For the encore of the assorted musicians assembled to perform with him yesterday evening at Porgy & Bess, the inimitable Jon Rose turned what had been a respectful, ambient-oriented, meditative semi-large group improvisation into a noise fest. Slamming the back of his violin into the monitor to generate feedback (at which point I retreated from the second row to the back row), he launched into a rowdy and spontaneous rendition Ye Olde English Sea Shanty, “What Do You Do With a Drunken Sailor,” with gusto and perfect intonation---he was far from drunk!
After many years of corresponding via email and post, I finally met the Slovakian journalist, philosopher of art, sound artist, and producer---might as well say Renaissance Man---Jozef Cseres. We convened for a late morning face-to-face at the Café Prückel, both sleep-deprived, where he he handed me two relatively rare recordings. “The Genetic Tendency in Violin Music,” on his own esoteric label, HEyeRMEarS, has Jon Rose playing the Ten-String Double Violin of Dr. Johannes Rosenberg. This endeavor is one where it’s impossible to ascertain where the truth ends and fantasy begins---a mind game with Siamese twins. The second recording, of works by Evgeny Irshai, a Russian composer now living in the Slovak Republic, is saturated with music that, to my ears, carries the essence of Russia (he trained at the St. Petersburg Conservatory), modified by a wicked sense of humor that transports one to an entirely separate reality.
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