Review: Jeremy Monteiro & T'ang Quartet (S'pore Arts Fest 2009)
Musicians:
(i) Jeremy Monteiro
(ii) T'ang Quartet
(iii) Randy Brecker (Trumpet)
(iv) Ernie Watts (Saxophone)
(v) Richard Jackson (Vocals)
(vi) Shawn Kelley (Drums)
(vii) Christy Smith (Bass)
I wasn't quite sure at the start if I might enjoy this concert was jazz was also something which I don't really know much about. But I was fairly sure about one thing - I would definitely enjoy T'ang. The concert started off with Kelly Tang's "Tang-ology". The quartet was spirited and a joy to watch. And then the rest of the concert featured the jazz musicians. All I can say was that, the entire concert was really enjoyable. In particular, the pieces which featured both the trumpet and the saxophone were amazing. The pairing off of the 2 veterans produced a wonderful kind of spark, which sizzled throughout the concert. I learned something about jazz that night, the tunes just seemed to keep looping. And there's this "tendency" or "need" or whatever to feature each instrument singularly. So the trumpet might start first, then the saxophone, then the drums, then piano, then bass... It could get quite tiring, especially since the 2nd half was longer than the 1st half. That's not to say that it wasn't hard on the musicians of course, but for the audience, especially for the untrained ear for jazz, it could get quite exhausting.
However, the entire evening was so fun, the performers were all so great, the momentary exhaustion was quickly diminished and forgotten. The saxophonist was especially incredible. He played the instrument as if it was effortless and as if he had lungs the capacity of an oil tanker or something.
A special mention to Jeremy - towards the end of the concert, he thanked the organisers, his team, his musicians, etc. And he even thanked the venue (Esplanade) staff. I thought that was a really great gesture. Most people would just thank the usual people and it's probably the only time I've heard a venue being thanked. Of course, the Esplanade people always do great work - I can vouch first hand - but it's still nice to be thanked. Kudos to Jeremy for remembering to thank the people that really mattered most to the production. :)
The day of the concert was especially hot and humid. And for some reason, the heavens decided they would like to toy with me. The second I got off the bus, rain drops started to fall. My bus stop was the one right in front of Victoria Concert Hall, and I literally ran the entire way to Esplanade, making me even hotter and stickier. Bleargh... And the moment I got into the cool shelter of Esplanade, the rain stopped. How... nice.
