By Daniel Buckwalter
There are the sweeping, melodic, and positive vibes from composers Charles Trenet and Léo Chauliac as well as Cole Porter. Then there is the gritty, urban nightlife that Porter presents.
And all of that is just the first three songs of the wide-ranging program Mack The Knife (The Eastern Tinge), an exquisite matinee performance on Aug. 14 of the Oregon Festival of American Music at The Shedd Institute — and which will be repeated on Thursday, Aug. 20, at 7:30 p.m.
If sometimes it feels like it’s a bit of a reach to fold the Eastern European thread into the U.S. popular music (think particular phrasing in specific songs), the music nonetheless itself is wonderfully performed and well worth listening to.
Led by OFAM artistic director Chuck Redd on the vibraphone, accompanied by an eight-piece band and vocalists Lynnea Berry and Bill Hulings, the Mack The Knife concert is a 17-song performance that captures people at love’s crossroads as well as the rough personality of urban nightlife.
On that latter note, my favorite instrumental piece is Porter’s Love For Sale, a song that deals with the harsh realities of prostitution. As Redd noted to the audience after the song on Aug. 14, if there were children in the audience there might be some explaining to do, but the band was flawless.
As for the vocalists, Hulings caught my full attention with his singing of Irving Berlin’s How Deep Is The Ocean? It’s a heartfelt love song that asks a central question: “How much do I love you?”:
I’ll tell you no lie
How deep is the ocean?
How high is the sky?”
Hulings and Berry also team up for a wonderful rendition of Summertime from Porgy and Bess, and bass player Nicki Parrott sings an earthy interpretation of the 1960 Italian song Estate (lyrics by Bruno Brighetti and music by Bruno Martino).
Note: The OFAM repeat performance of Mack The Knife (The Eastern Tinge) will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20, at The Shedd Institute, 868 High Street in downtown Eugene. Ticket and performance information for this performance and the rest of the festival is online at TheShedd.org.
