A concert honoring former San Quentin inmate Henry Cowell drew an eclectic crowd of inmates and outside visitors to San Quentin’s Protestant Chapel. Performers included concert pianist Sarah Cahill and the Ives String Quartet.
Cowell “was very prolific for a person who only had one hour a week to play the piano” while in prison, said Cahill. He had a “profound influence on 20th-Century music,” the January event program reported.
Because San Quentin does not have a grand piano, special arrangements were made to have one temporarily donated, moved by a special company, and tuned for the performances, one held in the morning, the other that evening.
The music, all written by Cowell, and played by Cahill and the quartet, began with Celtic Set (Reel, Caoine, and Hornpipe), followed by The Lover Plays his Flute from Amerind Suite.
Cahill said Cowell wanted to write music that enlisted a variety of cultures that could be accepted universally. He wanted to compose music to satisfy people other than his contemporaries.
She said, The Lover Plays His Flute is an emotional piece that evokes feelings and thoughts of Native American Indians, who inspired the music.
Cowell was also influenced by the music of the East, composing and uniting Chinese and Japanese music, Cahill commented.
Celtic Set was a slowly paced piece. It was a relaxing arrangement that fit the melancholy mood and atmosphere of prison life.
Following those compositions, Cahill played Rhythmicana. “It’s a real revolutionary piece about rhythm,” she said.
A standing ovation greeted the Quartet’s performance of Cowell’s String Quartet No. 4 (“United”).
When Cowell was 14 years old, he did menial jobs and was later able to purchase an old piano. He taught himself to play using his fists and forearms to gain a two octave reach, Cahill told the audience.
After explaining to the audience how Cowell played the piano using unconventional methods, Cahill played the piano with her fists and forearm, similar to Cowell to illustrate his unorthodox technique.
“If you get on a piano and just start banging, that’s noise. But that’s organized composition,” said Terry Slaughter, referring to Cahill’s use of Cowell’s techniques.
Amy Ho, who teaches an art class in San Quentin, said, “I thought it was amazing.”
When Cowell was imprisoned at San Quentin from 1936 to 1940, he taught music to more than 1,000 of his fellow inmates.
Among Cowell’s students outside of prison were notables such as George Gershwin, Burt Bacharach, John Cage, and Lou Harrison.
The program also featured four inmates enrolled in a piano class taught by community volunteer Patricia Allred.
“It’s such a pleasure and a treat to work with them,” said Allred. “It is a teacher’s dream to get to teach students who really want to learn,” referring to the students in her Wednesday morning piano class.
“It’s a real revolutionary piece about rhythm”
Gino Sevacos performed a song he wrote called No Greater Love. “I realized I was separated from my higher self. God called me back,” said Sevacos, referring to his music.
JulianGlenn “Luke” Padgett played and sang Is It Okay If I Call You Mine. “Okay, I’m terrified, but I’m going to give it a shot,” said Padgett.
Robert Tyler, another one of Allred’s piano students who has been playing for many years, performed an original classical piece he named All That I Can Do.
“The movements in the Celtic, Caoine are actually a funeral piece. You can hear the sadness,” said Tyler.
The closing act in Allred’s class was performed by Lee Jaspar, who is an accomplished jazz guitar and piano player with more than 40 years of professional experience. Jaspar sang and played an original composition he wrote several years ago, titled Spring.
Members of the Ives String Quartet smiled as they looked on while Jaspar performed. Inmates reacted with a standing ovation.
“I, and I alone, am responsible for the conditions in my life,” Jaspar said prior to his performance. He also teaches music theory to more than a dozen inmates who show up to his classes on weekends in the prison gymnasium.
Jaspar is a tough act to follow, Cahill said at the evening performance. “It was this morning also.”
The concert concluded with a rousing standing ovation for all of the performers.
Cahill is host of Revolutions per Minute, a radio show that airs Sunday evenings on KALW, 91.7 in San Francisco.
–Juan Haines contributed to this article
