April Concert
The annual Alec Wilder Concert in New York City will be held on Saturday, April 4th, 3PM at St. Peter's Church, Lexington Avenue and 54th Street. Tickets at the door: $25 and $15 (students).
Hosted by John Biderman, the concert will focus primarily on the musicals Wilder wrote with lyricists William Engvick and Arnold Sundgaard. The latter is especially appropriate, it being the centennial of his birth. Featuring singers and instrumentalists yet to be announced, Aaron Gandy and Mike McGinnis have arranged new settings of selections from these musicals.
Additionally, the concert will feature saxophonist David Demsey, playing the Suite No. 1 for Tenor Saxophone, aka "Three Ballads for Stan (Getz)."
Those planning to attend are encouraged to bring along a young friend that may not be familiar with Wilder's music.
A Retrospective
This being Volume 20 of the Newsletter, it seemed fitting that we take a retrospective look at the Friends of Alec Wilder concert series in New York City, highlighting a few of the many outstanding musical moments that audiences over the years have enjoyed. Though no small sample can in any way do justice to the breadth of Wilder's musical work or to the excellence that all of the performers have brought to its interpretation, we have asked a few long standing attendees to describe some of their most memorable listening experiences.
The most memorable moment that I can recall was at the 5th concert in 1989, when Gunther Schuller, the historian, composer, and performer, introduced the Jazz Suite for Four Horns. In his introduction, he singled out the "Serenade" movement. He said it had "one of the most beautiful melodies ever written, not only from what Alec wrote, but what anyone had written in the twentieth century." It was then such a pleasure to hear the superb performance, confirming Schuller's introductory description of its "sinewy melodic line and ravishing jazz harmonies."
-- David Litofsky
One of my favorite performances came from someone who was not even listed on the program. It was the 17th concert in 2001. After (nearly) finishing his set, a featured performer, singer and pianist Steve Ross, welcomed a friend, Angelo LoVullo from the audience to his side, and then proceeded to accompany him singing "I See It Now." Not simply because this is one of my favorite of the Wilder-Engvick songs, but owing to the fact that it was interpreted so beautifully and sensitively by Mr. LoVullo, I was literally blown away. What a wonderful surprise we were given.
-- Ron Prather
It's difficult for me to single out just one performance as being especially "memorable," having attended virtually every one of the Friends concerts. I am naturally drawn to Alec Wilder's chamber music, where the subtle use of jazz techniques comes across so convincingly. And the 1987 concert appearance (we were still in the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie in those days) by the New York Woodwind Quintet performing the Solo Suite for Woodwind Quintet is perhaps exemplary. All too often, when composers borrow elements from jazz and blues, their writing comes off as rather pretentious. With Wilder, it is absolutely original! And the performers here were able to make this abundantly clear.
-- Bob Levy
I would single out "The Churkendoose" as performed by New York actor/singer Tim Cain at the Wilder Centennial concert on April 29, 2007. This fable, written in the 1940s, concerning an imaginary bird (part chicken, turkey, duck, and goose) was presented so delightfully, and its message of tolerance is certainly still applicable to our time. Another "performance" that deserves an honorable mention is nonagenarian Mitch Miller's standing ovation at the 2003 concert in response to The Four Bags' performance of their wonderful arrangements of some Wilder octets.
-- Judy Bell
One of the highlights of each year's Alec Wilder concert, and one of the elements that has tied the concerts' long history together, is the annual finale version of "I'll Be Around," arranged by the wonderful Manny Albam, who we lost to cancer in 2001. He ingeniously arranged the annual concert finale to fit the instrumentation of the entire cast of that year's concert. Whenever anyone would compliment him on the arrangement, he would reply, "Oh, it's simple, it's just the same chart year after year, with the parts re-assigned." Since Manny's death, I have inherited the honorable task of "rewriting" his arrangement each year, and I can tell you that his work, and his genius was anything but simple. Not only is the original core of the arrangement written brilliantly to pay tribute to Wilder's original melody (as Alec would have demanded!), but each of the instruments is also given a feature within the piece. This magical annual finale, treated as an audience "sing-a-long," has brought together musical worlds that only Alec Wilder could have imagined, including pianists Marian McPartland, Bill Dobbins, Loonis McGlohon, longtime Wilder compatriots tubist Harvey Phillips, flutist Sam Baron, and trumpeter Bob Levy, the horn section of the New York Philharmonic, the New York Woodwind Quintet, and so many other musicians.
-- David Demsey
Octets
Last November, in a chamber music concert, members of the Lubbock (TX) Symphony Orchestra performed seven of the Alec Wilder Octets. The program was conceived by bassoonist Richard Meek, and conducted by music director Tomasz Golka.
