Kassaba
Zones

How many (music) quartets can you name that feature two pianos, saxophones and bass, plus some 20 or so small percussion instruments? Stumped?

An abundance of musical energy from various genres and textures and countries happily came together in Cleveland when Candice Lee, a piano student at CIM preparing to accompany a violinist, decided she needed a page turner for the music, and "out of a clear blue sky, she asked me!" The wonder of it all is still apparent in those words by Greg Slawson, at the time a fellow piano student at CIM, and founder of the above-described quartet, Kassaba.

Greg had little choice but to become a musician. After all, how many young mothers-to-be play their senior recital while pregnant? Greg's mom, one of Cleveland's premier pianists is Anita Pontremoli, now head of the Collaborative Piano Department at the Cleveland Institute of Music. His aunt, Terri Pontremoli, is a gifted violinist who performed with her sister as the Duo Pontremoli, but now her 'day' job is Managing Director of the Tri-C JazzFest. Greg's step-father, Larry Angell, was formerly principal bass of The Cleveland Orchestra, so between piano and piano/bass duets at home (plus other assorted combos here and there) and the Orchestra nearly every week, it would have been exceedingly difficult for Greg to have found another path.

It all came easily for him, though, so he stayed with the music. Now, he's glad he did. Besides the pleasure it provides, it brought him Candice, and now, the quartet for which he'd been writing music before the group was even born. He wasn't exactly sure what he was writing or why, he just wrote because he wanted to. They both did the usual gigs: church services on both piano and organ, rock bands, weddings, local shows and classical concerts, gathering experience as they performed. For a time, Greg and Candice even performed as a piano duo.

As satisfying as all that was, there was still something missing. Turns out the missing link was Kassaba. (Note: the cabasa is a percussion instrument, Kassaba was a town in ancient Asia Minor, now lost.) The word itself resonated with Candice as exotic. Cryptic. Greg's interest in words along with intrigue and mystery are now apparent to the rest of us, with the release of the first CD from the quartet — Zones. One could almost use those words to describe his music, which is indeed exotic and cryptic and joyous and happy and eminently listenable. A glance at the back cover of the CD only adds to the mystery—what do these titles mean, anyway? Turns out, not too much in some instances. Just Greg's playfulness coming from another direction.

"Some of the titles are reflective of the music, but some are not. They just appeared, and I liked them," he says. "I really didn't want a lot of 'untitled' pieces, because what I write is music. Sometimes a word or phrase just clicks, and I can attach it to a piece already written, or I hang on to it, and eventually find a place for it."

Even if all the pieces on the new CD were all called Untitled they'd still be easily identifiable because of their individuality. The quartet performs so well together because of their versatility. While Greg is the composer of all nine pieces, which are an interesting blend of classical and jazz, the virtuosity of the four players is mind-boggling. Greg and Candice both play the piano—sometimes separately, sometimes not—and all the various percussion instruments, as well. Bassist Eric Hosemann, also a graduate of CIM, participates with the percussion as does (soprano, alto and tenor) saxophonist Mark Boich, whose degree is from Berklee College of Music in Boston.

The first cut on the CD, Gomanis, was actually the most recently written of the bunch. Seems 'Gomanis' is the nickname of Greg's cat, and the music was inspired by the feline's unusual method of waking up the humans in her house: a paw is inserted under the rug and then fluttered up and down, rapidly. The music flutters up and down, as well, with rapid runs and piquant percussion accompaniment.

Should I use my shirt? is a mid-way composition for which the title actually preceeded the music by about six years. Greg readily admits to being 'fastidious' and this made a major impression on one of his students. A shiny black, cordless telephone in his studio was very susceptible to fingerprints, which Greg would immediately remove, usually by using his shirt to wipe it clean. One day the student asked to use the phone, but before touching it, asked his teacher, 'Should I use my shirt?' The phrase stuck, and when the music appeared, there was the unconnected, unrelated title, ready and waiting. While the piano (Greg) has the larger part here, the bass also takes center stage, with both plucked and bowed melodies.

Greg's fastidiousness has earned him the nickname of 'colonel,' and if you know anything about lawns, you'll know that 'fescue' is a variety of lawn grass. When Greg and Candice moved into their home a few years ago, it was 'neat and immaculate' (according to Greg) as was the lawn. Fescue needs shade, however, and the summer of 2002 was a sunny one, rendering the lawn to a burnt condition. Greg's constant inspections earned him another nickname: 'lord of the grass'. Here he is, then, as Colonel Fescue, thundering and dancing in the music, asking for rain.

Saguaro Fruit owes its existence to 'Reading Rainbow' on public television. A program about the huge Saguaro cactus of the American Southwest, detailing the variety of functions it serves—feeding, and hosting all manner of desert life, made an impression on the composer. Here is a desert evening in music, little creatures scuttling here and there in the sand, climbing the great cactus, chattering. This desert even has a faint ocean breeze. Listen for it.

123.5 is a short homage to Candice, who established her ideal weight as 123½ pounds—and achieved it!

Center Court has no connection to the music to which it is attached: it's merely an alliterative phrase that captured Greg's attention. This piece is the earliest written one on the CD, and while it is clearly the work of the same composer as the others, it is still very different. It is the closest to the traditional jazz trio formulation: piano, sax and bass. Smooth, in other words.

Being a creative artist—composer, writer, painter—is to be slightly schizophrenic. The artist hears and/or sees things that others cannot, and is charged with the task of trying to make these 'things' clear to others, some of whom will never be able to comprehend the art. The piano and bass swirl together in schizophrenic textures, according to the pianist-composer in The Swirl. "It's representative of how I think when I compose. Trying to write what I heard..."

Plainsong, on the other hand, is just that. A plain, plaintive song featuring just Greg and Candice, in the second-oldest selection.

Back to the lawn, again, sort of—for the final cut, Zones of Mystery. Actually, it harks back to the formation of the group, beginning as just the two of them: Greg and Candice, duo-pianists. But then, Greg began to write, and Plainsong evolved as part of their concert repertoire. Another evolution added the myriad textures of saxophone, bass and percussion to the piano and changed the direction of the group. Add in the house and yard, and the equation changed yet again. Yet, it pleased the 'Colonel' that the yard had no overgrowth anywhere. No zones of mystery to be solved. Only the music.

Perhaps the music can't or shouldn't be solved. A little mystery is sometimes a very good thing. Zones is ravishing in its variety, enjoyable on any or every level, and somehow, the virtuosity of the players makes the music seem improvisatory rather than constructed. It has a lightness of spirit, amply demonstrating effervescence, joy and spontaneity.

Recorded by Bruce Gigax at his Audio Recording Studios in Cleveland, the clarity is astonishing, proving once again that Cleveland is second to none in this area. I was especially enraptured by the piano — a Steinway 'C' grand, according to Greg. He oughta know. I'd love to hear more of it.

Oh, yes. You were promised another short quiz. This one is easier. Where can you acquire your very own copy of Zones? Or find out more about this intriguing group of young musicians at http://www.kassaba.com

from Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz ArtsWriter@adelphia.net (:divend:)