It was a really hard task for me to choose one single American interpret to write about, since I admire loads of them. Eventually I have decided to briefly describe an amazing work of my beloved vocalist, innovator, improvisator and (as the critics say) ‘one of the natural wonders of the music world’- Bobby McFerrin. This extraordinary musician impressed me with his art of singing like no one else before.
When I heard his four-octave range vocal for the first time, I could do nothing but stare open-mouthed.McFerrin is such a genius that singing common ‘human’ tones is no longer challenging him. Thereby, Bobby has widened his repertoire by making sounds of various musical instruments. Basically, it takes him no effort to produce a bass or a trumpet line of any song. Furthermore he is even able to sing Bach’s prelude used in the ‘Ave Maria‘piece.
Bobby McFerrin is not only an excellent singer; he is also a great composer and a renowned classical conductor. He manages to combine elements of jazz, folk, choral, a capella and classical music in his work, which makes it extremely unique and colourful.Most people know McFerrin thanks to his commercial hit ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy,’ which comes from the album ‘Simple Pleasures’ (1988). According to Bobby himself it took only about an hour to write the famous lyrics. He also claims he did not do a single thing to promote the song and admits that hearing ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’ on the radio keeps surprising him. I personally like this song a lot but the truth is that Bobby wrote much more interesting pieces.
The gained commercial success luckily did not spoil McFerrin’s musical taste. He went on composing his unique music and did not try to slip into the muddy waters of pop music.Bobby comes from a musical family so his great talent is kind of expected. Both his parents were opera singers. Furthermore, his father Robert McFerrin Sr. was the first African-American male soloist at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
The young McFerrin - musician fell in love with clarinet and later switched to piano. However, he realized that staying in the ‘shade’ of the singer is not the right thing for him. He also needed more space for improvising and developing his own style which finally gained him popularity and appreciation. That is why he started to perform as a singer.
He went through many bands and musical projects to finally run a career of a solo artist. Nevertheless, ‘solo’ is not the right word to use. Bobby has cooperated with a number of the world’s best musicians counting for example the amazing African bass player and singer Richard Bona, the renowned cello player Yo-Yo Ma, the magnificent Azerbaijani singer, pianist and composer Aziza Mustafa Zadeh. The most common piece that Bobby and Aziza used to perform together is the Carmen Aria from Georges Bizet’s opera.
McFerrin is touring all around the world and each his performance is worth experiencing.The concept of his concert is simple: improvisation. Bobby invites the most notable musicians from the country he is performing in and together with them creates ‘spontaneous music’ right on the stage. Singing (or playing) with McFerrin is definitely the highest honour for each and every musician.
However, getting ready for the show seems quite stressful to me. None of the artists actually knows what to expect. They meet Bobby few hours before the show begins and sing with him for a while, so that he gets a picture of their musical skills and vocal range.Bobby’s guests then simply wait until they are invited onto the stage. McFerrin’s specialty is also working with various choirs. Together with all the members he creates the breath-taking pieces based on the ‘answering form’.
That generally means that Bobby sings and then the choir repeats. The last (but definitely not least) participant to mention is naturally the audience. Bobby effectively communicates with the spectators and eventually encourages them to sing along with him. Bobby had ignored the Czech Republic until 2008.
That was the year when he performed in our country for the first time. Since the tickets were sold in few days and the amount of people wanting to see McFerrin’s show was greater than great, there were finally two concerts about to happen. The first one on 15th May and the second one just the day after on 16th May. Various Czech artists participated on McFerrin’s recital.
Among others for example the Boni Pueri choir, vocal experimenter performing with a sampler called Ridina Ahmedova and the many times awarded singer Dan Barta.The concert was very successful, so no wonder that Bobby returned to the Czech Republic once more (and not for the last time – the next show is planned for March 2011). His second Czech show was held this year (2010). The promoters were wiser this time and announced two shows in advance. The number of spectators was once again large and Bobby’s guests were once again magnificent.
This time the Terra Musica choir was concerned in the performance. Bobby’s passionate duet with the unique Iva Bittova and her violin was simply divine.Dan Barta was an obvious choice and did a great job (exactly like two years before). I think it was successfully proved that ‘Each Czech is a musician’ as the old proverb says. Bobby McFerrin obviously is an amazing musician.
Nevertheless, this is not the only thing I love about him. Despite being such a celebrated artist he still seems to be an ‘ordinary’ man who is extremely modest and humble. This man with greyish dreadlocks, always performing in jeans and a plain T-shirt, impressed me by his inexpressibly beautiful art and sense of humanity that flutters all around him.
