hastilandstoler concert

Dave Stoler and Paul Hastil played beautifully! For those of you who missed this great inaugural concert sponsored by the newly reformed Madison Music Collective (MMC), take heart. A part of the mission of the Collective’s MMC Presents series (including concerts, lectures, workshops and listening sessions) is to document improvising musicians, particularly (though not exclusively) those musicians from or living in Wisconsin. WYOU videographer, Eric Allin, has volunteered to tape and edit MMC events, with the caveat that WYOU has first airing rights. So be sure to check Cable Channel 4 for the airing of this concert during March.

In the meantime, let me tell you about what you may have missed. The evening began with an original composition by Paul Hastil entitled “Where Will You Spend Eternity?”, self-described as evocative of a “fire and brimstone sermon”. A melodic warning in minor, the stirring “preacher” grows in excitement with emphatic and percussive chords before restating the original melodic query. Paul continued with another original piece called “The Invisible”, and gave us the image of a person describing a series of difficult events, first in a subdued way, but then becoming impassioned in their recollection of the story. Indeed, the harmonizations were minor and imploring, and surprising in a heartrending way. A lovely, sad, provocative piece, played with Paul’s hallmark sensitivity.

Expressing his appreciation for good melodies that inspire improvisation, Dave began his set with the tune “Too Close For Comfort”, a swingin’ bluesy standard he deftly cruised through with clever melodic and harmonic snippets in his improv that seemed almost conversational. He continued with a joyous waltz version of “I’m All Smiles” that can only be described as light and tripping.

Paul recalled a scenario of a hot day in the meat packing district of New York City as a teenager, telling of his discovery of the tune “It Never Entered My Mind” as he entered a musical establishment that had a renowned jukebox. With the same reverence he cited Miles Davis’s playing of that tune, Paul played a beautiful interpretation of this rich standard. He ended his solo section with an uptempo version of Cole Porter’s “All of You”.

A member of Tony Castaneda’s Latin Jazz Sextet, Dave played a tune that is also on that group’s Mambo o Muerte CD, called “Cheech’s Bossa” - a mellow, contemplative bossa nova with unexpected harmonic twists. This brought the first set to a satifying close, though we all looked forward to hearing these two artists together on the two Meriter Grand Hall pianos, a Yamaha and a Kawai.

The second set delivered the highly anticipated piano duets with “Time After Time” as the first tune. Trading bass lines, choruses of improv and comping chordal colors, these two pianists complimented each other’s statements and styles, never losing a beat or an opportunity to “say” something interesting. The musical evening was brought to a close with a moderate-swing-tempo arrangement of “?”.

Yes, you may have missed a wonderful concert by two of Madison’s piano improvization masters, but fear not – look for the video of this show on WYOU (www.wyou.org), and next time, come experience it live! as the Madison Music Collective strives to enrich our lives with another installment of MMC PRESENTS. reviewed by Marilyn Fisher