[Dixielandjazz] Aaron Weinstein and Tedd Firth

[Donald Mopsick]

Some of you may already be familiar with the playing of 26-year-old
Chicagoan (but now New York-based) violinist Aaron Weinstein, but you
should also know about the 35-year-old NY pianist Tedd Firth. Both of
these gentlemen are champions of the old school, swinging kind of jazz
favored by many on this list. I played a great concert with the two of
them last Friday night for the Jazz Club of Sarasota (Florida for
those not in the USA). Aaron is a prodigious talent on violin and
mandolin, writes outstanding arrangements, and has a very funny act.

Between tunes, Aaron did some funny bits. For example, he read a quote
from a book by Truman Capote, "..as out of place as a violin in a jazz
band." Then threw the book clear across the stage. We then proceeded
to play his arrangement of "A Sleepin'  Bee," by Harold Arlen and
lyrics by Capote.

Aaron's sly humor also came across in his charts. For Frank Loesser's
"Moments Like this," he juxtaposed the second ending of "Moment's
Notice" by John Coltrane, but didn't call attention to this or any
other such subtleties in his arrangements, just slipping them in
sidewise into the presentation, perhaps "too hip for the room."

His arrangement of "Lady Be Good" featured the entire historic Lester
Young solo written for fiddle and piano.

One further note: the hall, where the Sarasota Symphony plays, held
300 people and was packed. The band was completely acoustic except for
a mic for public address. Even without an amp, I found myself often
laying back. It was like playing a classical chamber concert that
swung like crazy, even at low volume and slow tempo,

Read this nice review of the concert here:

http://artssarasota.com/2012-01-22/section/concert-review-aaron-weinstein-energizes-the-american-songbook/

Aaron has gotten rave reviews and nice feature articles in the New
York Times, Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere. He is starting to get
lots of nice concert dates worldwide. Well-deserved, I say, for this
"rising star" of old-school jazz.

mopo

-- 
http://about.me/donmopsick