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| Jason Palmer The Concert: 12 Musings for Isabella GSA 004 |
Art often discovers inspiration in unexpected places. For
trumpet talent Jason Palmer, inspiration came from a visit to the Isabella
Gardner Museum in Boston, while attending classes at New England Conservatory
of Music, and seeing the empty stark frames
on the walls, an eerie reminder that art was not immune to violation.
On March 18, 1990, the Isabell Stewart Gardner Museum was
the scene of a massive theft- the purported single largest property theft in
the world. Thieves posing as police officers, duped the on-duty security
officers to let them into the closed museum, tied them up and in eight-one
minutes proceeded to remove thirteen priceless works of art. They made off that
night, over thirty years ago, to never be seen again. It is an amazing caper for its gall and confounding
success. Fortunately, there were no casualties, but like the famous parachutist
thief D.B. Cooper, who vanished never to be found, these careful burglars were amazingly
never captured or even identified. These gorgeous and priceless pieces of art, reportedly
worth $500 million dollars, were never recovered and so, for now, the robbery
leaves humanity forever the poorer.
For Jason Palmer, the artwork represented a
series of beautiful stories in and of themselves. Although lost, they needed to
be properly celebrated and memorialized. As an artist whose brush and easel was
a chart of music and the voices of expressive instruments, Palmer went about to
compose musical pieces that represent his concept of these lost works of
art.
The album is titled The Concert: 12 Musings for Isabella and was produced by Jimmy and Dena Katz at Giant Steps Arts
and features the potent and talented group of Mark Turner on tenor saxophone,
Joel Ross on vibraphone, Edward Perez on bass, Kendrick Scott on drums and
Palmer on trumpet and composer. The performance was recorded live in May of
2019 in the Harold S. Vanderbilt Penthouse at the InterContinental New York
Barclay.
The two-disc recording includes twelve compositions named after
the stolen artwork or in two cases art artifacts “ A Lady and Gentleman in
Black"
(Rembrandt), ‘Cortege aux Environs do Florence’ (Degas), ‘La Sortie de
Pesage” (Degas), “Christ in the Storm on the Lake of Galilee” (Rembrandt), “A
French Imperial Eagle Finial” (uncredited artifact), “Chez Tortoni” (Manet), “Program
for an Artistic Soiree” ( Degas), “An Ancient Chinese Gu” (uncredited artifact), “The
Concert” (Vermeer), “Landscape with an Obelisk” (Flinck), “Self Portrait”
(Rembrandt) and “Three Mounted Jockeys” (Degas).
Palmer has taught in many universities and is an assistant professor at Berklee School of Music. He often plays with his own quintet at Boston’s historic Wally’s Café and has appeared with many jazz prominent artists
including Herbie Hancock, Roy Haynes, Phil Woods, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Wynton Marsalis’ Jazz at Lincoln
Center Orchestra to name just a few.
Palmer and his astute bandmates have captured
the aural aspects that the visual images that these exceptional artworks evoke.
The staccato, darting pace of the music introduces
you to Rembrandt’s rather decorous looking “A Lady and a Gentleman
in Black.” It features the tight, front-line
synchronous work of Palmer and Turner. Palmer’s trumpet is precise and penetrative
in his note selection. Turner offers a more resonant attack that darts in and
out of the pulse. Ross’ sinewy vibes work nicely and complimentary to Scott’s rapid
fired drum lines and Perez’s grounded bass. If the music is any indication, these
two prim and proper figures of Rembrandt’s focus may have led a more robust
life than their appearance seems to reveal.
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| Rembrandt's A Lady and a Gentleman in Black |
Palmer’s clarion sounding trumpet leads off on Degas “Cortege
aux Environs do Florence,” which is a pencil and sepia wash on paper, and one
of the more understated of the works that were stolen. The mood established by
Palmer and his group is atmospheric, carefree, and almost fanciful. Palmer,
Turner and Ross each take turn soloing. The musicians are true to a feeling evoked
by Degas’ figures, strolling on foot and leisurely being accompanied by horses on
a procession through the pastoral scene outside of Florence. It is easy to
imagine Degas’ revelers might enjoy this music if played for their enjoyment by
a group of troubadours.
Degas’ “La Sortie de Pesage” is an expressive, muted watercolor
that depicts a more urban setting that centers on the parading of jockey
mounted racehorses as they saunter through the back streets of a city on race
day. The music has a rhythmic canter
feel that in some ways mimics what the horses, in being walked through the streets of an 1850’s
era European metropolis, might sound like. The music is carried rhythmically by the deft rhythmic whooshing created by Scott’s percussive mastery.
