Last Friday, acclaimed clarinetist and composer Kinan Azmeh joined the Brown Jazz Band for a poignant eight-song performance at the 38th Eric Adam Brudner ’84 Memorial Concert in the Lindemann Performing Arts Center. The concert was directed by Timo Vollbrecht — an associate teaching professor of music and Azmeh’s longtime friend.
The concert opened strong with “139th Street,” a piece about the New York City apartment building where Azmeh and Vollbrecht once lived. Azmeh prefaced the performance with an explanation of the piece’s origins, recalling how the sounds of a neighbor’s reggae merengue music seeped into his composing process.
The piece was dynamic, beginning with the subdued sound of Azmeh’s clarinet above the rhythm section. But as the melody moved through the 25-person band, the song highlighted the collaborative nature of jazz.
Azmeh’s Syrian-inspired music style was a particularly powerful component of the performance. The concert’s second song, “The Canteen,” was based on an artifact from Aleppo, Syria that he saw in the Smithsonian Museum. It was followed by “Jisreen,” named after a village near Damascus where Azmeh often visited his grandparents and planted trees. Although 21st century chemical attacks destroyed much of the villages’ nature, he said that he still saw some trees standing during a recent visit. This history informs the piece, which elicits a somber yet hopeful atmosphere.
“Rituals” — one of Azmeh’s first pieces — then alternates between energetic and relaxed sounds, which highlighted the skill of guitarist Joel Fisher ’28. The band then performed “Little Red Riding Hood,” inspired by an Arabic poem by Azmeh’s friend that subverts the classic fairytale. The piece is intense, with Azmeh’s clarinet echoing across the concert hall to perfectly fill the space.
The final two songs brought the concert to a striking close. “And We Are All Optimistic” began with beautiful piano playing from Triston Roberts ’26 before leading into a slightly darker sound from Azmeh and the other wind instruments. But apt to the title, this darkness was followed by a light and energetic section led by Derrick Pennix GS on the trumpet. Azmeh closed the song from there, concluding on a sense of hopefulness that was so prominent throughout.
Azmeh described the last song, “Weddings,” as an ode to “the delusional act of optimism of falling in love.” The piece is reminiscent of the sounds and sense of community that may be found in a Syrian village wedding — a spirit that has persisted amid war.
Bassist Van Teager ’28 opened the piece, and the piece crescendoed as Azmeh and the rest of the band joined in, mirroring the style of music at village weddings.
Before the band began playing, Vollbrecht gifted Azmeh with a potted cactus and the two hugged. While their friendship was evident throughout the concert, it was especially spotlighted in that moment. The concert’s everpresent optimism left a sense of friendship and community that will long linger among audience members — at the event’s close, concertgoers reacted with a resounding standing ovation.
