Teatro Martí: between traditional trova and symphonic jazz

The 140th anniversary of the Martí Theater and the decade of its reopening could not have been better celebrated: Maestro Frank Fernández and the National Concert Band joined forces in a unique performance that allowed a large audience to symbolically raise the glass for such significant dates.

Emblem of Havana's cultural life as a privileged venue for theater, dance and music since its distant foundation, and recovered by the initiative of the unrepeatable Eusebio Leal, the coliseum of Old Havana continues to lend its beautiful venue for the best exponents from the island and abroad.

On this occasion, the program Love songs and a rhapsody synthesized the spirit of a tradition that -even in the midst of unfavorable conditions- insists on bringing to its audiences the best of the Cuban and universal pentagram through productions that are at least decent, comparable to those of any other latitude.

Photos: Adrián Juan Espinosa. Taken from the Teatro Martí Facebook page.

Under the general direction of Fernández himself and the production of Alina González, jazz, symphonic and song went hand in hand in almost two hours of music that ignored (if not melted) the presumed generic and temporal barriers, and those increasingly absurd dividing lines between the cultured and the popular.

With a trajectory that has granted it the most prestigious recognitions, the National Concert Band -and the principal conductor Igor E. Corcuera-, this time under the baton of guest conductor Moisés Hernández, showed off its instrumental blend, timbre and colorful strength in a first part recreating certain jazz standards.

The Blues Roar (Slide Hampton, arranged by Bob Lowden), Rock of Age (Thomas Hasting) and the traditional Jericho (both orchestrated by Camp Kirkland), allowed us to applaud an ensemble that brought us closer to the richness of that primordial and at the same time renewed jazz, with exquisite variations and improvisations.

Photos: Adrián Juan Espinosa. Taken from the Teatro Martí Facebook page.

The talent of its members and the cohesion of its sections (strings, winds, percussion) emulated at all times the grace and the flight of the best big bandsWe will be transported to the legendary clubs of New Orleans or Manhattan.

Frank's entry as a soloist at the piano confirmed that between a lied operatic or one of those unfading songs of the traditional trova, there are no essential differences, so the keys embroidered the same. Marine Pearlby Sindo Garay) or love me a lotby Gonzalo Roig, that the Ave Maria by Shubert.

Frank's affinity with the American George Gerswhin (1898-1937) is easy to understand considering that, as the author of folk opera Porgy and Bess and so many songs for the cinema and Broadway musicals, our fellow countryman also -as we said- knows no limits between the symphonic and the popular.

Frank Fernandez and saxophonist Jorge Sergio Ramirez, also a master saxophonist, joined from their respective instruments on the Tribute to Gerswhin by Walker Barker (transcribed by Norman Milanés), an inspired piece that recreates some of the keys in the poetics of the great musician, and where both virtuosos shone in an elegant symbiosis.

Photos: Adrián Juan Espinosa. Taken from the Teatro Martí Facebook page.

With a solid training, studying and performing essential references such as Bach, Liszt and Ravel -whose influence can be appreciated throughout his work-, Gerswhin also turned to elements and rhythms of popular culture, within which jazz played a leading role. Proof of this is his emblematic Rhapsody in Blue, where the popular piano tradition, the harmonic treatment of the music of the variety theater and the atmosphere of the blues This, together with the symphonic imprint of the entire musical fabric, allows us to understand the title of "jazz symphonist" that was often applied to the composer and conductor.

Then, as the pearl in the crown, the applauded rhapsody was played: the pianist and the saxophonist (now doubled as orchestral conductor) were joined by the band guided by his baton. Together, they understood and projected with authenticity the rough passages of the work. Following Ferde Grofé's orchestration, we received in all their splendor the sometimes playful, sometimes serious or dramatic segments that make the piece a true celebration from the fusion of languages and creative imagination.

Photos: Adrián Juan Espinosa. Taken from the Teatro Martí Facebook page.

Fernández, of a passionate nature and at times impetuous and overflowing in his performances, was always tight and precise, both in the solos and in his integration with the ensemble, forming between them a sort of single instrument, which the conductor managed to conduct with care and knowledge of the cause.

A night of the best music, of the best performers, of an appreciative and complicit audience, this toast to and from the Teatro Martí was another of the performances that, beyond the beautiful installation, have made and continue to make history.