Clipping
“ …Heading up his own quintet on Bob’s Diner, Bob Smith pilots an entertaining jaunt trough pop/jazz landscapes tinged with big-band licks and some thoughtful improvising.
…He also has an eye for talent. While MARK LAMBERT’s work on guitar synthesizer often melts into the background, he proves to be an engaging guitar soloist on “See You at the Diner.” The energy this man invests in every note inspires the other musicians, raising the entire piece to a higher level. Too bad he wasn’t around to add a little fire to “Settle,” an Alstrom tune seemingly inspired by his favorite formulaic television theme…”
—Linda Kohanov
‘Midtown composer’ occupies fracture between modern and traditional zones
NEW YORK MARK LAMBERT likes to describe himself, tongue in cheek, as “a Midtown composer.”
The description plays neatly off the New York music scene’s established conventions, in which Uptown, represented by Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, stands for The Great Tradition and for high modernism, and Downtown, represented by the Kitchen, La Mama, Soho and TriBeCa, stands for the cutting edge—for experimental and cross-cultural stuff, for street stuff, for performance art, for everything that used to be known, rather quaintly, as “the avant-garde.’
“Midtown is where my address is, and I guess it’s as good a metaphor as any to describe where my music fits into the New York scene. Uptown lacks the freshness and vitality I like. Down town lacks the formal rigor and the dense harmonic language I like. My only worry is that someday both sides may join forces and gang up on me,” the composer laughed.
Welcome to the world of Vertical Fractures, the ensemble that MARK LAMBERT founded in 1987 to perform his Midtown music.
It’s a world where 12-tone rows meet jazz, even rock, where a lyrical tune of operatic intensity can come winging out of the ghettos of dissonance, where a high premium is placed on instrumental virtuosity, including improvisational skills, and where “classical” instruments such as flute, violin and cello live in a common-law marriage with electric guitars and a standard rock ‘n’ roll drum kit.
In New York, Vertical Fractures has performed jointly with Mikel Rouse’s Broken Consort as part of a composers’ collective known as Chapter Eleven (too, too true) in city hot-spots such as the Knitting Factory, Roulette and Greenwich House, and live on WNYC-FM’s “New Sounds.”
Tomorrow at 8 p.m. in the Shea Center of William Paterson College, Wayne, Vertical Fractures opens the college’s 1992 New Music Festival with a free program of Lambert’s music.
On the bill will be five pieces from the composer’s “American Highway” series, each named for a particular inspiratory stretch (i.e., “Peak to Peak Highway, Colorado”), as well as a new work, “Moon of the Ripe Berries,” which is the first of a series of 12 miniatures, “Native Moons,” all based on the lunar calendar of North America’s native peoples.
A graduate of Nutley High School (a music teacher, Raymond Kohere, was a strong influence), LAMBERT did not really discover serious music until he heard Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” as a student in the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
“It blew me away. I had a back ground in pop and jazz, and I knew a lot of classical music, but I had never connected with it. I thought of it as some thing nice, you know —like PBS back ground music. Then “The Rite of Spring’ hit me to the core, and I started getting curious. How does music like this get put together?”
LAMBERT went on to study composition with Thomas Oboe Lee at Berklee, and after a number of years free- lancing and odd-jobbing (“I had to exorcize the demons of academia from my head”), returned to school for advanced composition study with Jeffrey Kresky at William Paterson College.
His professional experience has been remarkably broad. LAMBERT has done everything from weddings and bar mitzvahs to appearing with a range of bands (The Raze, Tirez Tirez, Annie Haslam Band), playing side with Astrud Gilberto, Ben E. King, Angela Bofill, Kenny Rankin and Phoebe Snow, composing and recording for the Bob Smith Band, composing theme music for PBS’s “A Movable Feast,” playing guitar with the Philharmonia Virtuosi under Richard Kapp, and pioneering in the field of “comedy music” with an other ensemble he founded, Josquin Cage.
“Major works of mine premiered by Josquin Cage include “Arnold Schoenberg Meets Annette Funicello on the Beach” (1983) and ‘Robert Goulet Meets Lao Tzu in the Borscht Belt” (1984). For nine years we played old music, new music, comedy music. We invited all the critics. Nobody came.”
