The Revolution Orchestra hits musical Main Street

Whatever your musical proclivities, you could never accuse the Revolution Orchestra of standing still for too long. For the past 20 years, the ensemble has been pumping out shows, of all cultural and stylistic ilks, at a rapid rate. Just last month the outfit thrilled the Israeli Opera House crowd in Tel Aviv with a stirring fun trip into the idiosyncratic comically iconoclastic – visual and sonic – realms of Monty Python.

Next up, a very different venture, proffering a typically expansively crafted take on the work of George Gershwin.

One of the iconic figures of 20th-century music, Gershwin was around at the inception of what became the Great American Songbook, with numbers like “Strike Up The Band,” and the iconic “Summertime” on the roster of timeless works that have been performed and recorded by hundreds of major artists in jazz, Broadway theater and plenty of other areas of musical endeavor.

In fact, Gershwin – The Revolution Version has been in a state of suspended animation for a while. “We did the show back in July, at the end of our previous season,” explains the orchestra’s co-founder, house composer, arranger, and pianist Zohar Sharon.

Like many other artistic and cultural activities, it was put on hold in the wake of October 7. The dust covers finally came off the production earlier this week when Sharon, conductor and ensemble cofounder Roy Oppenheim and the instrumentalists joined forces with a triad of leading musicians, who spread their gifts and skills across wide swathes of creative domains. The next rendition is set for the Haifa Auditorium on March 25 at 8:30 p.m.

The show is described as “a celebration in three acts of Gershwin’s works,” with the three soloists including guitarist-vocalist Jonathan Albalak, cellist-vocalist Maya Belsitzman and pianist-vocalist Guy Mintus. All three have been on the scene for a while, and have gained a reputation for delivering definitively entertaining goods along with fine musicianship.

THAT SUITS Sharon et al down to the ground, and fits the Gershwin bill, too. “We call this ‘Gershwin in three acts’ because we asked each of the artists to choose a work by Gershwin and to devise fantasy around it.” That sounds like a carte blanche-leaning approach to the show.

Considering the tried and tested track records of Albalak, Belsitzman and Mintus, Sharon was on safe ground in letting the protagonist threesome carve their own pathways to conveying their individual readings of the composer’s material.

“Yonatan [Albalak] chose a suite from [Gershwin opera] Porgy and Bess, called ‘Catfish Row.’” Sharon said. “He took a few songs from that, and also took things from an outstanding record by [legendary jazz trumpeter] Miles Davis and [iconic arranger] Gil Evans.” The eponymous Davis-Evans release came out in 1959.

Albalak went with the Gershwin and Davisesque sentiments and ran with them. Stately musical points of reference notwithstanding, the guitarist was determined to leave his singular stamp on the proceedings. “There are loads of topics, and lots of hits in there,” he notes, saying “I wanted to make it my own.”

That included his appreciation of the vocals. “I sing some of the songs, like ‘I Loves You Porgy’ and ‘A Woman Is A Sometime Thing.’ And I do some instrumental versions, like ‘Bess You Is My Woman Now.’ I took some things from the Miles Davis and Gil Evans record. There’s ‘Gone and Prayer (Oh Doctor Jesus).’ They are very powerful pieces.”

Basically, the soloists were spoiled for choice. When you are setting out to reimagine a yesteryear work, it can help to have quality raw material that is so robust that it can be twisted this way and that, and still come out not only familiar, but also refreshed and appropriate for contemporary musical mores – without losing sight of the original score.

Albalak says that it was not just a matter of extraction, mixing and matching: “I went for everything and anything relating to the suite; I broke it down and reconstructed it.”

Organizing a run-up show wasn't an easy task

THERE WERE some trying logistics in the run-up to the show. “A lot of material came out of that,” Albalak advises. “There are around 10-15 topics in the suite and I had to reduce it to seven or eight. That’s a lot to get in in 20 minutes.”

It may be something of a squeeze, but each of the soloists will bring their musical and creative baggage to the concert fray, both in their individual slots and when they join forces in the finale. It will, says Sharon, be much more of the sum of the gifted separate parts.

“Yonatan and Maya add sound effects,” the orchestra leader says. “Maya will play like an electric guitarist, with delays and that sort of thing. And then she plays and sings “I Got Rhythm.” It is very impressive. She plays the cello like sort of walking bass lines – like a jazz bassist.”

Both Belsitzman and Albalak spread their talents across numerous genre and stylistic fields, taking in rock, pop and jazz, as well as more classically-leaning areas. And then there is Mintus, who has gained a reputation for 1,000-watt performances that seamlessly marry symphonic, operatic, jazz, rock, pop and other sounds and sensibilities. “Guy is the sparkle man,” Albalak laughs. “He brings so much energy to his shows – he is so lively.”

Sharon also digs the effervescent Mintus line of attack. “We get around 45 minutes into the show and then Guy comes along with his fireworks. The piano then takes over center stage.” That also places Sharon in an unfamiliar predicament and sends him into vicarious sonic directions. “If Guy is in the middle on piano, what does Zohar Sharon do?” he chuckles. “I thought Guy could put together a percussive role for me, on cymbal or something. I didn’t feel like leaving the stage,” he jokes.

In the end, Sharon needn’t have worried about being superfluous to orchestral requirements. “He gave me a challenging role for someone who is not used to playing percussion. I have a great time with that.”

It is a fair bet that the Haifa crowd, and ticket buyers of future performances of the Gershwin program – Sharon says there are more in the pipeline – will also have fun, as the Revolution gang plus illustrious guests go about refashioning sumptuous melodic works by one of America’s greatest composers.

For tickets and more information: www.rev-orch.com