piece doesn't seem to hold itself together.

Pianist Werner "Vana" Gierig's composition, "Healing in Foreign Lands", is overly sentimental and lacking in substance. That said, it's probably the one piece on this album where, if you can get past the uninspiring
melody, you can really sink your teeth into sound of the violin. The slow tempo with long sustained notes
enables you to hear the purity of its tone, the richness of its timbre, the beauty of its soul. Now who's being sentimental? Yes, but the violin truly is all that and more.

There are three tracks that really stand out as positively scandalous. In a juicy way. In a way that makes your
toes curl. The first is "Pavane" by Gabriel Fauré. The original melody is almost lost in the unrepentant jazz treatment, but the key is the sexy upright bass with its solid pizzicato support. The second track is Debussy's"Rêverie", where Carter swings and slides her way around without a care in the world for bureaucracy or stylistic impediments. The third is Luiz Bonfa's "Black Orpheus", a light R&B soundtrack number with a gorgeous lyrical cello part that
intertwines with the violin melody.

This was an ambitious project that, despite the numerous restrictions, Carter pulled off with panache. The
music may not be wholly engaging, but as I said before, make no mistake in underestimating the magnitude of this achievement. Listen to history being made.