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The Izzy Asper Jazz Performances takes the stage at the Desautels Concert Hall this weekend to present an ensemble with a wide-ranging musical language.
Grammy-nominated clarinetist and saxophonist Anat Cohen will be performing alongside her Quartetinho, which consists of keyboardist Vitor Gonçalves, guitarist Tal Masiach, and percussionist James Shipp. They’ll be performing selections off of their most recent album Bloom, which blends everything Israeli folk music to reimaginations of music by Thelonious Monk.
“They are excellent jazz musicians, but they often also kind of venture into jazz as it’s expressed in other cultures,” explained Charlene Diehl, the producer of the Izzy Asper Jazz Performances, noting that this eclectic mix of influences is perfect for the series’ boutique offerings throughout the year.
The name “quartetinho” is a Portuguese term meaning “little quartet”, and it encapsulates the group’s nature of playing multiple instruments throughout the concert. They use these instruments to add their own personal touches to well-loved folk numbers and jazz standards.
“One of the things that I think is so exciting about jazz as a form is that it is always navigating between the structures and the history,” says Diehl, “because this music all happens on a very strong base of shared awareness of a history: where does this music come from, how did the song structures work.”
Diehl also highlighted the leadership quality of every member of the Quartetinho, who each contributed their own original contributions to their new record. “It’s quite an egalitarian structure,” she observes, “but then, you all have to be able to hustle like crazy because you can’t have dead wood in there.”
Another quality that Diehl believes will enthrall Winnipeg audiences is the multiculturalism of the Quartetinho’s program. “This band really exemplifies it because of people [who] come from different cultures, and they’ve lived in different places, but that kind of appetite for what do songs sound like if they come from this place or that place.”
Audiences can experience the versatile nature of the Anat Cohen Quartetinho on March 22 at 8 p.m. at the Desautels Concert Hall. For tickets and more information, visit the Izzy Asper Jazz Performances website.