Ravinia 2022, Issue 1

JEFF FARSAI (DUMPSTAPHUNK) GEORGE PORTER JR. and DUMPSTAPHUNK George Porter Jr. is best known as the bassist of The Meters, where he was joined by Art Neville, Leo Nocentelli, and Joseph Zigaboo Modeliste. The group formed in the mid- 1960s and came to be recognized as one of the progenitors of funk. The Meters disbanded in 1977, but reformed in 1989, with the original members occasionally playing reunion con- certs to this day, but The Funky Meters—of which Porter and Neville are members— most prominently keep the spirit alive. Over the course of his four-decade career, Porter has made a deep impression not only with his work in The Meters, but also session work with such artists as Paul McCartney, Jimmy Buffett, David Byrne, Patti LaBelle, Robbie Robertson, Tori Amos, Taj Mahal, and Ryan Montbleau. Early in his career, Porter also worked with seminal New Orleans artists like Allen Toussaint, Earl King, Lee Dors- ey, Johnny Adams, Irma Thomas, and The Lastie Brothers. Porter is also the bandlead- er of his own unique long-term project, the Runnin’ Pardners. Born on the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival stage, descended from Neville and Meters family bloodlines, Dumpstaphunk has earned a reputation as a live powerhouse over the past two decades— the type of band whose shows attract sit-ins from legends like Carlos Santana, Bob Weir, and Trombone Shorty. They’ve also opened for The Rolling Stones on their home turf in the Superdome, toured with George Clinton & The Parliament Funkadelic for his farewell tour, and played hundreds of festival stages like JamCruise, Dead & Company’s Playing in the Sand, Lockn’ Festival, NYC’s Summer- stage, and Byron Bay Bluesfest. Dumpsta- phunk made its first studio recording, the EP Listen Hear , in 2007 and followed up with a full-length disc in 2010 titled Everybody Want Sum . Their next full album, 2013’s Dirty Word , featured special appearances from Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Ani DiFranco as well as the Grooveline Horns and Rebirth Brass Band. Dumpstaphunk’s latest collec- tion— Where Do We Go From Here , released last April—features Marcus King, Trombone Shorty, and Chali 2Na as guests. Tonight both George Porter Jr. and Dumpstaphunk are making their Ravinia debuts. THE SOUL REBELS Combining the New Orleans brass tradition with radio pop, funk, and soul, plus elements of hip hop, jazz, and rock, The Soul Rebels were conferred their name by Cyril Neville in the early 1990s while they were sharing a performance stage with The Neville Broth- ers. Their first album, Let Your Mind Be Free , appeared shortly thereafter, in 1994, and the decade closed with No More Parades , but more than recording the group had built their career around an eclectic live show that har- nesses the power of horns and drums deep in the pocket of funk. After 2005’s Rebelution was released, The Soul Rebels found them- selves scattered across the Gulf region by Hurricane Katrina, but by sheer force of will they not only reconvened for live shows but also to lay down tracks for another album, Ur- ban Legend (2006). Shortly after releasing the concert album No Place Like Home in 2009, The Soul Rebels gained wider notice when they were featured in the HBO series Treme , which dramatized the stories of New Orlea- nians rebuilding their livelihoods post-hur- ricane. The group signed on with Rounder Records and released Unlock Your Mind in 2012, which led to an even more extensive live tour schedule that kept them away from the recording studio for several years. Along with global tour dates to Europe, Australia, Chi- na, South Korea, and Japan, The Soul Rebels started to chart new territory in contributing music to major films, recording “Lovely Day” for the soundtrack of Girls Trip . They also perked up many new ears with multiple ap- pearances on The Late Show with Stephen Col- bert as well as a feature on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series with Wu Tang Clan frontman GZA. Their explosive stage presence has led to further live collaborations with the likes of Katy Perry, Nas, G-Eazy, DMX, RobinThicke, Macy Gray, Portugal. The Man, Big Freedia, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and Matisyahu. Greater acclaim followed the 2019 release of their latest album, Poetry in Motion , and their original music has also recently been featured as ESPN’s official College Hoops theme an- them (“Greatness”) and on Netflix’s #BlackAF (“Good Time”). The Soul Rebels played Ra- vinia in 2016 and are making their first return to the festival. MARTIN THEATRE 7:30 PM TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2022 EMERSON STRING QUARTET EUGENE DRUCKER, violin PHILIP SETZER, violin LAWRENCE DUTTON, viola PAUL WATKINS, cello BARBER Molto adagio ( Adagio for Strings ) from String Quartet Philip Setzer, first violin BRAHMS String Quartet No. 1 Allegro Romanze: Poco Adagio Allegretto molto moderato e comodo Allegro Eugene Drucker, first violin –Intermission– SCHUBERT String Quartet No. 15 Allegro molto moderato Andante un poco moto Scherzo: Allegro vivace Allegro assai Eugene Drucker, first violin SAMUEL BARBER (1910–1981) Molto adagio ( Adagio for Strings ) from String Quartet in B minor, op. 11 Samuel Barber’s musical gifts became appar- ent at a young age. He studied piano and cello while growing up in West Chester, PA, and by his teens he was playing organ at a local church. Barber enrolled at the newly formed Curtis Institute of Music in 1924 (attend- ing two years concurrent with regular high school) and graduated eight years later. His principal teachers included Rosario Scalero, Isabella Vengerova, Emilio de Gogorza, and, briefly, Fritz Reiner. Barber developed an early interest in composition. His aunt was the famous contralto Louise Homer, whose husband Sidney Homer was a composer of art songs. The vocal activities of these two relatives, and Barber’s own studies as a baritone at the Curtis Institute, provided an undeniable in- fluence on the young man’s compositions. A pair of student works—the set of Three Songs, op. 2, and Dover Beach , op. 3, for baritone and string quartet—reflect his lyrical and Roman- tic style. Barber garnered numerous honors in his 20s. Twice he received the Bearns Prize from Columbia University, first in 1928 and then in 1933. These prizes allowed Barber his first opportunity to travel to Europe. A Pulit- zer Travel Grant (1935) and the American Prix de Rome (1936) subsidized a further sojourn to Italy. One product of his Prix de Rome period was the String Quartet, op. 11. Barber be- gan this score during the summer of 1936, RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JUNE 15 – JULY 3, 2022 40