Darren Johnston’s Noisy Strangers – Bye Bye Bartók
Wednesday, September 26, 7:30 pm, Rendon Hall at California Jazz Conservatory
A jazzy re-imagining of great chamber and symphonic music themes
What if Béla Bartók wrote “Bye Bye Blackbird”? What if Charlie Parker wrote a prelude in E, or Sun Ra, a symphony in C? We may never know, but four Bay Area voices come together to groove, swing, and do their thing over themes by Bach, Bartok, Satie, Tchaikovsky, and others, followed by a set of their own compositions. Chamber jazz from the heart, this evening marks the third performance of this exciting new quartet.
Darren Johnston – trumpet Matt Renzi – clarinet, tenor sax, English horn Adam Shulman – piano Eric Vogler – upright bass
This ensemble’s name was bestowed upon them by Darren’s cats on the day of their first rehearsal at his house. A drummer-less group, they’re actually not all that noisy.