CMDetroit's CameraMusic Presents Live-Stream Concert By Jazz Pianist Aaron Diehl

In response to the coronavirus epidemic that has led to the cancellation of several if its spring concerts, the Chamber Music Society of Detroit has launched CameraMusic, a series free live-streamed concerts aimed at engaging audiences and employing artists.

The next CameraMusic live-stream features pianist Aaron Diehl on Friday, May 1 at 8:00 PM EDT, co-presented by the University of Chicago Presents and the Des Moines Civic Music Association. The performance will be streamed to the Chamber Music Society of Detroit's website, and may also be viewed on YouTube and Facebook.

Diehl's May 1 program features a mix of ragtime, show tunes, light classics and early jazz piano solos by Harlem Stride masters James P. Johnson, "Fats" Waller and Willie "the Lion" Smith.

Harlem Stride, with its characteristic "striding" oom-pah left hand, became the rage in 1920's New York as the ragtime of Scott Joplin and his contemporaries was transformed into jazz with a new improvisatory freedom, swinging, energized rhythms and virtuoso pianism. Stride became the foundation for subsequent generations of jazz pianists from Art Tatum and Earl Hines to Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Thelonious Monk and beyond. Aaron Diehl connects this history to the present day and gives listeners a taste of what audiences might have enjoyed at clubs, concert halls, and at home "rent parties" in the 1920's and 1930's.

Program:

Eubie Blake: Charleston Rag

Thomas "Fats" Waller: African Ripples

Scott Joplin: Solace, A Mexican Serenade

Edvard Grieg: Anitra's Dance, from Peer Gynt

Massenet: Elégie

Willie "the Lion" Smith: Fading Star

George Gershwin: 'S Wonderful

James P. Johnson: Carolina Shout

Thirty-four-year-old classically trained pianist and composer Aaron Diehl has made an indelible mark on the jazz world over the last 15 years. While showing a rare affinity for early jazz and mid-20th-century "third-stream" music, he has also performed George Gershwin's piano and orchestra works to critical acclaim with the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Minnesota Orchestra.

Diehl has collaborated with living masters ranging from jazz greats Wynton Marsalis and Benny Golson to 20th-century classical titan Philip Glass. In addition to touring world-wide with his trio and as a soloist, he has established himself as one of the preeminent interpreters of the Great American Songbook as pianist, musical director and arranger for the remarkable vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant.

"Musica da camera" (translated as "chamber music" from the Italian) takes on a new meaning during the COVID-19 crisis, as musicians everywhere find themselves isolated and unable to perform for live audiences. CameraMusic is the Chamber Music Society of Detroit's answer to this, inviting artists to perform live on camera over the internet from wherever they are. All artists performing on CameraMusic are being compensated for their work. An archive of CameraMusic webcasts is available at: https://www.chambermusicdetroit.org/cameramusic-archive.

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