DESCRIPTION:
Donal Fox: Piazzolla To Bach Project with Special Guest Maya Beiser
2010 Tanglewood Jazz Festival
Seji Ozawa Hall, September 5, 2010

"Milonga del Angel" by Astor Piazzolla, arranged for jazz quartet and cello by Donal Fox

Donal Fox Quartet with Special Guest Maya Beiser

Donal Fox, piano, composer, arranger
Maya Beiser, violoncello
Warren Wolf, vibraphone
John Lockwood, double bass
Dafnis, Prieto, drums/percussion

Photos of the Donal Fox Quartet and Tanglewood by Lou Jones
Photos of Donal Fox, Donal Fox and Maya Beiser, Donal Fox and Warren Wolf by Kristophe Diaz

Reviews:

Tanglewood Jazz Festival: Something special in the air
By Richard Houdek, Special to the Eagle
Tuesday September 7, 2010

"Fox and his colleagues opened their portion of the evening set with a lovely and respectful treatment of John Dowland's 16th-century lute song, "Flow My Tears" before moving on to the group's posted premiere, a program intriguingly called "From Piazzolla to Bach." Bach had a profound influence on Astor Piazzolla, the Argentine composer known for his tango music, and with the help of Beiser, who lists Piazzolla's music among her musical armor, Fox set out to demonstrate the synergy of the two composers.

Presiding at the Steinway, Fox explored a vigorous performance of Piazzolla's "Libertango" back-to-back with his own persuasive Jazz Suite based on Bach's Partita No. 5 in G, edged with the requisite counterpoint, this from Warren Wolf on vibraphones, John Lockwood, bass and Dafnis Prieto, drums.

Beiser brought her burnished-toned instrument to the cause of Fox' lively and eloquent "Firefly," Piazzolla's sinewy "Milonga del Angel" and a two-part Invention in F of Bach."

Links with Classical in Tanglewood Jazz Festival
by Fred Bouchard, The Boston Musical Intelligencer
September 20, 2010

Fox mines deep resources as a classical pianist in crafting an expanding repertoire of original materials smoothly grafted to jazz vernacular. He will groove an ostinato under sophisticated lines and harmonies for a fusion that titillates your toes as it fires your synapses. Famed for collaborative efforts (David Murray, Stefon Harris), Fox brewed his latest potion, "Piazzolla to Bach Project," to feature dramatic Israeli-Argentine cellist Maya Beiser. Fox's last appearance at TJF '08 (majoring in Scarlatti) was a hit, and the success of this new collaboration -- effectively melding his grit and rigor with Beiser's suave charms — should assure his annual slot in this niche roster: nobody's doing anything like this in modern music.

With longtime colleague John Lockwood, Boston's first-call jazz bassist, Warren Wolf on vibes, and Cuban drummer Dafnis Prieto, Fox whipped up a blazing set that mesmerized, edified, and kept everyone on the edge of their seats until well after 11 pm, despite blustery breezes. Fox crosses Monk x Bach (Partita #5) to produce prodigious offspring in interplay with Prieto's rimshots and Wolf's rising glissandi. The band tapped into Hispano-Cuban Joaquin Nin and Argentine tanguero Astor Piazzola with equal aplomb, as Beiser's reedy, melodramatic cello blended in, whether theremin-swooning to the fore or barely audible in the welter. Bach's Two Part Invention in F went tight, straight, and hot. Fox's peaceable opening of a John Dowland lute ballade was just as surprising as his stops-out closing jam on — what do you suppose? "Le Coucou and the Funky Chicken," based in part on Louis-Claude Daquin's cuckoo emulation in his 1735 harpsichord suite! Get down, squares!


Donal Fox is a Steinway Artist

Donal Fox management:
Bernstein Artists, Inc., New York
www.bernsarts.com

Maya Beiser management
Opus 3 Artists, New York
www.opus3artists.com