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.
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