Tuesday (2/7) on the online edition of GQ magazine, Jayson Greene writes, “When Daniel Felsenfeld, a Brooklyn-based modern-classical composer, answered the phone on January 19, a voice on the other end said simply: ‘Ahmir said you’re the man.’ ‘Ahmir’ was Ahmir ‘?uestlove’ Thompson: Felsenfeld had met Thompson only recently, at a one-off string-arranging gig for The Roots. The voice was Adam Blackstone, musical director for Jill Scott, The Roots, and many others. Blackstone, it turned out, needed orchestral parts drawn up for a high-profile client. The turnaround time was fairly tight: about two weeks. The client? Jay-Z. This nerve-rattling, curious phone call was just one cog in the great machine that fired to life the moment that Jay-Z announced, in early December, two consecutive performances at Carnegie Hall. … When the lights go down, and Felsenfeld’s introductory section begins, we could, for a moment, actually be at a traditional orchestra concert. There are some soft, dry tremolos in the violins; then barbed, spiky string harmonies, rich with little semitone dissonances, tug the air. Soon though, a familiar, bass-heavy piano line booms up from the center, and there is a very un-Carnegie roar as the crowd recognizes the opening notes of ‘P.S.A.’ Jay-Z appears, wearing a Gatsby-esque white tux with black bow tie and shades, gripping a bottle of Ace of Spades, grinning from ear to ear. It is a spectacular entrance. … The rest of the night is half Jay-Z Greatest Hits Parade, half Hip-Hop Takes Over Carnegie demonstration.”
Posted February 8, 2012
