Jazz | Milford | Milford Arts Council | Music | Arts & Culture
The Quintet in action. Prince Davenport Photos.
Onstage, five musicians were giving The Zombies’ “The Way I Feel Inside” a facelift. Piano tinkled and bounced, conversing with an upright bass. Drums rolled gently beneath them. At the mic, Lee Taylor crooned—I will dree-eeam that someday you’ll be/Really close to me—and ears opened across the room, hearing the song in a totally new way.
That was the sound of the Marty Isenberg Quintet last Friday night, as it graced the stage at the Milford Arts Council (the MAC) with “Wes Anderson’s Playlist: An Interpretation in Jazz.” Playing to an audience of around 50, Isenberg and musicians took the stage to showcase the new cinema-inspired project, a concept album that reimagines the music of Wes Anderson and his films.
In addition to Isenberg, musicians included Mitch Selib on guitar, Rodrigo Recabarren on drums, Nitzan Gavrieli on piano and guest vocalist Lee Taylor. Often, they brought out props in honor of the filmmaker, like matching red hats à la The Life Aquatic. The album, Isenberg's debut, is available here.
Isenberg first began thinking about recording the album—his first—in the first years of the Covid-19 pandemic. After all his gigs stopped, he found himself with time to compose more music. In thinking about the kind of music he wanted to create, he wanted to make something personal.
He began arranging music he really liked—groups such as The Velvet Underground. It was then that he made the connection to, and discovered the songs that scored, Wes Anderson's movies. He realized that the quirkiness and trademark style of the director could lend itself to jazz.
“That's sort of where the album started and how we created it,” he said Friday, in an interview after the show. “Sometimes we would do a show and we're like, ‘Hey, we're the Wes Anderson band, we play this music.’ And they'd be like, ‘What is Wes Anderson? What is this like?’ They liked the music, but they didn't understand the concept.”
He decided to make his performances more cinematic, showing the audience the link to Anderson’s work rather than telling them about it. His performances became very theatrical, with cue cards and costume pieces. He referred to each number as a new “scene,” a convention that he still uses. He wanted the audience to understand that Anderson was a director, and that the project was an homage to him.
“It just kind of makes it fun and cool,” he said.
Friday, the result was a vibrant tapestry of styles that kept it fresh. On the stage, musicians blended the emotional depth of symphonic composition with the edgy ingenuity of alternative rock. It breathed new life into the big band tradition, infusing it with a spirit of creativity and intriguing expression. “The Way I Feel Inside,” for instance, had never sounded so new: the song is part of the soundtrack of “The Life Aquatic.”
In another selection, Isenberg’s fingers danced across the frets, coaxing out soulful notes that seemed to transcend time on the double bass. The crowd listened in appreciation and awe, caught in the magic of all the musicians playing. It was as if every emotion, every memory, and every personal moment was woven into Isenberg's strings, and the room itself vibrated with the intensity of all the musicians artistry.
Isenberg treated the audience to an encore following his performance. The song began with the somber repetition of melody on piano played by Gavrieli. Then with the build of Recabarren on drums, it blended into a very upbeat piece. Selib played along, emphasizing the melodramatic chords. The night ended with a deeply personal and universally resonant double bass solo from Isenberg.
“We’ve been providing intimate experiences in the arts since 1995,” said MAC Executive Director Paige Miglio, shouting out co-producer Stephanie Sands before the end of the night. “We present all genres of music.”
Prince Davenport is a senior at Highville Charter School. He plans to attend Kenyon College in the fall.