Don Preston and Andrea Centazzo / Pasadena, California / February 20th, 2010
Reviewed by Susan Ferrari
Master percussionist Andrea Centazzo and pioneering jazz pianist and synthesizer player Don Preston joined musical forces on Saturday night at the South Pasadena Music Center and Conservatory for the first time in a night of electronic and acoustic improvised music that was an ear-opening experience for the small audience of friends and new music aficionados in attendance. Centazzo has been touring in New York and Europe for the past year, and is on his way back to New York next month for concerts with composer / saxophonist John Zorn and guitarist Elliot Sharp. Preston has played the piano with numerous jazz artists including Charlie Haden and Paul Bley and he is well known for his many years of collaboration with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention.
The performance space was a large loft-style room with brick walls and exposed ceilings. The setup for each musician involved a baffling array of instruments, computers, and cables, while the percussion equipment included a suspended rack of tuned gongs, a MIDI mallet keyboard, and an unusual assortment of shallow drums. Don Preston played electronic keyboards connected to an Apple computer, as well as the acoustic piano and the upright bass. At one point he also played a convincing synthesizer solo on his iPhone.
Preston welcomed the audience to “another evening of mirth.” He went on to say that “I think we’re going to do this is in two sets, but you never know,” with which Andrea Centazzo concurred. The concert began with the two players in seemingly different musical spaces. The contrast was between the cerebral way that Preston was controlling the electronic sounds and the intense physicality of Centazzo’s percussion. Slowly, these two elements began to merge, to the extent that it was hard to tell who was making what sound. A mallet strike might yield a marimba sound, or it might be an orchestral sample or the sound of broken glass. At times the effect was intense, as if one was inside a chaotic machine emitting random bleeps. This was not the pretty sound of modern digital music, but rather more like the early days of manipulated electronic waveforms and as the synthesized sound faded away, Preston moved to the bass, then the piano. Centazzo switched to brushes and they faded out on a final piano chord.
The second piece picked up where they had left off, with the more subdued sounds of gongs and electronic hums. Centazzo draped a black cloth over his drums for a muted effect. His solo ended abruptly with a monologue by Preston, a rendition of George Carlin’s “I’m a Modern Man,” which the comedian wrote late in his career.
After a short intermission, the duo opened with a playful rhythmic improvisation in a more minimalistic style that was beautifully reminiscent of Balinese gamelan music. Throughout the three pieces in the second set, one could feel that the duo was coming together and their virtuosity with their respective instruments became apparent. Preston played more on the acoustic piano, ranging in styles from modal to bebop and to free jazz, while Centazzo was always in control, as he moved seamlessly from one musical statement to the next. After a frenetic free jazz pace, they slowed down with a simple melody on the piano. Preston rolled his last chords and the two musicians who had begun independently ended the concert with a unifying crash of the drums.
Photo: Andrea Centazzo, publicity photo
February 20th, 2010
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Contributing writer Susan Ferrari is a writer/musician who lives in Los Angeles, CA and Plymouth, MA.
