The Venuti-Chop Challenge

When arranger Geoff Muldaur set off in search of a violinist to play the string parts on his new Futuristic Ensemble CD Private Astronomy: A Vision of the Music of Bix Beiderbecke (Edge/Universal), he knew the part required the services of a very special player, one with the skill of a modern-day Joe Venuti. "One of the things that kept this project on the back burner for so many years was the difficulty of [filling] some of the chairs," says Muldaur, whose acclaimed project includes chamber scores to five rare Beiderbecke piano sketches penned shortly before the legendary jazz-era coronet player succumbed to alcoholism in 1931 at age 28. Muldaur finally found his perfect match in violinist Paul Woodiel (shown at left). "Listen to the way he leads the group through the Adagio section of 'In A Mist.' Listen to the playing on ‘Candlelights.’ Listen how he leads the clarinets on the solo section of 'Singin' the Blues' and the hot duet with [guitarist] Doug Wamble on 'Futuristic'—the man is extraordinary!"

The versatile Woodiel—a protégé of Leonard Bernstein, world-class fiddler, and chamber musician who has worked as concertmaster on several major Broadway productions–is one of the most sought-after freelancers on the New York music scene. "He is not very well known in our circles," says Muldaur, a respected folk/blues guitarist, "but he should be, because he is definitely the top guy I’ve met for the Venuti-chop challenge. I never realized how demanding the Venuti thing was until I hit this project."

The magical part of Muldaur's arrangement, Woodiel says, is evident in the lead violin line of the central passage of "In a Mist," which also reappears at the end of the record as a reprise. "It's so personal and mysterious, that passage, so inward, and melancholic, so unlike the boisterous virtuosity of the 'hot' solos that both Bix and Joe Venuti were known for. It shows a side of the man that must have existed secretly in the context of the wild urban jazz scene of the '20s, after all the energy of the dancing, the nasty prohibition booze, the vice, and depravity of life on the road from city to city. At the end of the day, it's just you and the noise in your head in the hotel room. That's the private astronomy, of course, that Geoff has tapped into."

Woodiel adds, "It's to Geoff's great credit that he chose to include the violin in the chamber texture of his arrangements of the piano pieces. Joe and Bix were, of course, very close friends, and so naturally there’s an obvious logic to that. But it's worth remembering that there was no significant precedent for the violin in the 'hot' realm of jazz prior to Venuti, so he would necessarily have been not just a pioneer, but also something of an anomaly, as was Bix, an oddball kid from Iowa."

As for Woodiel, the Private Astronomy recording project proved to be something of a dream assignment. "I've spent much of my career trying to go where a good violin student shouldn't," he says, "and the featured opportunities on this project were like eating a sort of sweet forbidden candy."

Recently, Woodiel has proved once again that he's the go-to-guy for demanding jobs. In October, he served as concertmaster of the 40-piece Nelson Riddle Orchestra during Sinatra: His Voice, His World, His Way, a weeklong Radio City Music Hall spectacle that used sophisticated projectors and movable screens to create lifelike 3-D images of Frank Sinatra "performing" onstage with jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli to scores arranged by Don Sebesky.

At least Woodiel didn’t have to contend with Sinatra’s legendary get-it-right-in-one-take work ethic.

—Greg Cahill

Home Sweet Home

University of Saskatchewan president Peter MacKinnon (shown above with the Amati Quartet) has announced the appointment of four musicians as the institution's Amati Quartet in Residence. The new quartet—Marla Cole and Michael Swan on violin, Geoff Cole on viola, and Linda Bardutz on cello—will perform on a rare collection of Amati instruments first gathered in the 1950s by homesteader Stephen Kolbinson and sold to the university in 1959. "Creation of the Amati Quartet in Residence is a tribute to the spirit and vision of my grandfather . . . and of all who have supported such an initiative over the years," says Lorraine Omness, president of the Amati Society and granddaughter of the late Kolbinson.

The Homecoming

The Royal Academy of Music in London allowed some noteworthy instruments from its collection to return to Cremona in October for a temporary exhibition. The instruments–including seven Strads—were on display as part at the 10th Triennial Competition of Instrument Making. Those included a 1662 violin by Nicolò Amati, a 1671 violin by Gerolamo Amati II, the 1699 "Kunstendyke" Stradivari violin, the 1699 "Crespi" Stradivari violin, the 1718 "Maurin" Stradivari violin, the 1727 Omobono Stradivari violin, the 1734 "Habeneck" Stradivari violin, the 1620 "Tenor" Amati viola, the 1696 "Archinto" Stradivari viola, the 1692 Guarneri filius Andrea cello, and the 1727 "Marquis de Corberon" Stradivari cello. John Rutson (1829–1906) had donated several of the instruments to the Academy. At the Triennial, the Royal Academy Soloists, conducted by Clio Gould, played the rare instruments at a concert held at Teatro Ponchielli in Cremona. The program included music by Warlock, Bach, Woolrich, Grieg, and Shostakovitch.

—Patricia Kaden

Goodwill Tour

Fourteen years after its last road trip, to neighboring Jordan in 1992, the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra once again is going on tour. At press time, the ensemble was scheduled to join the (U.S.) National Symphony Orchestra on December 9 at a joint concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. Michael M. Kaiser, the center's president and a cultural ambassador for the Department of State, made the announcement in late September shortly after returning from a three-day visit to Baghdad. While in Iraq, Kaiser attended two private performances by the orchestra’s chamber-music ensemble and the full orchestra. A pair of machine-gun placements guarded the makeshift concert hall. Kaiser has described the experience as "surreal."

At the Kennedy Center, the Iraqi orchestra will perform with National Symphony Orchestra music director Leonard Slatkin and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. "I believe the people of Iraq deserve a thriving arts community. The arts organizations and artists in Iraq will require a plan for future development. I hope these first conversations set the stage for an ongoing dialogue with Iraqi arts groups," says Kaiser.

The Iraqi National Symphony has weathered its share of hardship. According to a BBC report, conductor Abdel Razzak Al-Azzawi lost two children in an Iranian missile attack in 1995. Hashim Sharaf, the symphony's director, lost a finger in the recent war and several colleagues who fled Baghdad during the coalition bombing have failed to return.

Last June, the 55-member semiprofessional orchestra brought tears to an audience when it reemerged at Baghdad’s convention center playing the patriotic song "My Nation," which predated Saddam Hussein's rule and had been banned. Al-Azzawi has said the song is an affirmation of independence and pride. It was scheduled to be on the December 9 program.