By Vanessa Bordo, Tuesday Musical Association

Friday, March 4th’s second installment of the FUZE! concert series collaboration between Tuesday Musical Association and the Akron Art Museum brought the Alfredo Rodriguez Jazz Trio to a lucky Northeast Ohio crowd.

Living up to the FUZE! series mission of fusing classical and contemporary styles, the jazz ensemble wowed audiences with reinventions of jazz standards, as well as some original works written by pianist and musical force Alfredo Rodriguez. Critics have praised this fusion, such as Richard Scheinin of Mercury News, who writes, “Rodriguez…plays as if he eats Chopin and Stockhausen for breakfast. Beyond the conservatory-driven technique, he’s combustibly at home with Afro-Caribbean folk forms and rhythms and has digested the last several decades of jazz piano trio evolution, boiling it all down with acuity.”

The one-hour concert was held in the Akron Art Museum’s intimate Charles and Jane Lehner Auditorium as audience members truly felt connected to the emotional and powerful jazz interpretations performed onstage. Concert attendee and University of Akron Polymer Engineering graduate student Mauricio Echeverri raved that the concert was “just like an exciting tale told through jazz embracing us with pure passion, talent and energy.” Alfredo, a Cuban native, was joined onstage by acoustic bassist Ricardo Rodriguez (no relation) and drummer Henry Cole. Richard Scheinin again describes the onstage energy, writing, “In the manner of much modal jazz, bassist Rodriguez, from Puerto Rico, rooted the performance in a bubbling ostinato — a dancing riff; repeating, altering, repeating — while the pianist and drummer jabbed and incited. Really, this band has two drummers: Rodriguez is an intensely percussive pianist, while Cole, also from Puerto Rico, is as explosively detailed in his approach as the leader.” For his young 24 years, Alfredo Rodriguez has intense drive and musical vision. He shared this passion with local music students at Garfield High School in a lecture/demonstration outreach program coordinated by Tuesday Musical.

Barbara Feld, Executive Director, explains that education is an important part of the TMA mission. She writes, “Our FUZE! musicians understand the importance of mentoring, inspiring and challenging young people. It once happened to them and all of them are committed to passing it on.”

Funded partially by a grant from the Knight Foundation, the FUZE! concert series will continue on April 14th as Tuesday Musical and the Akron Art Museum present ETHEL with Native American Flutist Robert Mirabal.