The Michael Carabello Duo
Summer Concert Series
Connecticut Old State House
Hartford
The music of Michael Carabello will haunt me until I write this article.
I was at a jazz festival on Aug. 29. I wasn’t there for work for a change, instead hanging with a friend. As the music began, the first sound I heard was the keyboard.
I was transported back a week to the Old State House, on a Friday when Carabello and drummer Evan Woods lit up downtown Hartford. In fact, I said to myself, “This guy sounds a lot like ...”
“... Michael Carabello on keyboard!” the band leader announced over the PA system, finishing my thought.
As I said, his music has been haunting me since last Friday. Carabello’s Aug. 21 set is hands down my favorite performance I’ve seen at the Old State House, and my favorite jazz performance as well. Carabello and Evans performed only a four-song set (plus a bonus fifth song at the end, Floetry’s "Say Yes," an all-time favorite). That allowed them to turn each song into a 15-minute musical adventure.
The duo began each song with a simple musical phrase, eight or nine notes. They proceeded to explore that motif inside out, upside down, left and right and before and after and every other way there is to twist, bend, chop and screw a musical idea. It was like listening to a flower blossom, a simple bulb exploding out in exciting shapes and colors.
Carabello is a magician on the keyboard. It’s not simply the virtuosic nature of his play. It’s his use of different sounds at the right times; the way he, as my brother would say, zigs with the melody when you think he’ll zag; the intricate way that he explores the interaction between sound and hearing with reverb, and so much more.
Evans' drumming also stood out. This was the first time I’ve heard percussion as the lead instrument. {ercussion usually gets its moment to shine in solo demonstrations. But here, there were whole movements where Carabello faded into the background and percussion became the melody instrument.
It was so good that it even drew one longtime fan of jazz away from his work. Rob is a lawyer, and he was working in his office in the city’s famous Gold Building when the duo’s sound drew him from behind his desk. Rob told me that he’s been a fan of jazz for decades and that he’s seen Hartford’s luminaries perform over and over. He said the music he heard while he was working was so good that he had to come down to enjoy it.
I couldn’t wait to write all these thoughts down as soon as the concert ended. Unexpected circumstances prevented me from doing so, and by the time I was ready to write, I felt the moment had passed. Until I happened to hear those telltale keys being pressed again. It was a sign to write. It had to be.
Thankfully, the music continues to haunt me. I’m listening to it now while I write this. I listened to it multiple times last week, even after I thought I’d lost the story. I hear something new in it with each new listen. Carabello and Evans really gave a once-in-a-lifetime performance.
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