The Passing of Jimmy Wyble

I was saddened last week to read that the great guitarist Jimmy Wyble passed away (obit in the LA Times). I knew Jimmy from the 1970s when I worked at Larry Larsen's Music Studio in Glendale. Jimmy rented teaching space there and we would often talk and play guitars between lessons.

Jimmy was a wonderfully creative and talented musician. His style was a truly unique blend of country-western, jazz, and classical music. It was always a joy to hear him play. What was even more impressive about Jimmy, however, was the person that he was. I have never known a kinder or more supportive man.

I remember one day Jimmy and I were talking when a boy of about twelve walked into the studio. After a few minutes the boy pulled out a guitar and played a rather poor rendition of "Stairway to Heaven." Back in those days just about anyone who had ever touched a guitar knew the opening to that rock classic. Few could play it well, and even today it is probably the most butchered song in the history of the guitar.

But Jimmy listened attentively. When the boy was done, Jimmy complimented him. "That was beautiful. How exciting that you are learning guitar. I can really hear that you love the music. You keep practicing and you are going to be a wonderful guitarist." – or something along those lines.

Now from anyone else, I would have said that it was just a bunch of polite BS, but from Jimmy it was 100% sincere. He had the ability to see past the obvious and understand the essence of the moment. It was beautiful and exciting for him to see someone at the early stages of learning a musical instrument. Jimmy could hear the love that someone had for music even through the wrong notes, poor phrasing, and stuttered rhythms. He could see ten years down the road when, with practice, that beginning guitarist would be a good musician.

It was no surprise that Jimmy was a great teacher. Even though I never took formal lessons from him, I learned a great deal about music and teaching from Jimmy. He lives on not only in his music but also in all those whom he inspired with his love and kindness.

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Jimmy Wyble's website is still up. It is worth a visit if only to hear Jimmy play the number on the homepage.

Too Good To Be True

Last night I attend the inaugural concert of the Glendale Philharmonic Orchestra. The musicians, about 20 string players, gave a wonderful performance, especially considering that this was there first concert. The program had a bit of a rough beginning with a stylistically odd arrangement of Bach's Prelude from the Violin Partita No. 3. After that it continued well with Karl Jenkins' Concerto Grosso "Palladio," Andrey Rubtsov's Andande Dolente & Scherzo for Two Cellos (world premiere), Arno Babajanian's Aria, and Edward Mirzoyan's Symphony.

The group was highly disciplined and very responsive to their conductor, Mikael Avetisyan. And yet . . .

Leaving the concert I was reminded of something I heard the former conductor of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Paul Salamunovich, say (and he may have been quoting someone else), "The audience should never see the dynamics on the page." I saw them last night.

Now, admittedly this is an unfair criticism. It was their first concert, it could have been my mood, I would be hard pressed to tell them specifically what to fix, and I didn't notice it all the time. But there were times when the dynamic changes seemed stiff and mechanical, almost geometric in their plot. Technically they were done well, yet they didn't have the feeling of growing organically out of the music. Things were a little too tightly controlled.

This contrasted with the times when the music did have a more natural quality. The few short solos by the concert mistress, Limor Toren, were a good example of this. There was subtlety in her phrasing. One got the sense that she felt and enjoyed the music. It seemed to emanate not from the notes on the page, but from within her.

As I implied, this is all very subjective. Still, it brings up the issue of how a conductor can find the balance between control and spontaneity, between precision and flexibility. What does one say, "Be more spontaneous, now!?"

Clearly these are excellent musicians under a very talented conductor. Perhaps it is just a question of time and trust before they relax into the music, have fun with it, and allow it to flow more naturally. I look forward to hearing them at their next concert.