THE RITE OF STRINGS--Friday, 10-23-04

[RainyDay]

Stanley Clarke, Al Di Meola and Jean-Luc Ponty appeared at San Francisco’s Masonic Hall for an hour and 45 minutes in what was a genuine love fest between artists and their adoring audience.

The two words that spring to mind in describing this concert are extraordinary virtuosity. The overarching theme was exquisite musicianship and incomparable music. I have been a fan of Al Di Meola for decades and had never seen him live. I would be dishonest to state that he was the driving force behind my attendance at Friday’s show. Di Meola is one of the few artists who can have me doing a Wayne and Garth version of “I’m not worthy! I’m not worthy!” I had seen Stanley Clarke back when we both were basically kids and I’d never seen Jean-Luc Ponty. The show was everything and a slice of chocolate mousse cake.

The set opened with the artists walking out on stage to a standing ovation--That went on for a quite a while--And on and on…At one point, Clarke made upward motions with his hands to encourage more applause. They took their seats and began with “Indigo.” Di Meola plays a guitar that is capable of mimicking various sounds, a synth guitar, if you will. I’ve read more, accurate and technical explanations of this guitar and what it does, but on Friday night, not knowing what I was hearing, I kept looking around for the guy on synthesizer who surely was lurking someone in the shadows. But It was all Di Meola and what a sound. He switched back and forth form the synth-guitar to an acoustic but the synth sounds add a touch of magic to the music.

After “Indigo” Clarke introduced “Song for John” after wild applause for “Indigo.” "Song for John” has a lovely interweaving of sounds evocative of South America. Ponty’s violin work was lovely. I noted during this song that Di Meola plays the strings inside you, because it describes the feeling I get when I hear him play. They had a lot of fun with this song, conducting short bursts of chatter between instruments while giggling at each other. Another notation about this song was “what a tribute to Coltrane.”

Next came the solos. Each artist did three solo songs and this is where the incredible virtuosity of each musician held up. Clarke introduced the solos by comparing it to stand up comedy. He said not every artist could pull off solos because “it’s just you up there on the stage.” There was some playful banter about the elections and when he asked who was supporting whom, the roar for Kerry was deafening. This was San Francisco, after all. This was not your typical SF crowd, either. There were many folks in jeans and lots of calling out and shouting from the audience. I sat in the middle of a group of five teens who couldn’t sit still before the concert started and were completely enthralled during the set, exchanging comments and excited looks. On the other side of me was the typical SF couple, little applause, completely silent. Not a judgment but certainly an interesting mix of the symphony crowd and the diehards. After “Indigo,” Clarke said how much he liked coming to SF because people “just call out. I like that.”

Di Meola kicked off the solos with a song I assumed was new because he was reading music for it all the way through. It was not the fiery solo you might expect from him. It was studied and beautiful. The next two solos were old friends because he played them from memory and had fun playing the songs, and playing with them.

Ponty was next and just blew the crowd away with his solos. In his second song, he mixed classical with jazz, borrowing what sounded like stray riffs from the “Four Seasons.” He played one song entirely by plucking the strings and playing the violin like it was a guitar. Ponty was magnificent.

Clarke rounded out the solos attacking the bass with a set of songs that showed off his slapping, plucking style that drew shouts of ecstasy from the crowd. At one point I thought, how does he do that?

Each artist got a standing ovation after his solo. At the end of all the solos, the musicians were treated to one long, standing ovation that threatened to stop the show. One man brought his electric bass down to the stage for Clarke to sign. The artists stepped to the edge of stage and shook hands before taking their seats. Clearly moved by the reception. Di Meola said “This is the warmest welcome we’ve had in a very long time.” It may have been at this point that De Meola gave some grateful fan his guitar pic.

They closed the set with “Renaissance,” Clarke referring to it as Ponty’s signature piece. They played the song like old friends. When they were finished, people again leapt to their feet. The musicians walked around the edge of the stage shaking hands and waving. After they left the stage, the crowd went for the encore and they were rewarded with a sizzling version of “School Days.” As they stood for their final bow, they crowd wouldn’t stop applauding. All three musicians strolled around the edge of the stage shaking hands and signing autographs, and even exchanging pleasantries with fans. More fans came to the stage to get closer. It was quite a touching moment for the audience and the artists.

Great music, amazing musicianship, good guys, wonderful evening.