TANGODROMO

JP Jofre & Ensemble 360

Crucible Playhouse, Sheffield
Wednesday 17 May 2023, 1.00pm

£16
£10 DLA, UC & PIP
£5 Under 35s & Students 

Save £s when you book for 5 concerts or more at the same time 

Past Event

JP JOFRE Tangodromo (17’)
TRAD. Shenandoah arr. cello and piano by Caroline Shaw (5′) (UK Premiere)
D’RIVERA The Cape Cod Files (23’)

From jazz, blues and the spirit of tango, this lunchtime concert draws on the diverse musical traditions of the Americas.  

Argentinian bandoneon player JP Jofre’s intoxicating Tangodromo, which begins with an explosion of energy and moves towards a haunting conclusion, sits alongside the UK premiere of Caroline Shaw’s arrangement of the traditional piece Shenandoah.

Finally, a work from Cuban maestro clarinettist Paquito D’Rivera, whose monumental work for piano and clarinet draws on jazz and blues, and pays homage to the ‘King of Swing’ clarinettist Benny Goodman, the bandoneon, and the spirit of the tango. 

TRADITIONAL (Arr. Caroline Shaw), Shenandoah for cello and piano

Shenandoah was the Native American leader of the Oneida tribe who lived to well over 100 years of age and died in 1816. A folk song honouring his name had become well-known throughout north-east America, Canada and even amongst English sailors by the middle of the 19th century, and it’s believed to have first been sung by fur traders who worked on the Missouri River in Shenandoah’s realm.

This arrangement was made in 2020 by American composer Caroline Shaw for cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Kathryn Stott, which they recorded on their album Songs of Comfort and Hope.

© Tom McKinney

D’RIVERA Paquito, Cape Cod Files

Benny@100 
Bandoneon 
Lecuonerias 
Chiquita Blues 
 

The Cuban-American composer, saxophonist and clarinettist Paquito D’Rivera was born in Havana. After working with several Cuban ensembles (including the National Symphony Orchestra), D’Rivera decided to defect to the United States in 1980. Since then he has had an extremely successful career as both a jazz and classical musician in America with twelve Grammy Awards to his name. Cape Cod Files was written in 2009 for the clarinettist Jon Manasse and pianist Jon Nakamatsu and was first performed by them on 11 August 2009 in Cotuit, Massachusetts, as part of the 30th Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival. 

 

D’Riveira has written that ‘Benny@100’ was ‘inspired by Benny Goodman’s unique way of jazz phrasing, as well as his incursions in the so-called classical arena. This movement is a celebration of 100th birthday.’ ‘Bandoneon’ evokes the sound of the Bandoneon, the instrument that is sometimes described as ‘the soul of the tango’. D’Riveira writes that ‘Lecuonerias’ comprises ‘unaccompanied solo clarinet improvisations around some of the melodies written by the foremost Cuban composer, Ernesto Lecuona.’ And ‘Chiquita Blues’ was inspired by a novel about the extraordinary life of the Cuban singer and actress known as Chiquita (Espiridona Cenda) who was just 26 inches tall and had a successful career on stage in New York. 

 

© Nigel Simeone

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