Angela Hewitt. Photos by Jill Fisher. 

I’m wondering how many folks limit their musical preferences to just a few genres. Does anyone purposely try to expand their musical tastes? And if so, how successful are we in such attempts? 

It seems every generation hates the music preferred by the younger set – the Beatles were certainly dissed by my parent’s generation, while I in turn avoid punk and grunge. And then there’s the highbrow classical types versus lowbrow/popular music. I wonder because, despite trying to be open-minded with regards to opera and the classical genre, I’m not much inclined to continue such efforts.

These thoughts were prompted by the Angela Hewitt piano performance on Tuesday, April 1, at St. Scholastica’s Mitchell Auditorium. It was the last concert of Matinee Musicale’s 125th season. 

Hewitt is considered one of the world’s leading concert pianists and the Curmudgeon assured me that Bach’s Goldberg Variations, which was to be performed that evening, was a work of genius and “music of the gods.” Thus I overcame my reticence to attend the concert. 

Also, I had been so beautifully blown away by classical guitarist Marko Topchii’s concert presented by Matinee Musicale back in February, I decided that I didn’t want to chance missing another spectacular evening of music. 

So much for open-mindedness and attempts to enlarge my musical appreciation to something more highbrow than my typical fare.

Now I cannot dispute the musicality and virtuosic technique of Ms. Hewitt’s performance. Fans of baroque music who have a far deeper knowledge and understanding of the classics than I, and of piano music in particular, all agreed that she was superb. I appreciated her oral introduction to The Goldberg Variations, BWV988 in which she explained the fine points of the program, the Arias and the differences between the 30 variations she was about to play for the next 90 minutes. My ears perked up when she said that Variation 25 “Adagio” was a meditation on death, such that I willed myself to stay awake to hear it and gratify my morbid obsession. 

Hewitt also revealed that she had first played this piece 50 years ago. Whew, can you imagine?!

Program notes by Samuel Black included background on Bach being the master of “counterpoint” or “contrapuntal style”— which was “not embraced by Bach’s musical sons, or the coming generations of German musicians.” Evidently musical preferences differing by generation was ever such! 

The audience on this Tuesday evening was comprised mostly of gray-haired seniors (like me!). Unlike me they were enraptured with the nuances of Hewitt’s performance, how her hands seemed barely to touch the keys. A prolonged standing ovation greeted the extended silence that ended her performance. I should also note that earlier in the day Hewitt held a free master class for interested pianists that was very well received.

Call me lowbrow if you will but, as a mid-cohort baby boomer, I accept that I’m more in league with the “Roll Over Beethoven” crowd than with Beethoven. (However, I make an exception for choral music.) 

For me piano music should get me jumpin’ – to boogie woogie or stride or something by Dr. John. After all I was weened on the pounding piano of Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis. 

Perhaps I was traumatized by the humiliation of playing a simple classical piece in a piano recital at a tender age, for which I was totally unprepared. Or maybe I hold some unconscious general resentment toward piano lessons forced upon me. The latter may explain having set the upright piano that crowded my girlhood bedroom on fire (accidentally). 

In any case, if this be music of the gods, I may have been converted to atheism or maybe I just have a different kind of god. (The C says I sound like a philistine.)

A snowy midweek led to cancellations of gigs I had on my calendar and kept me hunkered down at home. So to make up for it I crammed three shows in on Friday evening (instead of making the trek down to Mankato to see Dylan perform!). 

Janie and the Spokes at Sir Ben’s.

The first stop was to take in Jamie and the Spokes at Sir Ben’s. They played beyond their two-hour time slot, with tunes from their most recent album Eclipse and a few new ones besides. We also got a tease of the band’s most recent incarnation—Shelter From The Storm—which will be performing Dylan covers during May’s Duluth Dylan Fest (Sunday, May 18 through Sunday, May 25 – see duluthdylanfest.com). On this evening we heard “Mama You Been On My Mind” with Garth Anderson joining Janie on vocals.

At the end of this gig, the C and I scurried up to Sacred Heart Music Center to catch the Jillian Rae show. We missed most of Breanne and the Front Porch Sinners, who opened for Rae. But we did get to hear Breanne’s rousing cover of the Cranberries’ tune ”Zombie” complete with trumpet.

The concert’s headliner, Jillian Rae, plays fiddle, acoustic guitar and piano and is backed up by Eric Martin (guitar), Jimmy Esterholtz (bass) and Christian Wheeler (drums). They started off with a real rockin’ number and kept that vibe going throughout the evening. She introduced her new tune, “Last Day of September” and kept the rather small audience attentive for the next hour and a half. This being the first I’ve heard Rae, I wasn’t familiar with any of her original compositions; nevertheless several of us danced joyfully to her music.

Then it was across the bridge to Superior to try and catch Mara Lovejoy celebrating her album release gig at The Main Club. Unfortunately, we totally missed that and instead were blasted by the punk sounds of Sophie Hiroko. That girl can holler! So different from the first time I heard her at SHMC during the “Stepping Up for CHUM” benefit concert back on November 26.

Rik Jam at Bent Paddle.

This week of music ended on a high note for me when I got over to Bent Paddle on Saturday night to enjoy the sounds of Reggae with Jamaican vocalist Rik Jam (Ronaldo Ricketts). He is backed by a four-piece band consisting of Tyrese Brown (electric guitar), Junior Ivey (bass guitar), Phillip McFarlane (keys) and Joel Graham (drums).

They packed the place by 8 pm, but before that, the vocalist Dolwayne Bennet led a 12-song set, which really warmed up the crowd. Though I didn’t understand most of the lyrics by either vocalist, it was clear they were all positive, peace and love-oriented based on the song titles in their 26-song playlists exemplified by: “Heart Clean,” “Push On,” “Life,” “Love Never Lost,” “Beautiful” and “Guide and Protect.”   

Reggae music is appealing to me in that the heavy percussion—both drums and keys—dominates the sound, making it very danceable. Indeed, I noticed that most of the crowd was bopping along to this music. Plus, the vocals and lyrics with their positive messages are central to each number.

What was fascinating at this show, was the “In Dub” (electronic looping) treatment that took the music into a psychedelic sound, with weird quavery notes. Very trippy.

This was only the second stop of Rik Jam and his band’s extensive tour of the U.S. and Europe. Unfortunately, this means they will not be performing at the annual Reggae and World Music Festival at Bayfront Park this summer (Saturday, July 19). So glad I got out to hear them!

UPCOMING: The young men who make up the band Peat Boggs will perform an electric opening set at Caddy Shack on Friday, April 11. The headliner that evening is Lake Effect String Band. And don’t forget that jazz with JAM Duluth continues throughout April (check out jamduluth.com for show dates and times). 

As always, there’s lots of live music on offer throughout the Twin Ports. Get out there and enjoy!