It began with a simple premise and question: Though Bach’s music is timeless, how can we bring it into a modern expression that is meaningful, relevant and alive both for ourselves and the listener? The answer is this project. Bach's music is rooted in the folk tradition of his time. By placing Bach's repertoire on folk instruments and presenting the music adjacent to the traditional dance form repertoire that informs it, this concert program reconnects his music with its folk roots and offers a fresh perspective on the repertoire, one that bridges the gap between the classical and folk audiences.
THE MUSICIANS OF THE BACH PROJECT
Jayme Stone keeps an ear to the ground. His curiosity and unlikely set of reference points started early with the quirky physics of the banjo, led to a mysterious librarian who stocked his local public library with a vast trove of banjo recordings, and landed him long-lasting lessons with a series of maestros, from Béla Fleck to Bill Frisell. Influenced by Japanese poetry and Brazilian literature and featuring what he calls a “tiny symphony that takes place inside an imaginary light bulb”, Stone’s album, The Utmost, won the 2008 Juno Award for Instrumental Album of the Year.
The most recent chapter in Stone’s musical travelogue takes place in Africa. He went knowing what’s still news to most: that the hide-covered instrument with an “extra” drone string we call the banjo actually comes from West Africa. He became particularly curious about the music that may not have made it across the ocean on slave ships headed west from Senegal and Mali in the 1700-1800’s. An eight-week trip to Mali was supported by a prestigious Chalmers Arts Fellowship and found Stone sitting in with Toumani Diabate and the Symmetric Orchestra in downtown Bamako, lost in circles of Wassoulou polyrhythms and in a rural Dogon village with no electricity where he inadvertently discovered a banjo predecessor unheard of in the West. The resulting album, Africa to Appalachia, is a boundary-crossing musical collaboration with singer and kora maestro Mansa Sissoko. Produced by David Travers-Smith and featuring celebrated ngoni master Bassekou Kouyate, the recording won the 2009 Juno Award for World Music Album of the Year.
Stone is beginning work on a new project that will explore music based on folk dances from around the world: hornpipes, polskas, strathspeys and sambas from Sweden, Scotland, Brazil, North America and more. The album will be released in late 2010 and feature fiddle pioneer Casey Driessen, gravity-defying guitarist Grant Gordy and Gaelic songbird Julie Fowlis. www.jaymestone.com
Sandra Wong was too young to remember, but her parents say she displayed a deep love of music from a very early age. With Beethoven's 5th as her nighttime lullaby, Sandra began studying the violin at age seven with the intention of becoming a concert violinist. This remained her sole focus for fifteen years until she discovered fiddling...and her entire musical world was turned upside down! Suddenly music became about connecting with other people in a joyful, communal way rather than an isolated striving for perfection. It began with Irish, Old-time and Bluegrass festival jams and has grown into her current livelihood of teaching, performing, recording and collaborating with other musicians from a diverse range of world music genres. In 1999, Sandra fell in love with a wonderful Swedish folk instrument called the nyckelharpa, a 16 stringed, keyed bowed instrument. It is now an integral part of her work and musical expression. www.sandrawongmusic.com
Charles Lee is a cellist, composer and conductor who received his bachelor’s degree in composition and piano from the Eastman School of Music where he won the Bernard Rogers composition award. After receiving a master’s degree in cello performance at Temple University under Jeffrey Solow, he moved to Boulder to pursue a Doctor of Musical Arts degree under Judith Glyde at the University of Colorado, which he received in 2004. Dr. Lee has been principal cellist of the Boulder Philharmonic orchestra since 1998, and principal cellist of Colorado Ballet Orchestra since 2002. In addition to performing actively in the region as a chamber musician, he also appears frequently with the Central City Opera House and the Colorado Symphony Orchestras. Dr. Lee is currently serving as instructor of cello, conductor of the string ensemble and director of chamber music at the Regis University in Denver.
Greg Garrison has strong connections to the worlds of bluegrass and American folk as well as jazz and improvised instrumental music, and he has worked with a wide range of musicians from both idioms including John Scofield, Joe Lovano, Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Ron Miles, Del McCoury, Art Lande, Fred Hess, Rudy Royston, Bryan Sutton, and Vassar Clements. From 2005 until 2008, Garrison toured with mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile (formerly of Nickel Creek), and along with Thile, was a founding member of the critically acclaimed chamber-bluegrass ensemble Punch Brothers. Garrison is featured prominently as a performer and writer on Punch (Nonesuch Records), the band’s 2008 debut release. During Garrison’s tenure with Thile, he performed at Carnegie Hall, on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and the Grand Old Opry. Greg was a member of Colorado jam band Leftover Salmon, recording three albums with the band and performing at venues and festivals across the country, including Red Rocks, Telluride Bluegrass, High Sierra, and Bonnaroo.
Grant Gordy is an astounding guitarist who is quickly turning heads in the acoustic music scene. In 2007, he was chosen to play the Young Artists Concert at Carnegie Hall alongside Edgar Meyer, Jerry Douglas and Mike Marshall. When not leading his own band, Grant can found playing regularly with the Jayme Stone Quartet, Africa to Appalachia and the most recently, the David Grisman Quintet. He is quickly becoming known for pushing and blurring the boundaries of acoustic music in his compositions, love of jazz exploration, and his exceptional facility with his instrument. His debut album featuring Paul Kowert (Punch Brothers), Alex Hargreaves (Big Trio) and Dominick Leslie, is due out in early 2010.
BACH PROJECT: PROPOSED REPERTOIRE
Jayme Stone banjo Prelude and Courante from the Cello Suite in G major Allemande and Pollanaise from the French Suite in E major (with double bass)
Goldberg Variation No.1 in G major (with cello)
Two-Part Invention in E major (with double bass)
Sandra Wong nyckelharpa Allegro from Sonata for Solo Violin in A Minor Two-Part Invention No.11 in G minor (with double bass)
Two-Part Invention No.13 in B minor (with cello) Concerto in C minor for Violin and Oboe
Jayme Stone banjo, Sandra Wong nyckelharpa Sonata No.1 for Viola de Gamba and Harspichord in D major
Ensemble Brandenburg Concerto in G major One Hour in Hungary (Swedish) Vodroppar (Swedish) Trollrikespolska (Swedish)
Pen Knife Murderer (Swedish) Golden Eagle Hornpipe (Irish) Angeline the Baker (American)
THE BACH PROJECT