The set of five Divertimenti for Solo Violin make an impressive collection, although I would suggest that they are wrongly titled. They are all large enough and serious enough as works of art to be considered as Solo Violin Sonatas and should be approached in that light. They are magnificently written for the instrument and very varied in expression and are superbly played by Eric Bates, another member of the Cincinnati Symphony, as well as being splendidly recorded. This CD is well worth seeking out and is comprehensively recommended.

Robert Matthew-Walker
Musical Opinion Magazine

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Dated 1995 further explores the relationship between poetry and music. A long solo bass introduction begins peacefully before gathering pace, volume and rhythmic intensity. The exclamation 'MINGUS!', heralds a more theatrical approach to that of Ode to a Giant. Chenault portrays Mingus as 'the blue bearded demigod of lust' playing in 'the underworld cafe': a creature not wholly of this world but mythic, 'a boogie man god'. Like Prometheus he has stolen the fire of heaven, 'composed and conducted it in wood and metal', arming humanity with his music.

Repeated enunciations of 'Mingus' alongside a dissonant motif divide poetic episodes, highlighting a structural progression discernible at first hearing. Proto's walking bass lines in arco ponticello counterpoint Chenault's stark imagery: 'bass lines sharp as needles . . . that pop skin and leave bloody tracks on veins'. Religious imagery continues this idea of suffering torment for art: 'Must God be Mingus'.

An aggressive pizzicato walking bass accompanies verbal riffing on nursery rhymes until, over bluesy false harmonics, Chenault nears a conclusion: 'Mingus . . . Your are the fable, the fairy tale, the myth of eternity. . .' As the music calms, Mingus' every note and gesture achieves the permanence of 'pyramids, obelisks, avenues of sphinxes . . .' Quieter still, while 'death in a porkpie hat strolls through the door . . . just in time for the last set . . .'. Proto's bass, alone again, manages one last defiant Mingus tag.

Proto and Chenault have created moving tributes to two revered musical figures while articulately and passionately reappraising the significance of jazz. Proto concentrates on musical rather than technical challenges, and deftly removes the arbitrary boundaries between jazz and classical.

Chenault also draws influences from a wide cultural spectrum, ranging from classical Greece to Yoruba folklore. His individual, rhythmic poetic language virtuosically complements Proto's music. In challenging the reader/listener to embrace his own reverential view of jazz he does occasionally rouse himself to hyperbole, but delivers the potential for exciting, dramatic live performance.

Structural landmarks guide the listener, strengthening the narrative, but it is asking too much of any audience to expect them to understand every layer of meaning, every social and historical reference and every play on words and music, in one live performance. The quality of work on offer here deserves and requires revisiting.

Iain Crawford
Double Bassist

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Frank Proto
Mingus, Live in the Underworld
for Double Bass and Narrator
Text by John Chenault

Works that include the spoken word can enliven any program and provide the audience with additional expressive experiences. In Mingus, Live in the Underworld, John Chenault has contributed a vivid, dramatic, and descriptive text that is the perfect compliment to Frank Proto's music. The moderately difficult bass part is infused with spiky dissonances, walking lines, and timbral variety. The combination makes for an unusual and dramatic work that effectively captures the spirit of Charles Mingus and his music. Either an orchestra or solo tuned bass part is accompanied by a separate text part for the narrator.

Robert Black
Bass World

Back to Special Presentation

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The Merling Trio could certainly have picked a less crowded field to enter into with its third CD outing and first for Centaur, Music of Astor Piazolla and Frank Proto. Argentine composer Astor Piazolla is one of the most recorded figures among classical composers born after 1920, and although a lot of that attention has only come in the early 2000s, it has resulted in a considerable number of recordings. Nonetheless, these are some outstanding interpretations of Piazolla, and the Merling Trio should be credited with taking into the studio something it does well, rather than trying to prepare another thing for purposes of recording that's not fully baked.

