Concert Report: Mojatuba

On Friday, September 14^th I attended the presentation of Mojatuba: Tuba and Dance Fusion at Ford Hall at 8:15 PM.  Mojatuba is African-influenced music, as stated in the acronym “Mojatuba” – Modern Dance, Orignial Works, Jazz Styles, and African Influence.  There were multiple performers in this diverse ethnic concert.  They included Velvet Brown on tuba, Dr. Anthony Leach on piano, Dr. Jimmy Finnie on drums, and three dancers, A. Kikora Franklin, Quilan Arnold, and Maria Malizia.  This ensemble was probably the most unique display of music and dance I have seen in a while.  I was surprised to find out that a piano, along with a bongo drum and a drum set in later pieces, accompanied the tuba.  The mixture of these varying sounds created an exotic blend of music that I have never heard before.  To add to the diversity of this performance, the dancers created a beautiful element to each of the songs.  By using the various instrumental pieces as their guideline, they created a story for the audience through their dances.

This program consisted of seven different songs.  All of the songs were unique from one another, yet were connected because of the tuba portion in each piece.  My favorite song of the program was the Mambo – Cha from Latin Jazz Suite.  There was a lot of variety in the texture of this song since it consisted of the tuba, bongo drum, and three dancers. This energetic piece started off with a bang.  It opened with the bongo drums, and was eventually accompanied by the tuba.  Then one by one the dancers entered the stage.  They added a lot of flavor to the piece by combining modern dance moves with dance moves that had an African influence.  Even though the bongo drum dictated the pace at which the dancers moved, it was all very synchronized.  The music of the tuba and bongo drum moved seamlessly with the dancers.

The fourth song of the program, How Beautiful, was more intimate than the Mambo – Cha.  The piano opened the song with a beautiful melody which was quickly accompanied by the harmony that was played by the tuba.  A male and female dancer drifted onto the stage within a few seconds of the opening phrase.  It was performed in a 2/4 meter and had a much slower tempo.  The harmony of the tuba was extraordinary.  I was surprised to find out that the tuba could be so graceful and majestic at the same time.  Another part of this song that made it stick out from the others was that the tuba would seemingly end on half cadence and the piano would pick up where the tuba left off and finish the phrase.   

              

After the first song of the concert had finished I was a little wary of what was to come.  The opening song was called Danse Sacre and was a depressing tune.  The performers mixed the slow and steady beat of the piano to the loud and voluminous tuba.  Since this concert was my first exposure to Mojatuba, it felt like an odd combination of instruments to pair together.  Fortunately, by the end of the program I had learned to understand and love the way the piano and tuba complemented each other.  Throughout the concert my mood would change drastically with the mood of the song that was being performed.  The performer’s ability to create that change within the audience is an immense feat that should be applauded.  Although I am not a fan of the music the tuba can create, this event definitely makes me excited to attend more concerts in the near future.     

Although this performance had minimal interactions between the performer and the audience, it was similar to the bands that played at Porchfest.  Mojatuba resembles Porchfest because it consisted of various different types of instruments that wouldn’t normally be combined in an ensemble like the bongo drum and tuba.  At Porchfest I saw a group playing a song with a base and a banjo.  Mojatuba also intertwined African influence throughout their songs.  The bands that played at Porchfest based their music off of the cultures that shaped them.  It is interesting how two completely different venues can be so similar.