Ravinia 2024 Issue 6

ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO No one has really ever been able to define them- selves and their music like singer-songwriter Alejandro Escovedo does. The sounds he makes take him places that he might not even predict; his songs point out all the majesty and mystery of how he sees the world. On his new album, Escovedo has taken a road rarely traveled: Echo Dancing is an experiment in how to use the past to shape the future. By recording completely new and repurposed versions of songs from his past, Escovedo actually gets a chance to re- write his own history, turning music and lyrics inside-out to discover new ideas and express what the songs mean to him today. Songs like “Bury Me” and “Castañuelas,” while they were powerful in their original form several years ago, now announce themselves as highlights of Escovedo’s long career, speaking to an eternal world that lives inside the music. Everything on Echo Dancing has a feeling of absolute freshness about it, reforging the past to live again as a re- born entity. Pursuing that freshness, Escovedo decamped to Italy to open the creative eye in a way that working at home doesn’t, and embrace the daily occurrence of surprises. The son of a Mexican immigrant and a Texas native, Escove- do basked in discovered sounds from his begin- nings, morphing them into all kinds of exciting styles. A member of the first-wave punk rock group The Nuns in San Francisco, he moved to New York and joined the Judy Nylon band and experienced the total electricity of the late 1970s. Moving to Austin in the 1980s, Escovedo helped form one of the country’s first so-called Cow- punk groups. He was a prime architect of the new band True Believers, building the gateway to the Americana scene, but Austin also instilled a drive to record solo albums. Nevertheless, the 30-plus years since has featured groups, spinoffs, tribute albums, and even original dramatic proj- ects and experiments—in 1998, No Depression Magazine named Escovedo “Artist of the De- cade.” Echo Dancing affirms that Escovedo has his own category of accomplishments and be- lief in the future, and the album ensures that his evolving circle remains unbroken. Alejandro Es- covedo is returning to Ravinia for the first time since his 2013 debut. MARTIN THEATRE 7:30 PM TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2024 MUSIC OF THE BAROQUE DAME JANE GLOVER, conductor ANTHONY McGILL, clarinet BACH Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068 Ouverture Air Gavotte I and II Bourrée Gigue MOZART Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622 Allegro Adagio Rondo: Allegro Anthony McGill –Intermission– HANDEL Concerto Grosso in A minor, HWV 322 Larghetto affettuoso Allegro Largo e piano Allegro MOZART Symphony No. 38 in D major, K. 504 (“Prague”) Adagio—Allegro Andante Finale: Presto Ravinia expresses its appreciation for the generous support of Premier Sponsor The Negaunee Foundation . RAVINIAMAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2 – SEPTEMBER 15, 2024 68 NANCYRANKINESCOVEDO