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| Degas: La Sortie de Pesage |
Perhaps one of the most valued artworks lost in the robbery
was Rembrandt’s tumultuous “Christ in the Storm on the Lake of Galilee.” The
scene depicts a ship with Christ and his followers overwhelmed by a squall in turbulent seas. Rembrandt has often painted his own image, with purportedly as
many as ninety self-portraits known to have existed. Here he places himself in this biblical scene as one of
the terrified fishermen. His face is seen holding his hat in one hand and grasping
the ropes to steady himself with the other. Jesus is sleeping during the storm, and according to the gospel of Mark, he is frantically awoken by panicked followers. The awakened Christ calms the wind and storm with his exclamation “Peace. Be Still.” stopping
the storm and fortifying the greatness of his divine authority.
Musically Palmer opens this composition using Scott’s polyrhythmic drums as a tool that slowly builds the tumult in intensity, like a brewing storm. The front line of Turner and Palmer play lines in tandem, seemingly ascending with force like a cascading flow toward a pluming swell of water.
The soloists alternate in quick succession over Scott’s tumultuous drums. This one captures the painting's fury aurally. They build the kinetic electricity of the rising storm until
the group resolves the tension to a tranquil calm at the coda.
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| Rembrandt The Storm at the Sea of Galilee |
Two of the pieces taken from the Gardner heist were
not paintings or drawings but artifacts. One was a Bronze Eagle Napoleon Flag Finial and the other a
Chinese Shang Dynasty Ku (beaker) from the 1100-1200s. Palmer creates a bit
of a militaristic sound for his “A French Imperial Eagle” and on “An Ancient Chinese Gu,” Palmer's composition finds Ross’ vibes voice a
tubular conversation with Scott’s percolating drums.
“Chez Tortoni,” by Manet, is a portrait of a well-dressed gentleman
in a top hat with pen in hand, as he is gazing at the observer with intention. The
music starts off with a probing bass solo by Perez that morphs into a percussive rhythmic
exchange with Scott before it emerges into the full group playing energetically
in unison. Turner creates a warm and
pointed sound that just intrigues and Ross adds a full mellow and floating vibe that elevates the music to the ozone. Palmer's trumpet often can erupt with piercing lines but can also caress
a tune with lyrical mastery. These are all talented musicians with distinct voices on their instruments.
“Program for an Artistic Soiree” is another Degas’ pencil
sketch that features multiple ideas from the artist-smoke stacks, sailing Clippers,
musical instruments, and ballet dancer-all miniature studies. With the diversity of
the subject matter, Palmer composes what is the most traditional straight-ahead
jazz piece of the cd. The music has a pulsing drive led by Perez’s bass and Scott’s
drive. Each musician has an opportunity to be featured on a solo with Perez’s facile
bass standing out on this one. This is a "live" recording so often you hear how much the audience loves what they are hearing. The music swings and Turner and Palmer
work exceptionally well together, meshing counterpoint lines as dual leads that sonically merge beautifully.
Vermeer’s “The Concert” is one of the artworks that a
musician can easily relate to. It depicts three musicians in a sitting room. Vermeer features two other artworks placed on the walls of the scene and a landscape painted on the piano’s open
lid. As with all of Vermeer’s artwork, the light is hauntingly realistic and
illuminating. Palmer and his cohorts use this composition to create a sonic expression of how a small house concert could be played- softly,
sensitively, and with a simpatico between the musicians. This composition has its own beauty, freedom, and transcendence.
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| Vermeer The Concert |
The remaining compositions include Govert Flinck’s “Landscape
with an Obelisk” with some fascinating cymbal and drum work from Scott. Rembrandt’s
“Self Portrait,” a celebration of multiple ideas from these musical minds.
Degas’ “Three Mounted Jockeys” ends the set with this jaunty piece played robustly and with feeling by Turner. Palmer’s mastery of the high
register is used poignantly here, and the talented Ross’ vibes modulate with a buoyancy
that again elevates the music. Scott and Perez keep the music moving seamlessly.
If an artist’s musical creativity can draw you as a listener into
the sources of his inspiration, then one can only appreciate
the musician for his curiosity, creativity, and dedication. Palmer is an unusual artist whose imaginative music captured me with his The Concert:12 Musings for Isabella. Beyond his facility on
the trumpet, Palmer’s compositional skills show a bright future. He has created some thoughtful and expressive pieces of music here and this
project had the added reward of piquing my own curiosity to learn
more about those lost Gardner masterpieces that inspired this work.
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