|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Recital: Eddie Severn, Trumpet Jim Donaldson, Reporter
Severn’s first piece was a Kenny Wheeler composition, played on flugelhorn. Severn plays the flugel throughout the entire trumpet register, making periodic squeals and forays off the staff into the higher range, however his tone on the flugel is open and pure, matching perfectly Wheeler’s melody of connected long tones. Long Time No C, by Severn’s friend and frequent collaborator, Mario Lima Caribe, a Brazilian living and playing in Scotland, featured Severn on harmon-muted trumpet. The volume was soft and the playing clean, drawing the audience into the piece to hear and to respond to every nuance. Severn finally opened the bell to play his third Prior to Severn’s concluding number, a blues piece by Ulhur, Severn invited Ingrid Jensen and Pat Harbison onto the stage. As on the afternoon before, the presence of others raised the level of the playing, with each player adding to the cascading trumpet lines building the excitement. The concert, immensely satisfying, was a perfect change of pace after three days of wandering through the exhibit halls. |
Duddingston Loch.................................. Brian Kellock Lost World...................................................... Eddie Severn Samba Some Days........................................ Haftor Medboe Long Time No C.......................................... Mario Lima Caribe From Hearts to Hearts..................................... Frantisek Ulhur Wheeler Dealer................................................ Eddie Severn |
|
selection, the standard Speak Low. While gaining some of the drive and aggressiveness not present in the flugel or muted trumpet, Severn maintained the shimmering purity making the concert a joy to experience. Duddingston Loch, a composition by Brian Kellock, returned to flugelhorn. The composition was reminiscent of Kenny Wheeler’s compositions with its open voicing and uncluttered line. The tune was written as part of 
a government grant as a tribute to Edinburgh, its physical surroundings and spirit. Kellock’s tune is a pastoral appreciation of a local lake. The players conveyed the serenity of such a location through their introspective playing. A ballad Severn dedicated to his wife, whom he met at the ITG Conference in 1999 in Richmond followed. The selection, written by Czech pianist Frantisek Ulhur and called From Hearts to Hearts, was played by Severn on flugelhorn, directing each note to his wife sitting in the first row of the hall.