LAMBERT does not play weddings anymore, but he keeps a hand in the commercial field as music director of World Yacht Cruise Lines in New York, which hosts social events while cruising out to the Statue of Liberty and back.
It’s remarkable that LAMBERT is not the only composer/performer of his generation Lo come out of Nutley— there are also Raphael Rudd and Mark Schiffert, who still reside there. AlI three are friends, colleagues and collaborators.
It would be fun to say that tomorrow’s concert will be a New Jersey debut for Vertical Fractures, but such is absolutely not the case.
The first concert Vertical Fractures ever played was in New Jersey, in the spring of 1986, at the Dirt Club (now defunct) in Bloomfield.
“It was a fluke. Johnny Dirt asked Raphael to help him produce a straight concert at the club, and Raph asked me to participate, and to write a new piece for the concert. I’d been thinking of forming a new group, and now I asked myself, ‘How do you play serious music in a rock club?’ People there would have no perspective on what you’re doing. So I decided to use instruments they’d already know, and besides, my background involved a lot of experience with rhythm. I think that pulse is essential to music.”
Vertical Fractures includes Laura Renino, flute; Dale Kleps, winds; Laura Seaton and Dana Friedli, violin; Tomas Ulrich, cello; MARK LAMBERT, electric guitar; James Bergman, electric bass; Bill Tesar, drums; Jim Pugliese, percussion, and Charles Descarfino, conductor.
Directions to William Paterson College can be obtained by calling Shea Center.
O Som do Invejado Mark Lambert
Mais conhecido entre os Brasileiros por ser casado com a louca varrida e ainda musa Sônia Braga, o invejado guitarrista americano MARK LAMBERT repete hoje, no Parque do Arpoador, mas desta vez com entrada franca, o mesmo espetáculo que apresentou durante a semana no Mistura Fina. No show, marcado para as 19h, no palco junto á praia, LAMBERT mostra as suas composições e canta até em português.
No espetáculo de hoje à noite, MARK LAMBERT promete apresentar algumas de só composições, elogiadas pelo mestre Pat Metheny, seu amigo e ex-namorado da atriz brasileira. LAMBERT também vai revelar a quantas anda o seu aprendizado do português, cantando as músicas “Começar de novo”, “Ponta de areia” e “Eu sei que vou te amar”. O músico, vivamente empenhado na campanha dos loucos varridos, o movimento criado por Sônia Braga para manter limpo o Rio — e outras cidades — viaja em breve para Brasília, onde apresentar embaixada dos Estados Unidos no país um projeto de intercambio cultural entre músicos americanos e brasileiros.
Special to the Post-Dispatch
“Regina Carter led her quintet through an excellent opening set as the headliner for the latest performances in the Jazz at the Bistro’s 1999-2000 concert series.
Backed by pianist Werner Gierig, bass player Darryl Hall, drummer Alvester Garnett and guitarist, MARK LAMBERT she moved easily through an eclectic collection of tunes during her opening set. Carter showed her versatility by performing “By the Brook,” a tune with a strong Brazilian flavor. Working smoothly with the fluid rhythm guitar style of LAMBERT, Carter built up a swinging rhythmic flow that was reminiscent of the groundbreaking interplay that the late Grappelli and guitarist Django Reinhardt first explored in the famed Quintette du Hot Club de France back in the 1930s.
Carter and the band earned a standing ovation Wednesday evening, and it’s a good bet that it won’t be the only standing ovation the Regina Carter Quintet receives during its Jazz at the Bistro performances.”
