REVIEW
Musician takes
harp to new heights
By Sarah D'esti Miller
Press & Sun-Bulletin
When
they say it's difficult to define Deborah Henson-Conant,
they aren't kidding, as she demonstrated in a performance
with the Binghamton Philharmonic on Saturday night at
the Forum Theatre.
To
call her an entertainer would be a disservice to her
musicianship, which is outstanding. To call her a musician
would marginalize just how much fun it is to watch her.
Henson-Conant is a singer, songwriter and harpist, and
if you think that makes her a triple threat, you are
right.
But
she is funny, too, engaging the audience in conversation
as well as using cheeky lyrics to some of her songs
such as "Songs My Mother Sang" and her hilarious
encore "I Love My Garbage Man," which brought
down the house as two Philharmonic percussionists came
in dressed as sanitation engineers complete with "trash
cans" that they dumped on the stage and played
a la "Stomp" while she clanged the lids.
Her
musical style is as impossible to pin down as her act.
From the opening "Cosita Latina" to the darkly
beautiful "Nightingale," as energetic as a
hoedown, as spirited as a Sousa march and as hypnotic
as new age music, as awesomely bombastic as the best
movie scores, as bright as calypso, Henson-Conant's
music at one time or another sounds like all of these
and more.
But
it's her blues that really blows your mind about the
harp. In "Way You Are Blues" she let fly a
smokin' -- can't believe I'm saying this -- harp solo
that was amazing, showing the harp as a natural choice
for blues. Think about it -- it's essentially a naked
piano that's played like a guitar, so why shouldn't
it be good at the blues?
Her
storytelling is anecdotal and threatrical at once and
her show provided plenty of opportunity for the Philharmonic
and its soloists, conducted by Jose-Luis Novo, to show
off and chances for lots of audience participation.
Although
Henson-Conant has revolutionized how her instrument
is played, it is obvious she does it because she loves
it and not for "shock value." Which means
she will likely stand the test of time, doing what she
does best -- even if we don't know exactly how to define
it. |
