Another night with my wife’s boyfriend

Some people would no doubt think one crazy to drive almost four hours both ways to hear a classical music concert. I hope some Alabamians are on board with me here in that, big stars don’t really come here, so we have to go to them. That’s why, when Mrs. S’s boyfriend, the virtuoso violinist Joshua Bell, scheduled a visit to play with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, she bought the best tickets available, and that’s why, yesterday, I drove four hours to listen to classical music.

And amazingly, I think it was worth it, and then some. Joshua Bell is simply amazing. He does things with a violin you wouldn’t think possible, and his sound and stamina are just amazing. (I’ve said so before.)

Mrs. S has thirty five of his who knows how many recordings, and now, a fifth of them are signed. It turns out, Mr. Bell will be back in our extended neighborhood next January, and Mrs. S is already planning to get tickets. To fill out enough concerts for a subscriber’s season, we will probably go see Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, and Poncho Sanchez. (We were both bitter to learn McCoy Tyner had been here earlier this year and we missed him.)

Anyway, here’s some of Mrs. S’s comments and recommendations if you are into jazz but want to explore some of Joshua Bell’s music:

"Joshua Bell’s repertoire is very wide-ranging. He’s recorded traditional classical musical pieces (Vivaldi, Beethoven, Sibelius, Shumann, Brahms, Bernstein, Gershwin), contemporary pieces (Maw, Corigliano), short violin pieces, film sound tracks (Red Violin, Defiance, Angels and Demons) and collaborated with Jazz musicians (Dave Grusin, Wynton Marsalis, Chris Botti) and bluegrass musicians (Edgar Myer, Bela Fleck) and each recording is powerful and unique in its own way. So, it’s hard to choose just a couple, but for the people who are more interested in jazz music, my recommendations are:

1. At Home with Friends
2. Gershwin Fantasy
3. Short Trip Home "


Here are my (Eric's) recommendations if you want to hear some great jazz guitar:
Have a Little Faith by Bill Frisell
Bright Size Life by Pat Metheny