By: Bobby Parrott
Hello, music lovers, and welcome to our blog! I’ve only recently become acquainted with Off The Hook Arts—I donated some instruments and felt so impressed with the mission and people of this organization that I couldn’t help wanting to get involved. When artistic director Jephta Bernstein and events coordinator Jane Barber heard about my writing background they suggested this blog. And I thought, why not? So here we are!
On January 18th I had the privilege of watching Gabriel Mervine trio play at The Magic Rat for OtHA’s first concert of their monthly Sunset Series. What a warm, intimate venue this is, where the musicians and audience experience the kind of profound connections not possible in a large concert hall. Being close enough to look into the eyes of the performers, catch their unmistakable spirit as they gift us with their music, is part of the magic of this venue, which was named after an image in Bruce Springsteen’s song, “Jungleland,” the lyrics of which are framed on the wall above a hearth. Under that, they have a keyboard signed by all members of Springsteen’s E-Street Band!
The ambience of the room along with warm-hearted conversations, including with jazz trumpeter Gabriel Mervine himself before the performance began, had me already treasuring the evening’s event and my decision to attend. Knowing all these folks believed in Off the Hook Arts’ mission of making music more accessible to young people (including Mervine’s authoring of his “Jazz Play-Along” series) made conversation and kindred feelings literally glow as I took in the faces and gentle words around me. Yes, this was obviously a community who believed in music as a life-enriching pursuit, its artistic expressions uplifting for everyone.
But hey, this is supposed to be about the performance, and on that count I was not disappointed! Having grown up in the Baltimore City Public Schools playing my father’s trumpet in various bands and orchestras, I admittedly have a soft spot for the instrument, and Mervine’s brilliance on both trumpet and flugelhorn transcended any notions of mere technical proficiency. With Jack Dunlevie on piano and Seth Lewis on upright acoustic bass, the trio became a synergy, a fabric of lavishly pulsating sound that captivated, a colorful cloud of wonderment to ears and mind. And one could easily sense the deep delight each player felt in this pulsating mechanism of virtuosities. In a deft fusion of original compositions and traditional jazz standards, Mervine thrilled us with textures and syncopations, flights of rhythm and melody that can only be described as dynamic, visual, even hauntingly ethereal in moments of heart-rending emotional nuance. Wow, what a rich and unforgettable evening!