BY TERRY PERKINS
It’s not often in this day of strict formatting that a debut artist so boldly declares his intent to follow his muse in so many directions. But MARK LAMBERT — a Bobby Caldwell-like crooner and guitarist who’s equally comfortable playing electric fusion, acoustic ballads, or a bossa nova — does it all well on “More Than Friends” (Chartmaker). As he bounces joyfully, yet schizophrenically, from track to track, LAMBERT’s attitude seems to be: “I’m being myself; you figure me out.” His funk-drenched vocal declaration that he needs a “Little Bit of Love” is brassy and commanding. His sorrow filled title track is a bit wrenching then turns into a lively, distorted electric guitar jam. LAMBERT keeps his plugged-in tone to a quieter roar on “Island Sail,” but that may just be a mellow spill over from the previous track, a sweet, little acoustic ballad “Goodnight Kiss,” that might be equally at home on a Jonathan Butler record. LAMBERT vacillates between these styles for the first 10 tracks, then goes appealingly off the deep end with the free-wheeling, 11-minute Brazilian romp, “Forest Flower,” showcasing his improvisational skills on acoustic. It’s an intriguing search for an artistic identity worth a considered listen. (Available through Chartmaker: 6255 Sunset Blvd., Suite 1024, Los Angeles, CA 90028.)
‘Jungle’ foi co-produzido pelo guitarrista MARK LAMBERT, que toca hoje com Silvério Pontes no Rio
O renovado interesse pela bossa nova no mundo, que, desde a década passada, tem. os mercados europeu e japonês como principais consumi dores, traz de volta Astrud Gilberto. Radicada nos EUA desde os anos 60 — quando, casada com João Gilberto, gravou com este e o saxofonista Stan Getz a versão em inglês de “Garota de Ipanema” — ela acaba de lançar novo disco, “Jungle”. Ainda sem previsão de lançamento no Brasil, o CD, editado pela independente Magya, foi co-produzido pelo guitarrista americano MARK LAMBERT, também parceiro de Astrud em algumas faixas. Com exceção do sucesso “The look of love” (Bacharach e David) e de “Como Fué” (E. Duarte), todas as composições são de Astrud e parceiros.
No Rio, onde se apresenta hoje, no bar Cais do Oriente, com o trompetista Silvério Pontes, LAMBERT diz que o CD anterior de Astrud, de 1996, só tinha sido editado no Japão.
— Toco com Astrud desde 1992, e o Japão é onde ela vinha se apresentando mais regularmente – conta. — Mas a gente percebe que o interesse pela música de Astrud também aumenta na Europa e nos Estados Unidos. A gente vê um público muito jovem, que nem era nascido quando Astrud fez sucesso com “Garota de Ipanema”, em 1964.
Apesar da ligação eterna com a bossa nova, “Jungle” passa por vários ritmos.
— Astrud escreveu xotes, balões, funks e baladas — conta LAMBERT , que era conhecido como o namorado da atriz Sonia Braga e, atualmente, é casado com outra atriz brasileira, Suzana Ribeiro.
Ele diz que sua ligação com o Brasil vem de muito antes, na infância, quando seus pais o apresentaram a João Gilberto, Astrud e Sérgio Mendes.
— Agora, no trabalho que estou fazendo com Silvério Pontes, aprofundo essa mistura de meu lado americano, jazzístico, com a música brasileira. Tocamos choros, Cole Porter, Gerhswin ou composições nossas — diz.
Mark lambert e Marvio Ciribelli na Casa Suíça
O pianista niteroiense Marvio Ciribelli não para! Depois de promover o encontro de Marcio Bahia (do grupo de Hermeto Paschoal) e Ivan Conti (do grupo Azymuth), na abertura do D’JAZZ, no último dia 9, na Lagoa. Marvio recebe nesta sexta-feira, dia 11 de março, às 22h, o guitarrista MARK LAMBERT para uma noite de jazz e bossa, no Bar St. Moritz – Casa da Suíça, na Glória.
Já MARK LAMBERT foi influenciado desde menino pelos seus pais, que ouviam muita bossa nova. Hoje, guitarrista, cantor e compositor de Jazz contemporâneo e músico de nível internacional, Lambert vive ainda essa paixão, pois é amigo de muitos músicos brasileiros em Nova Yorque, cidade onde vive, tocando e gravando com vários deles, tais como: Astrud Gilberto, Toninho Horta, Duduka da Fonseca, Bebel Gilberto, Eliane Elias, etc. Também gravou e tem participado de excursões à Europa e Japão com alguns dos mais respeitados artistas, tais como: Ute Lempa, Regina Carter, Rachelle Ferrell e Warren Hill, o grupo Renaissance, entre outros tantos.
