Classical music lovers, meet cool jazz.
How about jazz fans listening to the likes of Maurice Ravel or Samuel Barber?
How about reframing both perspectives at a fresh and inventive January recital?
Whatever your musical taste, you just might discover how a merger of classical and jazz offerings, and most importantly improvisation, might transform your view of the sonic landscape.
If you go
WHAT: “In Tribute: Music for Vibes and Piano,” San Juan Symphony Chamber Music Series, pianist Jack Maynes, vibraphonist John O’Neal.
WHEN: 7 p.m. Jan. 16 and 2 p.m. Jan. 17.
WHERE: Jan. 16: St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 910 East Third Ave. Jan. 17: Connie Gotsch Theater, San Juan College, 4601 College Blvd., Farmington.
TICKETS: Adults $30, students $10, available at the door or at www.sanjuansymphony.org.
MORE INFORMATION: Call 382-9753.
“In Tribute: Music for Vibes and Piano” is the title of twin recitals coming up in the middle of January. Presented in Durango and Farmington by pianist Jack Maynes and percussionist John O’Neal, the recitals are part of an extra series sponsored by the San Juan Symphony.
The first iteration will be at 7 p.m. Jan. 16 at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. The repeat will be at 2 p.m. Jan. 17 at the Connie Gotsch Theater on the campus of San Juan College in Farmington. Both are part of the Beyond the Concert Hall Chamber Music Series under the umbrella of SJS.
“I’m thrilled to feature these wonderful local SJS musicians in our series,” said Thomas Heuser, music director of the Symphony. He discussed the project over a year ago with O’Neal, and now the classical-jazz fusion recital will be a reality. “John and Jack bring not only extraordinary artistry, but also a deep sense of connection and collaboration that makes this kind of intimate performance so compelling.”
O’Neal, associate professor of music at Fort Lewis College, suggested the jazz-classical offering after he and Maynes performed “Times Like These,” by Japanese jazz pianist Makoto Ozone in the FLC 2024 Faculty Showcase. Ozone and vibraphonist Gary Burton appeared in Durango in 2007 at the Community Concert Hall at FLC. After Burton’s legendary collaborations with jazz pianist Chick Corea, who died in 2021, Burton went on to explore the sonic capabilities of vibraphone and piano with Ozone. Their jazz-classical fusion resulted in memorable recordings including “Virtuosi” in 2002. It was that playlist that Maynes says changed his life.
Maynes, adjunct professor of jazz and guitar at FLC, says he remembered being struck by the immense musical inventiveness when he was a freshman studying classical piano.
“It was in 2007,” Maynes said. “They (Burton and Ozone) came to Durango and played full classical works and then improvised. That performance changed my life.”
A native of Durango, Maynes entered FLC as a classical piano major studying with Lisa Campi Walters. After the impactful Ozone-Burton concert, he said he integrated jazz studies into his major and graduated in 2011. Today, in addition to teaching guitar and jazz studies in the music department, he performs widely in many genres and with many professional colleagues. He also maintains a private studio at Stillwater Music.
The Tribute recital will begin with Ravel’s “Le Tombeau de Couperin,” an interpretation of its own by the French Impressionist of an earlier work. Maynes and O’Neal will spin their jazz improvisation through the Burton-Ozone lens. The recital also includes a lusciously rambling work by Barber titled “Excursions I, Opus 20.” One work by Ozone, “Times Like These” brings the duo fully into the present. Two early works by the famous American jazz pianist Corea underscore the recital’s tribute concept: “Native Sense” and “Armando’s Rhumba.”
The duo will conclude with an unexpected work by Russian classical-cum-jazz composer Nikolai Kapustin, who died in 2020.
“Kapustin was trained as a classical pianist, and he somehow got a job touring with big bands, so he embodies both worlds,” Maynes said. “His études are close to Chopin’s études and are difficult, but you’ll also hear the influence of Errol Garner or Oscar Peterson. Kapustin’s music is unique, fast, nonstop motion, compelling.”
“We love this music,” O’Neal said at a rehearsal. He and Maynes have been playing the Corea-Burton-Ozone legacy for years.
“The sonic combination of piano and vibraphone presents a unique musical landscape,” Maynes said. “Both instruments are capable of harmony, melody and rhythm, requiring an especially high level of listening, balance and trust between performers.”
Judith Reynolds is an arts journalist and member of the American Theatre Critics Association.
