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Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, sure, but Kurt Cobain?!? Even I was caught off-guard as I walked into the Royal Conservatory of Music to meet with students.
On the heels of the massive MTNA Teachers Conference held just a couple of weeks ago here in Toronto, and inspired by that morning’s sweeping keynote speech delivered by Bramwell Tovey with it’s particular emphasis on the lost art of improvisation in the classical music tradition, I thought I was imagining things at first.
But there was no mistaking it: the distinctive sounds of Nirvana issuing forth from behind a studio door…played by a jazz band!?
These RCM students really rock! Sure, Nirvana’s so last century, but I guess at least it’s not last last century! Is ‘Neo-Grunge’ just around the corner, or maybe some kind of Jazz-Grunge Fusion??
Directed by Michael Occhipinti, this quintet (sextet, with Michael holding down chord changes with his electric guitar) was comprised mostly of talented teens – they allowed me in to record as they ‘took it from the top’.
Once they got started, their playing was incredibly balanced and accomplished, and just a little bit raw-sounding — ‘stylistically correct’ in the jargon of examiners like myself! Not bad considering they had just started jamming on this tune at the start of their class 15-20 minutes earlier.
Nirvana at the RCM? Sweet!
Learn more about Maestro Occhipinti, Nirvana and for your own taste of Nirvana, check out the RCM Community School.
Of course any talk of this band and the mysterious demise of the lead singer (I’m not the only one who wants to see a new investigation!), well it all reminds me of the joke that emerged around the time:
Mom comes home to find her teenage son distraught and completely incosolable. When he finally splutters ‘They k-killed Kurt!!’, she is also incredulous and instantly grief-stricken. When she tries to comfort him, her son becomes even more apoplectic when she finally says “I know, son, I can’t believe Kurt Browning’s gone either!’
BONUS LINK: It’s a tough job, but someones goy to do it! UrbanFlute has sifted through an extensive archive of live footage to offer you the finest rendition of Smells Like Teen Spirit for your listening pleasure!
