Blue Syncopators with Gabriela Martina

videos by Barbara Golder

Mike Peipman trumpet, John Clark and Billy Novick reeds, Dan Fox trombone, Ross Petot piano, Stu Gunn string bass and tuba, Bill Reynolds drums, Gabriela Martina vocals

“Gatsby” is a remarkable event, an evening of explosive, ticklish and swooning live Jazz.  It was brought to life in February 2010 with the Washington DC ballet by Septime Webre.  The score consisted of classics from the 1920’s, Ellington, Louis, Bix, as well as some music Billy wrote just for the ballet.

Timing is very important for the ballet, so this Jazz was carefully written, and not improvised like jazz.  Billy opened the Gatsby book with That’s a Plenty, narrating the story.

The ballet  begins with What’ll I Do?, a silky, melodic waltz, with Billy on soft, low register clarinet, and Ross’s haunting and elegant piano, then kicks it up with a flaming hot At The Jazz Band Ball.

The story enfolds, the rich and influential Gatsby falls in love with the very rich, the very elegant, and the very married Daisy.

An outstanding vocalist with a sense of phrasing that creates many moods, Garbriela scats Creole Love Call.

Garbriela and Billy’s poignant back-and-forth scatting on Wild Man Blues characterizes a touching,  emotional  telephone conversation between the two lovers.

Dance of the Ashes is remarkable, Garbriela  scats in her own effervescent style, while the whole band responds as one.

He May Be Your Man, But He Comes To See Me Sometimes.

Duke’s East St. Louis Toodle-oo features Mike Peipman’s fiery trumpet, with fine backing by Stu Gunn on string bass.

In Billy’s composition, Manhattan Thoroughfare, the instruments cunningly reproduce the haphazard cacophony of a busy New York thoroughfare.   In a tennis match scene, Billy’s drumming replicates the sound of tennis balls being batted back and forth.  Brilliant.

Mike Peipman

A scene where a couple are dining at the Waldorf was portrayed by  Broadway Tango, with Mike on muted trumpet, backed by Ross’s supple fingers on piano and Stu on that massive B & S German tuba.

To fill in a gap in the action where 20 ballet dancers need to change from white into red tap shoes, Billy wrote Maids to Order.   Yellow Dog Blues and the Charleston recall some wild parties that were held in Myrtle’s apartment and Gatsby’s mansion.

John Clark, Stu Gunn, Billy Novick

In Tight Like That, Billy and John are both featured on alto sax, giving this small group a very big band sound!  John Clark had four of his instruments with him – clarinet, alto, tenor and bari sax. He played the the hefty baritone while he was following the score on The Sheik of Araby.

Ross Petot

They did a very soft reprise of the Charleston, Billy on clarinet, with fine backing by Ross on piano.  Ross is quick and steadfast, with embellishments behind every solo

Billy Novick needed a wartime tune for a scene where somebody goes into the army, but had difficulties finding a recording of an American World War I march. Diligent probing paid off when he discovered a tune from an old vintage phonograph, We’re All Going Calling on the Kaiser.   (We’re going to make him wiser.)  He wrote a Sofa Dance and Pocket Dance, especially for the dancers.

In a lovely rendition of the heartrending What’ll I Do, Garbriela maintained a high range throughout the whole song, finishing the last verse in a  sultry, low voice.

She ignited the room with sassy and sensuous hinting of carnal content in Bessie Smith’s Put a Little Sugar in My Bowl!

Skip Dat Pop Dat represents the breakout of a fight in the city.   Trombonist Dan Fox took a great plunger solo on Exotique, which epitomized the scene where Daisy is killed by a hit and run driver and George is filled with grief and sorrow.  He suspects Gatsby.

Bill Reynolds has the final scene, the most dramatic moment in the ballet, where George is stalking Gatsby, his anger building with the drumming. The drum is the sole instrument in this whole ballet scene.  He finds him swimming in the pool; then comes the final single drum beat – the gun shot.

The ballet closes  with Billy Novick on clarinet and Ross piano, for a brief reprise, a tragic waltz, What’ll I Do.

Billy took the Blue Syncopators to San Diego the beginning of April to conduct and perform (for the 40th time!) his Great Gatsby score with the California Ballet.  Stay tuned – they will be back at the Homegrown Coffeehouse in Needham, MA on June 2nd.