Arts & Entertainment A weekly guide to music, theater, art, movies and more, edited by Rebecca Wallace
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As sung in the 1944 musical “On the Town,� the Leonard Bernstein song “Some Other Time� was a wistful ballad. Three American sailors had just had momentous shore leaves with three pretty girls, and now they were headed back to war. On a recent evening, when “Some Other Time� is played on piano and bass in a Palo Alto house, it’s a jazzy lullaby with hints of Chopin. Never one to be limited by genre, the veteran pianist Valerie Capers has crafted an arrangement with both rich, lulling bass patterns and delicate filigree high up on the keyboard. With Capers on piano and longtime collaborator John Robinson on an electric bass plugged into a small amp, the song croons, pitter-pats and moves. Robinson’s head bows as his big hands skate up and down the neck of the bass. Capers’ motions are easy and smooth. Dynamic changes seem effortless, with the unspoken communication that comes from playing together for 35 years. “Mesmerizing,� fellow musician Josephine Gandolfi says when the song ends. Everyone is gathered together at former Palo Alto councilwoman LaDoris Cordell’s house for an excited reunion. Conversations buzz; favorite pieces of music swish out of folders; reminiscences and laughter pop. Capers and Robinson are in town from New York City again for an annual concert that has become a tradition: a performance that highlights the music of African-American composers, some contemporary
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New York jazz musicians spotlighted at annual concert featuring black composers
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Top: Valerie Capers’ hands on the piano keys are reflected in her glasses as she plays. Above: John Robinson on bass and Capers on piano are all concentration. Right: LaDoris Cordell will join the New York musicians on stage at the Jan. 27 concert, singing and playing piano. ĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?Âœ Â?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°VÂœÂ“ĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠ Â?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠĂŠ >Â˜Ă•>ÀÞÊÓx]ÊÓä£ÎÊU Page 23