Word: mcferrin
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...When McFerrin was underpinned by some of the campus’ musical groups, he revealed a different shade of his vocal talent. Instead of trying to imitate an entire strings section, he let the Baroque Chamber Orchestra assume that position in the evening’s first act, and occupied the position of imitating solo violinist, enlisting cellist Kate Bennet in an ethereally beautiful, if entirely unconventional duet...
...similarly evoked muted trumpets and smooth saxophones with a jazz ensemble formed from the Harvard Monday Jazz band, creating a piercing breathy tonality that summoned legendary trumpeter Miles Davis on his composition “All Blues.” In these moments, McFerrin managed to supercede the novelty of his vocal texture and managed to shift the focus onto his mammoth musical mind. Fingering the microphone as if it were a stringed instrument, he made as much an homage to Davis’ improvisational ability as much as he did the legendary trumpeter’s trademark sound. Using...
...this mode, McFerrin emerged onstage as much as a loving pedagogue and mentor as he did an enterprising musician in his own right. He lent his talents to the Harvard Dancers, providing a soundtrack for small ensembles. McFerrin and the dancers seemed to mutually feed of each other’s thematic ideas for a captivating synergy of vocal and physical improvisation. The members of three a cappella groups the Veritones, the Pitches and the Din & Tonics could barely contain smiles as McFerrin worked his way into their individual songs, reaping the benefits of tutelage from a man whose musical...
...subversive instinct was evident from his bare feet upwards. McFerrin utilized his improvisational ability to twist classical music; Pachelbel’s “Canon” became a country and western hoe-down and received tumultuous audience response. He interjected his performances with parodied accents and hammy antics, demonstrating that pretension and talent need not be inextricably linked. While stage hands made one of many set changes, he, comically stern and stoic, played polytonal music to accompany, and pulled aside Jonathan Salz of the Sanders Theater production staff and staged an impromptu interview as he supervised the transition...
...Evening with Bobby McFerrin” was his connection with the audience. Before the night’s final performance with the Brothers and Sisters, McFerrindescended into the audience and engaged in a series of intimate one-on-one performances with random spectators. Face to face, McFerrin would lay down a bass-line or other melodic theme, allow his unrehearsed partner to improvise, and then switch roles. In one action, McFerrin made the music accessible and approachable to all, and that is perhaps his greatest talent...