Lalo Schifrin is not happy. He leans over the score of his new work. James Morrison, at his side, frowns in concentration. It is the paper. The score has been printed on the wrong paper. It is too thick, and when Schifrin goes to turn one page he accidentally turns two.
“That’s the biggest problem with this whole project,” Morrison says, only half in jest. It is a technicality, a mere annoyance perhaps, but with an undertaking on this scale, details matter. For this concert has brought three unique musicians, not to mention a large symphony orchestra, together for the world premiere of a complex and virtuosic work.
Schifrin’s Double Concerto for Jazz Trumpet and Piano is the jewel in the crown of Sydney Symphony’s 2007 Kaleidoscope program. It was commissioned for the Australian jazz megastar Morrison and the concert pianist Ambre Hammond. It has all the makings of a fortuitous meeting of minds.
“Lalo is the only person I know who understands the piano and the classical music and the orchestra and the jazz to the nth degree,” Morrison says. “If you get a classical composer who knows a bit of jazz, my bit’s not going to be great. If you get a jazz composer who can write for the orchestra, Ambre’s bit is not going to be great. You need someone who actually lives for real in both worlds. Lalo’s the only one who could do it.”
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