More Chris (trumpeting)--Less back up intrusion
by MonkeyDoDa on 2/11/10Flint Center - CupertinoRating: 1 out of 5A disappointing performance in Cupertino (after a sparkling performance in San Francisco last summer). The problems? First, we paid to hear Chris play center stage--not MC for his backup musicians, especially his drummer & lead guitarist, to "do their thing soloing." At the end, it looked like Chris had fallen into the role of Master of Ceremonies there mainly to accent and coordinate the "main show"--the backups. It should be the other way around, however: the backups should accent Chris--but it did not happen. The second problem was that Chris' demonstration of admittedly astounding trumpeting technique (how long he could hold his breath, how well he could hit the "high notes," and how quickly he could do the "twirls and trills") overwhelmed and got in the way of the music, instead of enhancing and orchestrating it. What a shame! Chris is unquestionably one of the finest trumpeters in the world. Has his success ("300+ performances annually") gone to his head so he no longer has to rise to the "moment of truth" with audience? Take it off "auto-pilot" Chris and get back to basics.