However, the real focus of this release should be placed on the excellent Quartet for piano and strings of Frank Proto, who has long been regarded as perhaps the finest composer belonging to Cincinnati, OH, since Gunther Schuller was in town, but remains little known outside of the former "Queen City." In this latter work, the Merling Trio is joined by string bassist Tom Knific, resulting in the seldom, if ever, used chamber combination of violin, cello, piano, and string bass. Knific is able to switch out of the typically bowed role of the string bass in chamber music to the pizzicato voicing that we know from jazz, and this piece as a whole represents a highly successful -- one hastens to use this word -- fusion of jazz and Western Expressionism. In this sense, it does vaguely resemble a work of Schuller's, Conversation, written for the Modern Jazz Quartet and the Beaux Arts String Quartet back in the '50s, but with two huge differences. The two ensembles, and styles, are pitted directly against one another in Schuller's work, whereas Proto achieves the same sense of duality with one, and Proto also manages to attain a seamless and fluid combination of jazz and expressionist scoring, whereas Schuller, in 1958, is satisfied after achieving a mixture that's roughly oil and water. It is also worth mentioning that the last movement evokes a little of "Sweet Georgia Brown" in the final send-off, so what's not to like about that?

The Merling Trio is based out of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. This disc was recorded on campus at the university's Dalton Center, and the recording is a cut well above the usual out-of-house production that Centaur incorporates into its release schedule from time to time. Music of Astor Piazolla and Frank Proto is a fun disc and will prove rewarding to listeners who are looking for something different, but comprehensible within the means of most tastes.

David Lewis
AllMusic (online)

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Catalog Information

Frank Proto: Quartet for Piano and Strings
The Merling Trio with bassist Tom Knific
European Premiere: London, June 10, 2003

With its eclectic melange of jazz influences within a classical three-movement format, Frank Proto's zestful Quartet for Piano and Strings, which unusually includes double bass, made a powerful impression at its European premiere at St John's, Smith Square, on 10 June. The Quartet formed the centrepiece of the UK debut programme by the Merling Trio, currently in residence at Western Michigan University.

After a rather avant-garde slow introduction, the opening movement develops into a blues pattern for the trio which frames a swinging improvisation by the bassist Tom Knific, a well-known jazz and classical player, echoed by a propulsive piano solo from Susan Wiersma Uchimura.

The serious heart of the piece is the slow movement, launched in a lyrical duet for violinist Renata Artman Knific and cellist Bruce Uchimura, with the ethereal, almost atonal jazz harmony underpinned by an intriguing microtonal slide and pizzicato double-bass ostinato which evolves into a solo answered by the piano.

If the rumbustious finale, with its rapid references to John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davies, skilfully exemplified the vibrant, often witty, combination of expressive gesture with improvisational jazz elements characteristic of many current crossover idioms, the work as a whole made a compelling case for Frank Proto's distinctive style, which deserves far greater exposure in Britain.

Malcolm Miller
Musical Opinion Magazine

Catalog Information

Frank Proto: Quartet for Piano and Strings
The Merling Trio with bassist Tom Knific
Centaur Records CRC 2763

This disc features the world premiere recording of Frank Proto's Quartet for Piano and Strings (which was commissioned by the Merling Trio and premiered by them in London in 2003) together with five works for piano trio by Astor Piazzolla.

In the liner notes for his piano quartet Proto gives a thorough explanation of the work and its origins, describing it as a "piece for both players and listeners to have a good time with." Like so many of Proto's works it is hard to pigeon-hole, but those familiar with his other chamber music will instantly recognize his signature in much of the writing. There are a host of styles intermingled (Latin, funk, blues, various dances, etc.) and Knific and the Merling Trio give a striking and definitive account of the work. Like Proto's other chamber compositions he writes idiomatically for all the instruments, the parts can be exceptionally tricky but they really work. It also helps to have a bass player with world-class jazz chops like Knific play those improvised solos!

Overall I think Proto has struck greater depths in the writing here - the languid opening of the third movement is really beautiful and the ensemble climaxes are wonderfully paced. This is an exciting and entertaining work and will no doubt be very popular. It's certainly a really great way to conclude an excellent CD!

Robert Narin
Bass World

Catalog Information


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