No repertório do show, as composições: “Samba do Avião”, “Retrato em Branco e preto”, “Bala com bala”, “O ronco da cuíca”, “Stella by Starlight” e “Autumn Leaves”. Vale conferir!
Sinuous and sensual, Ute Lemper is back at the Cafe Carlyle re-creating the dark allure of German cabaret in the mid- Tossing aside her red feather boa, the slim and stately German diva offers an all-new program liberally punctuated with songs by Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht and Frederick Hollander. Her program, presented under the banner “Blue Angels and Demons,” is a potent mixture of political parody and sexual sauce. To evoke that long era, all that was missing was the cigarette smoke in the air.
Lemper is a premier interpreter of the Weill legacy, and this season there is an ample balance of Weill Berlin and Broadway. With “Army Song” Lemper artfully harnessed the Brechtian bite and revealed the irony of fame and power with “Solomon Song.”
…With Lemper singing in German, Yiddish, French and English, the fast-paced hour is a globe-trotting potpourri of romance and politics, and not without a bit of Bush bashing.
The lady has the firm continental support of a quartet that features Vana Gierig on piano and the flavorful acoustic guitar of MARK LAMBERT
By Robert L. Daniels.
Músicos se reencontram nos palcos
BELÉM E SALINAS – MARK LAMBERT e Magrus Borges prometem shows com o melhor do blues “de raiz”
O baterista paraense Magrus Borges, que mora atualmente em Miami, está de volta à sua terra natal para duas apresentações ao lado do conceituado guitarrista norte americano. MARK LAMBERT. Companheiros de palco – ambos tocam uma espécie de “bossa nova americanizada” na banda de Astrud Gilberto, os músicos foram convidados a se apresentar juntos, em duas ocasiões.
A primeira delas é a estréia, do projeto Zoé Instrumental, que levará boa música para o Memorial dos Povos amanhã, a partir das: 20 horas. No sábado; 22, os músicos são atração do Baiacool Jazz de Verão, em Salinas. “Estamos sem tocar juntos há quase um ano, desde que. a Astrud, nó os outros músicos da banda resolvemos dar um tempo. Cada. um continuou em projetos paralelos. O MARK tem vária parcerias com músicos do mundo todo e eu, por exemplo, sigo tocando com a Bebel (Gilberto). Esse show será, portanto, um reencontro nosso nos palcos”, explica Magrus, em entrevista por telefone. Em ambas as apresentações, os músicos serão acompanhados por dois outros instrumentistas paraenses: o baixista Filipe e o tecladista Robenare Marques.
Magrus conta que o repertório do show ensaiado para as apresentações é dedicado ao legitimo blues, sem as habituais misturas moderninhas que vêm sendo feitas em nome da “música contemporânea”. “Nós vamos tocar blues mesmo, sem mistura com a música do Brasil ou outro lugar”, avisa ele.
A opção por manter um repertório fiel ao “blues de raiz” vai na contramão do que, muitas vezes, é visto em festivais que incentivam o experimentalismo musical, como é o caso do Baiacool. Além de reunir alguns grupos do chamado gênero do ‘brasilian jazz’, que acrescenta pitadas de Jazz à flexível.música brasileira, o festival trará este show que, segundo Magrus, está mais comprometido em mostrar a essência de um gênero em especial – no caso, o blues – e menos interessado em descobrir novas possibilidades sonoras. “Como no Baiacool já havia bastante coisa envolvendo “brasillan jazz”, optamos por fazer um show dedicado, ao blues até como uma forma de mostrar algo diferente para as pessoas. Sem contar que, em Belém, já existe multa gente que conhece e aprecia o blues, embora ainda existam poucos espaços em. que é possível ouvir blues n cidade”.
Além de tocar bateria na banda de Bebel Gilberto, Magrus já, trabalhou também com a cantora Grace Jones, o baiano Caetano Veloso, Ivan Lins e outros medalhões da MPB. Já o versátil guitarrista MARK LAMBERT (que é também cantor, compositor e arranjador especializado em jazz, blues pop, música clássica e MPB) acaba de compor, em parceria com o cantor pernambucano Otto, duas músicas inéditas que serão gravam das por Maria Bethânia.