Studs Terkel
Warren Benson
The Friends of Alec Wilder are not alone in being saddened to learn of the death last October of Louis "Studs" Terkel at age 96. The author, activist, and virtual symbol of Chicago, was known and loved by countless Americans. His conversational skills were legendary.
Terkel was perhaps best known for his depression era memoir Hard Times, in which Alec Wilder was among the interviewees: "I didn't take my money to a bank. I kept it all in my pockets. I didn't have a bank account for years. You didn't have to keep track of what you spent. So I just kept the money in my pockets."
The two men remained good friends. For the recent CD recording of Wilder's Children's Plea for Peace, Terkel served as the narrator. He and his voice will be missed.
The narrator for the 1969 premiere performance of this work was Eastman School of Music composer, Warren Benson, another Wilder friend. His death in October of 2005 is acknowledged belatedly here. Benson was the composer of more than 100 works, many of them recorded. A Warren Benson Archive is in the process of being established at Eastman's Sibley Music Library. Fittingly, it will join the already existing Alec Wilder Archive there.
New CDs and Reissues
New, reissued, or recently discovered CDs containing the music of Alec Wilder include the following:
-- On the CD Bass Virtuoso [Classic], the all-Wilder album by bassist Gary Karr (originally a Golden Crest LP) has been reissued.
-- Previously unreleased live performances of Jackie Cain and Roy Kral are on the CD Echoes [Jazzed Media], including "It's So Peaceful in the Country," "The Echoes of My Life," and "Walk Pretty."
-- The original cast recordings of the Wilder-Engvick TV musicals "Pinocchio" and "Hansel and Gretel" have been released on CD [Sepia].
-- Vocalist Gary Williams sings "It's a Fine Day For Walkin' Country Style" (from Miss Chicken Little) on his CD Swingin' On Broadway [Dress Circle].
-- The Boz Scaggs album Speak Low [Decca] contains the song "Senza Fine."
-- On his CD Borrowed Time [Tone Center], guitarist Steve Kahn accompanies Gabriela Anders singing "Moon and Sand" (in Spanish as "Luna y Arena").
-- Recordings of "Winter of My Discontent" include:
Janice Mars, Introducing Janice Mars [Bag Room]
The Drummonds, Once Upon a Time [Video Arts]
(also includes "Blackberry Winter")
-- Recordings of "I'll Be Around" include:
Lucky Thompson, Lucky Is Back [Fresh Sound]
Gordon Johnson, The Art of Three [Tonalities]
(also includes "Moon and Sand")
-- Recordings of "While We're Young" include:
Bill Charlap, At the Village Vanguard [Capitol]
Jackie Ryan, Night and the Music [Openart]
Chuck Manning, Notes from the Real [TCB]
Don LaMaestra, One Step Up [Tangent]
-- Recordings of "Blackberry Winter" include:
Thomas Marriott, The Cool Season [Origin]
Ralph Lalama, Energy Fields [Mighty Quinn]
Marian McPartland, Twilight World [Concord]
MaryJo Mundy, One Meat Ball [Appleseed]
Bronwyn Rucker, Bright Blue [Original Cast]
(also includes "Did You Ever Cross Over to Snedens")
Alec Wilder Group
The Alec Wilder Group at Yahoo is an internet forum for discussing the life and music of the composer.
To join the group, send an email to:
awilder-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
or click on the "Join This Group" button at the AWG website:
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/awilder
Wilder Publishers
The Richmond Organization owns and publishes Wilder's popular songs, show music, and a number of his concert pieces. Inquiries as to the purchase of such items should be addressed to:
The Richmond Organization
266 West 37th Street
New York, NY 10018
Tel: 212-594-9795
Fax: 212-594-9782
Margun Music POD (Print on Demand) chamber music titles should be ordered from:
J.W. Pepper 800-345-6296
Other Margun items should be ordered from:
Shawnee Press 800-692-8584
except for rentals, available from:
G. Schirmer Inc.
Rental/Performance Dept.
P.O. Box 572
Chester, NY 10918
Tel: 845-469-4699
Fax: 845-469-7544
The Newsletter of the Friends of Alec Wilder
Published annually in Oakland, California.
Editor: Ronald Prather
If you would like to be placed on the mailing list for this newsletter, free of charge, please write or call:
Ronald Prather
78 Gleneden Ave.
Oakland, CA 94611
(510) 601-7627
email: rprather@brandxnet.com
FRIENDS OF ALEC WILDER
The Friends of Alec Wilder is an organization dedicated to perpetuating the memory and life's work of American composer Alec Wilder. Its membership presents annual Wilder concerts and other events involving the composer's work. For information concerning the Friends of Alec Wilder organization, please contact Tom Hampson at (585) 442-6941.