Silent spring? Hardly, with all these musicians livestreaming during the pandemic.
Even if I were a wagering individual, I never would have imagined my late afternoons in late March, leading into April, would be spent with this daily doubleheader: a press briefing by our governor followed by an online piano session by one of the world’s most esteemed jazz artists.
Yet, that is how our new normal has unfolded in my home. Like many, the televised press conferences by Gov. Andy Beshear (also available online and on radio) have become a ritual. Even though the news they impart regarding the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t always sunny, the broadcasts offer a level of assurance and positivity (laced with a bit of tough love) that explains why so many Kentuckians have come to view them with an almost familial anticipation. Seriously, when was the last time you heard a governor — or any elected official, for that matter — so frequently referred to by his first name?
But being the music junkie I am, I have also found myself, in this time where public performances of live art are temporarily off limits, scouring the internet. Amid the welcome frenzy of low-tech but refreshingly honest online performances, I have settled on a favorite that just happens to surface every day around 6 p.m., the time Andy’s — I mean, Gov. Beshear’s — press conferences are concluding.
This most unexpected of follow-ups belongs to Chick Corea, a jazz composer and bandleader of global renown for over a half-century. Though known for everything from heavy electric fusion to straight-ahead acoustic trio music to any number of stylistic variants (he won his 23rd Grammy in February for a record cut with a Spanish-leaning jazz ensemble), Corea, 78, takes to his nightly streaming sessions aided only by a piano. For 45 minutes or so (some sessions break the hour mark), he practices at the keyboard. That’s right, practices. There is no finality or completeness of a formal concert. These are simply practice sessions focusing on solo piano compositions or arrangements of a repertoire that shifts from Bela Bartok to Bud Powell to 50 years’ worth of Corea’s own tunes. Sometimes he stops and starts over. Sometimes he repeats a section for his own musical edification. There is a little bit of friendly chat, too, but mostly it’s just Corea at the keyboard, and the results are glorious.
Like so many of the online music sessions that have blossomed during these days of social isolation, all of Corea’s streams have been archived on his Facebook page, facebook.com/chickcorea.
Andy and Chick. I mean, who knew how great they would go together?
Dream streams
With music venues closed and large social gatherings banned, the number of livestreaming performances continues to explode online. With some, like the recently completed, weeklong Master Musicians’ Social Distance Fest, we get enough of a heads-up to tell you about them in advance. Many, however, pop up with far briefer lead times and are history by the time this column rolls around.
Luckily, nearly all of them are archived on the Facebook pages of the respective artists and events and can be viewed anytime. Here is a quick rewind of the cooler streaming shows that have popped up online in the past week that you can still enjoy online.
▪ The aforementioned Master Musicians’ Social Distance Fest offered such a wealth of fine music in such a contained time span that catching everything was impossible. I’m still wading through it all myself. Among the sets I’ve enjoyed so far (all by Lexington or Central Kentucky artists, except where noted): a set of quiet confessionals by songsmith Will Solomon aided by veteran multi-instrumentalist J. Tom Hnatow; a typically engaging cello-savvy serenade by song stylist Ben Sollee; a wonderfully antique-sounding blend of folk and Americana from Cincinnati’s Arlo McKinley; some hearty electric crunch from Mojothunder streamed from the empty confines of The Burl; and songstress Abby Hamilton who persevered nicely despite performing “during The Andy Beshear Hour.”
Please consider donating to the various artists’ virtual tip jars (the links are on each performance stream) if you like what you hear. The streams can be viewed at facebook.com/events/master-musicians-festival/social-distance-fest.
▪ Cosmic Charlie’s continues to offer a series of livestreams (COVIDCasts, as they’re calling them) even though it remains on lockdown for public performances. It has a beaut on hand for April 3, an up close and personal evening with the Tinderbox Circus Sideshow. The Lexington troupe, led by such exotically named characters as Captain Darron Von Awesome and Trashique D’Lamour, has been blending carnival sideshow mystique, burlesque and plenty of punkish immediacy for the past decade. The troupe’s own description? “An all-American classic circus sideshow, combining timeless acts of shock and amazement with a punk rock presentation and a dirty south attitude.” Showtime is 8:30 p.m.
Cosmic Charlie’s also has a livestream featuring the Central Kentucky progressive bluegrass troupe Dark Moon Hollow (which ably opened a January concert by Steep Canyon Rangers) set for 8 p.m. April 4. Both performances are viewable at facebook.com/spacechucks.
▪ A session of instrumentals running from reflectively ambient reveries to densely orchestrated electric excursions by Milan, Italy-based guitarist Fabio Mittino. This was broadcast from the heart of one of the countries hardest hit by the COVID-19 outbreak. A few regional guitarists may recall Mittino’s January concert in Frankfort with one-time teacher and California Guitar Trio member Bert Lams. Viewable at facebook.com/KeepMusicLiveProject.
▪ Elvis Costello’s “From Isolation” is a 42-minute session of mostly calm conversation about how to care for one another in difficult times. Designed to raise funds for England’s NHS (National Health Service), the stream begins with a lullaby-like reading of Nick Lowe’s “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” and concludes with a more urgent take on the ‘50s R&B hit “Money (That’s What I Want).” Viewable at facebook.com/artists4nhs.
▪ Since he spends over half of his touring life as a solo acoustic performer, a living room concert would seem second nature for Richard Thompson. True to form, he brought a satchel full of songs that included overlooked gems from the 1970s (“Jet Plane in a Rocking Chair”) to recent works (“O, Cinderella” from 2018’s “13 Rivers” album) with an ample dose of British wryness and support (during the second half) from partner and fellow songsmith Zara Phillips. Best of all, he suggests more living room shows may follow. Viewable at facebook.com/RichardThompsonMusic.
Prayers for John Prine
The grim realization of the COVID-19 pandemic is that there are (and will be) victims who succumb to it. Last weekend, it claimed veteran country singer Joe Diffie. Then came the frightening news that John Prine was in critical condition after being hospitalized and intubated due to the virus.
“This is hard news for us to share,” read a statement released Sunday evening through Prine’s Twitter account. “But so many of you have loved and supported John over the years, we wanted to let you know and give you the chance to send on more of that love and support now. And know that we love you, and John loves you.”
The multi-Grammy winning songwriter’s wife and manager, Fiona Whelan Prine, had previously announced on March 19 that she had contracted the coronavirus.
This story was originally published March 31, 2020 at 12:21 PM.