Notes of a collaborator
Bobby McFerrin brings his perspective to Carnegie Hall
By Lawrence Everett Forbes
Prodigious jazz singer/composer/conductor Bobby McFerrin kicked off the first of his seven spring concerts at Carnegie Hall on February 21 backed by bluegrass musicians. The ongoing “Perspectives” series displays his long-held enthusiasm for musical collaborations; reflecting his eclectic interests, the dynamic 10-time Grammy winner will perform with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s with soprano Dominique Labelle and baritone Nathan Gunn (4/6), violinist Yo-Yo Ma, (4/10), and jazz greats Chick Corea and Jack DeJohnette (4/23).
At the premiere performance, McFerrin took the cavernous stage alone, flooding the auditorium with his voice, sustaining the melody while harmonizing. In addition to his four-octave voice, McFerrin put the rest of his body to work as well—by clapping his hands, chest, and legs—to produce a quirky percussion.
He was joined by double-bass player Edgar Meyer—quite the virtuoso—and 16-year-old bluegrass prodigy Sierra Hull, whose mandolin added another layer to the sonic texture. Guitarist/vocalist Ron Black followed soon after, and the quartet got the crowd so revved up that one man ripped a hearty “Yeehaw!” Even McFerrin affected a Southern drawl as he segued into a hokey cover of Don Williams’ “Till the Rivers All Run Dry.” When Meyer’s fingers weren’t running up and down the fret in jazz-inflected measure, he used his bow to blur the line between classical and progressive bluegrass. Hull played a rollicking and at times melancholy mandolin. At the concert’s end, the musicians received a 10-minute standing ovation.
Group effort has been a key element in McFerrin’s work since his teenage stint in the Bobby Mack Quartet. Oddly enough, the son of classically trained opera singers didn’t actually start singing until his late 20s, when he honed his vocal chops during gigs with Astral Project and jazz innovator Jon Hendricks.
The collaboration that profoundly changed his life started in 1979, when he met fellow vocalist Linda Goldstein, who has since been his manager, producer, and creative co-conspirator. Together, they charted McFerrin’s unconvential path as a solo vocalist. Over the next several years, he worked with a range from musicians including Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, the Manhattan Transfer, Robin Williams (“Spontaneous Inventions,”); Bernard Tavernier (“’Round Midnight”), and Jack Nicholson (“How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin”), among many others. It was 1988’s “Simple Pleasusres,” that permanently raised his public profile. A tribute to the 1960s, the LP earned Grammy nominations for Album of the Year. “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” written on a whim, won Song of the Year and topped pop charts around the world, McFerrin removed it from his repertoire.
McFerrin then switched gears and directed his attention towards his family, playing with his father, Robert McFerrin Sr. (“Medicine Music”) and son, Taylor (“Beyond Words”). He also collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma (“Hush”), and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, (“Paper Music”).
Further displaying his enthusiasm for collaboration, McFerrin has created an educational component to the “Perspectives” series that will allow him to nurture the next generation of concertgoers and musicians. He will lead Instant Opera!, a five-day Professional Training Workshop for singers of both traditional and non-traditional vocal styles. Presented by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, McFerrin will select 20 young artists from different singing traditions to create an improvised a cappella work based on the story of the Tower of Babel. The performers will come together and lead the audience to participate in a performance in Zankel Hall on Friday, May 2 at 7:30 p.m.
Bobby McFerrin’s enthusiasm for music is catching
