Sunday, December 13, 2009

Jenny Scheinman at Center Arts

Brother Dan and I and Ronite saw Jenny Scheinman play at the Van Duzer Theater last night. We did some tabling for next month's Myra Melford show in the lobby.

The show was sweet. First half was Myra accompanying Jenny, on harmonium and at the piano. The crowd loved them both. Myra makes everything, and I mean everything, all that more interesting with an inevitable hint of dissonance. She's amazing. During the second half, at the end of the show, when she came out to play two songs with the country Jenny, I thought she sounded like Monk playing barrel house.

Jenny's singing is a lot like her playing. Quirky, romantic, funny, packed-with-feeling. On several of the jazz duets the interaction between the two players got very hot and intense, evoking applauding interruptions from the audience. Quite a few citizens of Petrolia in the house, so there were frequent Humboldt war hoops too.

I got a moment to talk to Jenny and her Mom before the show. I told her we would love to have her come play for the RJA and she said "Yes!"

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