Nestled away from a windy spring night, in the corner of Hudson Yards, the glittering new arts venue The Shed offered New York music lovers a long-awaited chance to catch an in-person live performance. Four-time Grammy winner and renowned soprano Renee Fleming, alongside guitarist Bill Frisell, 7-time Grammy-winning bassist Christian McBride, and pianist/singer Dan Tepfer,ย joined creative forces to treat audiences to a captivating evening concert.
The Shed. New York, NY.
Courtesy Brett Beyer
With a collection of personally curated, moving selections from Flemingโs past, the pieces highlighted each musicianโs individual gifts and flair. From exhilarating piano riffs, jazzy guitar solos, spine-tingling bass melody, and Flemingโs crystal clear, soulful vocals, every layer of the harmony shone bright during its moment in the sun. While this concert stands alone as a sublime performance, its broader significance in โcontributing to a reawakening of our city and bringing us together again in a communal space of creativityโ was resoundingly felt by all in attendance. The selections performed painted a theme of homecoming and struggle, capturing the pain of the pandemic – but more importantly, the spirit of quiet, constant, and strong-willed recovery. This theme was felt even more deeply after learning of the artistsโ struggles without the full experience of their craft, and that it was all of their first live performances in over a year.
A standout piece, Sandy Dennyโs โWho Knows Where the Time Goesโ, hauntingly delivered a story by a tragic artist from another time, yet fit well in todayโs world post-pandemic. Interposed between lively renditions of โA Land of Make Believeโ and the operatic โBarcarolleโ, this piece emerged strikingly moving. Theย concertโs intimate yet lively energy, derived from combining favorites across genres, was felt most strongly during the performance of Joni Mitchellโs widely acclaimed classic, โBoth Sides, Now.โ
Flemingโs personal commentary in between selections to weave the story of the performance together added a personal touch to the show, making it feel more like a close gathering of friends than a formal concert with world-renowned musicians. After a year of virtual performances and attempts to feel connected from hundreds of miles apart, the atmosphere of intimate tenderness that Fleming, Frisell, McBride, and Tepfer created together was the perfect โhomecoming,โ as we welcome the return of live performance in New York City.
As expressed perfectly by The Shedโs Artistic Director Alex Poots, โnothing can replace the collective experience of witnessing live performance, togetherโ and Wednesday nights proved exactly that.
