San Diego Ballet

All in the Family

What goes into composing for dance, and what inspires a composer? Lynn shares her perspective on Charles McPherson’ s experiences creating new music for San Diego Ballet.

By Lynn Sundfor-McPherson

I’ve intimately observed Charles compose for almost 40 years. Truthfully, most often it’s a chore for him. A legendary jazz musician like Charles, who is an incredibly prolific improvisor, has the ability to spontaneously create countless melodies with endless harmonic possibilities woven together with hip, syncopated rhythmic combinations. How can one choose the best one? What is the inspiration behind the motive in the first place? What is the emotionality within this possible phrase? “Man, I just wanna play the horn,” is Charles’ mantra. “It’s work to write the notes down!” Until a new influence emerged: a little daughter who loved to dance. Come Play With Me (Arabesque), a highly acclaimed recording that Charles did when Camille was about three, had several original tunes inspired by happiness, movement/dance, youth, and a little daughter to play with!

Move forward to Camille’s arrival as a professional ballerina. That hippity-hoppity, long, flexible little girl grew into a beautiful artist/dancer, joined San Diego Ballet, and is an endless inspiration for Charles and his writing. (Also the love of his life.)  Add to this vision, the genius of SDB’s artistic director Javier Velasco, and his understanding of America’s music, Jazz. Result: Something special is born. Theirs is an extraordinary collaboration, and has been written about internationally wherever Charles plays these remarkable tunes and explains how they came about. Audiences love them; they hear something very special within Charles’ voice. One of my favorite works from all of this, Nightfall, from SDB’s first commissioned work, Sweet Synergy Suite, was just performed at two sold-out concerts honoring Charles’ 80th year, with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in New York, and then again at a Boston Celebrity Series Concert. The outstanding musicians in Wynton’s orchestra, some of the best jazz musicians of our time, loved Nightfall; it brought tears to their eyes, as it does to mine, and to jazz audiences too, as I’ve personally witnessed in clubs when the piece is played. I recall when Charles wrote it: what was happening, how the counterpoint came about. Nightfall is made for dance. Creating collaboratively with Javier has changed Charles’ work.

This time around, Javier’s passion provided the inspiration: “I always wanted to do something with Song of Songs.” I took notes at the first meeting about what the love poems meant to Javier, what he wanted, what kind of yearnings the words conveyed. Made it kind of easy for Charles. It’s the first time things have effortlessly flowed, where it was not a chore, where he liked the tunes right off the bat at the first rehearsal. Reflection, Turmoil & Hope was not easy, but helped Charles recover from deep despair. Sweet Synergy Suite brought out nervous insecurities within him. Was his writing danceable, was Javier going to like it, and were the dancers going to understand the music and be able to keep it all in their bodies not just by counting, but by making sense of it? It’s jazz, with a lot of improvisation, not classical, not always the same.  Was it going to work?  Yes, it did! Some said they’d “never seen anything like” those first two commissions, and that the concerts were the “best artistic performances they’d ever experienced.” I sat next to a friend that cried watching/hearing Reflection. Hyperbole perhaps, but jazz folks loved the dance, and ballet fans loved the jazz; exposing everyone to two different art forms in hugely successful productions that shaped a new yearly series for SDB, and an ongoing local inspiration for Charles.  

Charles has written eight new tunes for May’s Jazz/Dance Series, Song of Songs. Listen for a theme change from the Major to the minor in two different movements. If you can, try to hear harmonic progressions that tie a few pieces together. Pay attention to jazz riffs and rhythms inspired by this love story and sounds from Ancient Hebrew music. Feel modulations that the musicians in the first rehearsal were moved by: “Man, where did you get that idea?” They were awed by a surprisingly beautiful chord change that deviated from progressions Charles typically hears. Know that this time, after all of these years, it’s been a joy for Charles to write, not a chore. Charles will be immersed in seeing, playing and performing while Javier brings the music to life with SDB’s brilliant dancers (even Charles’ little daughter). This truly is a happy marriage of two art forms, and we can all be there once again for the rapturous ride May 24th – 26th, 2019.   

Lynn Sundfor-McPherson is a San Diego Ballet Board Member, wife of Charles McPherson, manager, biggest fan/critic, sometimes co-writer/composer, piano/composition instructor, and best of all, a dancer’s mom.  

Keep your eyes out for more about Song of Songs, and visit our ticket page to reserve your seats for the show!