Joseph Alessi with Tokyo Met - Chick Corea Concerto and Bolero

[harrisonreed]

Went out on a date with my wife yesterday into Tokyo and saw Alessi perform with the Tokyo Met, at the Suntory Hall. What a great venue, and what a fantastic orchestra. Also a plus that you can get a Suntory Hibiki or Yamazaki to drink during intermission at a price that is actually not ridiculous. I think Japan is finally starting to say enough is enough with COVID, because the whole hall was at about 85% capacity and no sign of the usual "every other chair is social distanced and restricted" rule.

One thing that struck me was the applause. It seems that people in Japan don't do standing ovations or cheering. I noticed that at other concerts here too. But the actual applause for pieces that the audience likes is DEAFENINGLY loud. I can just say, the audience REALLY liked Joe.

Anyways, Gershwin's Cuban Overture was the best piece of the concert. Alan Gilbert was the star as the conductor, and I really felt like I was sitting in a bar someplace in Cuba while the festival rolled by the window. It was fantastic.

Joe came out to the aforementioned thunderous applause, and they got right into the piece. The liner note said the piece felt like a standoff between two strangers who don't really want to talk or get to know each other -- it sort of felt that way to me. It starts out with a really cool solo for trombone alone, is supposed to be an improvisation, and it was pretty jazzy and cool. And then the first movement is very much just "orchestra plays something", "trombone plays a sort of unrelated but tricky line". There was a lot of rest in between each line from the trombone. The second movement was a short but beautiful, slow lyrical movement. The third movement is called hysteria, and again it felt like two people who didn't really want to talk to each other. The finale is more of this standoff, but the final minute or so is really awesome. The orchestra and soloist finally seem to get on the same page and it ends, Alessi style, with a bunch of high Fs. The final minute was so awesome, that after six curtain calls, they played that again for an encore.

Joe was in really great form. He was looking fit and healthy, in the cool blue suit from his press photos. I was curious as to what his new horn and mouthpiece might sound like, and he sounds like a million bucks. In short, he played the daylights out of that piece.

This is just me, and I've only heard it once, but I felt a little let down by the piece itself. It could have been that the orchestra is not as used to playing new music, or that the piece really was intended to feel like two strangers not getting to know each other, but there was no theme that could whistle walking away from it. And it was a tonal piece. Considering the composer, and the piece's status as his last completed work, I am going to go back and listen to it again two or three more times to see what else is in there.

The highlight of the concert, though, was for the final piece. The first trombone player made a big show of standing up and walking off stage, while Joe sneaks into his seat. Once the audience (a ton of trombonists, I imagine) noticed Joe on stage they went crazy. I felt kind of bad for the first trombonist, but then again, they probably programmed Bolero especially for Alessi to play on it.

Well, anyways, Alessi really pulled out all the stops and gave the best performance of that solo I have ever heard. It was an awesome concert. Looking forward to hearing his trombone quartet, Slide Monsters, here in September.


FWIW, has anyone else heard the Corea concerto? What did you think of it!

[Posaunus]

Unfortunately, I have not heard the Corea Trombone Concerto in a live performance, but I am a big fan of both Chick Corea and Joe Alessi. Hope it comes my way some day soon. If so, I'll post a report.

In the meantime, there is a YouTube recording of the August 2021 premier performance of the concerto in São Paulo, Brasil:

The Corea concerto starts at ~1:10:07. Played by Joe on his new Shires 8-inch bell, which he says he now prefers for solo work. Incidentally, the piece ends with a few repeated high F#s - which Joe says is the upper limit of his comfort zone!

Also, there's an interesting (lengthy) interview with Joe and John Dickson (Chick's orchestrator) from the International Trombone Association:
https://www.trombone.net/video/chick-co ... n-dickson/