David Schiff 'Feels Good' about James Brown...
David Schiff talks about his orchestral homage to James Brown "Stomp"
When I was an undergraduate at Columbia in the 1960s I saw James Brown perform several times at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. All of my friends were huge fans of soul music and Motown. Smokey Robinson and Aretha Franklin were our idols, but James Brown, celebrated as "the hardest working man in show business" was unique for the intensity of his performance style and the inspiring rhythmic energy of his music. The new version of Stomp written for ACO has more direct contact with Brown's musical style, but I think of the piece more as an evocation of his explosive stage presence than an imitation of his music than my previous one.
images:
1. James Brown the "hardest working man in show business".
2. David Schiff conducting the Reed Chamber Orchestra.
