Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Dick Hyman and Peter Appleyard

TWO SPELLBINDERS ON VIBRAPHONE AND PIANO
by Helen Heubi
with Sharon Acker

We filled the Gravenhurst Opera House on the evening of Monday 26 July 2010 to hear Peter Appleyard and Dick Hyman weave their magic from piano and vibraphone. Overhead a full moon shone, as in the film “Moonstruck” scored by Hyman.

Inside, the 109-year-old rafters rang as never before to splendiferous, expansive sound, and we were moonstruck all over again. Two octojazzarian legends held us in their hands, from the moment “Ragtime Jack” Hutton strolled out on the stage to introduce them, right through to the final two standing ovations.

The air was euphoric, as airs floated, flowed and strode, igniting places of memory in each one of us. Every piece felt personal. We were embraced, enticed and awed from moment to moment.

Peter Appleyard spells out a myriad of notes from two mallets. Dick Hyman has an orchestra in his fingers on the Steinway keyboard. There were moments when I almost imagined hearing brasses, and others when I heard woodwinds in behind the piano sound.

Delighted, my companion said, “They’re like boys jumping big stones across a stream, then skipping little ones, having such fun.” The distinguished, silver-crowned and dapper duo exude energy and charm in their elegant navy blazers with camel slacks. Dick’s tie was red, while Peter’s was yellow. Even more charming were the anecdotes between numbers, delicious memories of meeting the Beatles and Fats Waller. We were drawn in by shared stories.

The combination of piano and vibraphone was beyond belief. Imagine, if you will, two galaxies merging, interweaving, sparking off each other, from intimate meetings of small ornaments to broad creations of near cosmic grandeur. We enjoyed the heritage of two lifetimes and beyond, for our great musicians of today stand on the mighty shoulders of other past and living legends.

The program opened with Oscar Peterson’s “On Green Dolphin Street”, then his “Cool Walk”, followed by three of Cole Porter’s greatest: “Love for Sale”, “You are Everything” and “Heat Wave”.

“Tico Tico”, à la Carmen Miranda, followed “Something” by the Beatles. Then came three gems from Fats Waller: “Ain’t Misbehavin”, Honeysuckle Rose and the glittering “Jitterbug Waltz”, with puckish punctuation as the musicians added well-tuned “blips” to each others’ solos. Waller’s compositions had the occasional Chopin-like moment, I noticed.

The landscape of Scot Joplin is all his own, from delicate femininity in “Heliotrope” (a Hyman solo) to manly stride sequences. After “Solace” we heard a Slow March, which sounded like a lazy march powered by barely contained energy, and seemed to be telling one of those Joplin stories.

Peter Appleyard brought out four mallets for his solo tribute to “Twilight World” by another jazz legend, Marian McPartland. If our two performers that night have been called Octojazzarians, then she is a Nonojazzarian, still active.

Then came the strong duo manifesto of Peterson’s magnificent “Hymn to Freedom”, and we knew the concert was coiling its energies to wind them up. 

Peter Appleyard announced what was to be the final number as an arrangement for twelve fingers - “Dick’s ten and my two”, whereupon he moved over from the vibraphone to the treble end of the Steinway. I muttered to my companion that “Sweet Georgia Brown” and the “Flight of the Bumblebee” seemed to have joined forces. “Yes, she’s got a bee in her bonnet,” said Sharon.

After the standing ovation, we were treated to Benny Goodman’s “Airmail Special”. Another standing O was inevitable.

Usually when I review a  memorable concert, I start out wondering how I’m going to find the words for this experience. I could simply write “Wonderful” a thousand times on a blank page, but that wouldn’t be fair to my readers. All the same, to honour properly last night’s event, I’m allowing three of these words to spill over.

Wonderful. Wonderful. Wonderful.


The performers' links:
http://www.peterappleyardvibes.com/
http://www.dickhyman.com/

To see what's to come at the Gravenhurst Opera House:
http://www.gravenhurstoperahouse.com/


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