Last evening’s Manhattan Transfer concert with the Austin Symphony was extra special (I have seen them three previous times). Firstly, it was with an orchestra backing them, they normally have a standard Pop/Jazz ensemble. Secondly, the show was also a birthday gift for our wonderful, generous friend Alaire who was once a member of the Dallas Symphony before she became a doctor. Finally, I got have some face time with the wonderful man in the photo…Yaron Gershovsky, the guest conductor, the Transfer’s band leader, pianist and talented musician in his own right. We met at the last Transfer shows around late 2009, I asked how his MacBook Pro was integrated into the performance, Yaron explained and graciously let me have his set list (safely locked in my Music Vault of Memoribilia). We’ve kept in touch since.
So when I saw that Yaron and the gang would be returning this Summer, I scored tickets, invited Alaire and Tom (her husband obviously) and let Yaron know how I stoked I was. He surprised us with backstage passes for the show! This made the birthday present even cooler because Alaire and Yaron could talk “shop,” she was in training to be a conductor before she chose medicine.
Yaron was great. He managed the orchestra and often played the piano at the same time. The Manhattan Transfer did many crowd favorites: “Route 66” (what they opened with), “Birdland,” “The Offbeat of the Avenues,” and a couple Count Basie pieces (I dig Count Basie). There was something Alan wrote which gave off a movie vibe, as if were this big thematic opening to a film. Yaron said it’s a very visual piece. I did have to ask him how conducting worked since I figured there’s more to it than what I’ve seen in Bugs Bunny cartoons. Is there an understood series of signals the musicians know? Yaron said it’s mainly keeping time for the orchestra and the gestures vary according to the piece (4/4 v. 3/4), others are pretty obvious like “stop.” Conducting can be easier when the drummer is prominent which makes sense, in contemporary Pop/Rock/Country/Jazz, drummers set the timing or pace for the rest to follow.
Looking forward to Yaron visiting Austin again!