ON the Beat | Music Academy Notes from All Over, Opening with a Crossover Anomaly

Takács Quartet | Credit: Phil Channing

Fiftysomething Marks the Spot

Famed and stalwart string quartets celebrating and commemorating 50-year marks, with retirements attached, have, strangely enough, been a thing in Santa Barbara over the past couple of seasons. Last year, the “new is the new new”–minded Kronos Quartet passed the five-decade mark in style and without slowing down, though also marking the retirement of longtime members John Sherba and Hank Dutt. The renewed lineup — comprising musicians half the age of founder David Harrington — delivered a rousing, conceptually rich performance at Campbell Hall in April.

This year, and this Saturday at the Lobero Theatre, the TakácsQuartet — which also had its 50th milestone birthday last year — makes one of its many happy returns to Santa Barbara courtesy of the Music Academy of the West (MAW), with a concert marking a certain transitional moment, the retirement of founding cellist András Fejér, after 51 years. Fejér is the last musician standing from the original line-up, launched out of the Franz Liszt Academy in Hungary, although the quartet’s home base has been as quartet-in-residence at the University of Colorado, Boulder since 1983.

Like Kronos, Takácshas had a steady and strong presence as a quartet performing in Santa Barbara over the decades, including a MAW residency which has reliably brought them to the academy program at the beginning of each season since 2007. But they were appearing here and impressing listeners long before that, including a memorable stint of performing the all six of Bartók’s string quartets — with a cultural insider’s flair and understanding — at the Lobero in 2000, and free to the public. It was a high-water mark in the town’s chamber music history.

For Fejér’s swan song in Santa Barbara — and it will be strange to now catch the quartet without his visual and musical presence going forward — the program is a hearty dive into Beethoven, an evening with Opus 18, No. 2; Opus 74 “Harp”; and the towering, late period Opus 131. Beethoven, being one of Takács’acknowledged specialties, along with Bartók, Saturday’s concert promises to be a momentous occasion, even apart from the sentimental component attached.

Crossover Dreams, Contextual Questions

Last week, the Music Academy of the West kicked off season 79, in an official way, with the unabashedly crossover dreaming act ARKAI at Hahn Hall, the first of a long and enticing list of high-profile public performances for MAW, following two other humbler performances on the schedule. This third outing was not a charmer for anyone expecting the usual classical fare from this august institution. Something felt out of place and out of context in this anomalous evening, for anyone accustomed to what MAW has to offer and to proffer. Things got back on track the following night, with pianist Jeffrey Kahane and friends at the Lobero Theatre.

What we got at Hahn Hall on Friday were simplistic themes, thumping grooves, shades of film music and video game manners, and string-restrung arrangements of pop songs (can you say “Sound of Silence,” “Billie Jean,” the wedding band/karaoke classic “Don’t Stop Believin’”?).

But ARKAI — being the electroacoustic duo of young violinist Jonathan Miron and cellist Philip Sheegog, plus ample electronic/digital additives in the mix — is on a fast track to a strong presence and fan base. They won a Grammy this year for the album Brightside (from which they pulled a few innocuous and instantly forgettable pieces) and, just recently, were featured performing at June 20’s triumphant Knicks game four at Madison Square Garden, beaming and sonically booming on the jumbotron.

Classical cred is in hand: Both studied at Juilliard, and Sheegog is an alum of MAW a decade ago, but as he told the Hahn Hall audience, “our roots are in classical music,” to which Miron quickly added “but we fell off the wagon,” tapping into their interests in classic rock, EDM, pop, film scores, and video music. It shows, which is fine if you’re into that sort of thing.

Clearly, this music is not my jam, and I had assumed that it wasn’t MAW’s jam either — with its longstanding dedication to a serious musical focus. Hopefully, the organization won’t be crossing over into the crossover market with any regularity.

Straining to find a bright side, from an educational perspective, it could be said that ARKAI’s success presents a reasonable model for young students wondering about the professional possibilities of rigorous — and expensive — classical music training. If you’re willing to gain the technical desired proficiency and later fall off the wagon and go pop/crossover, a world of potential awaits. After all, Lydia Tár, the fallen conductor star in Todd Field’s satirical classical-worldly fiction film Tár, found salvation, or at least a good gig, in the video game field.

TO-DOINGS:

Original Recipe, OG Guitar Hero

Brian Patrick Carroll was reportedly an introverted teen in Orange County who found solace and purpose behind the wheel of an electric guitar. After fashioning a persona based on the slashing creep in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, and adding a KFC bucket on his head for added flair, enter America’s unique guitar hero known as Buckethead. Now 57 and with a few hundred recordings to his name (and that of his alter ego Death Cube K, an anagram of Buckethead), Buckethead — replete with the Colonel’s headgear in tow — makes a rare appearance in the 805, at The Majestic Ventura Theater tonight, June 26. Previous local landings have included a long-ago stop at the old Velvet Jones.

Somehow, Buckethead has traversed multiple paths, including a stint as a guitarist with Guns N’ Roses and collaborations with avant-garde guru John Zorn. He has also worked with Bill Laswell in the power trio Praxis, recorded a tribute to one of his heroes, Michael Jackson, and taken on countless sideman gigs over the years.

Make no mistake: this KFC-donning (but sans endorsement deal) riff slinger brings a high level of musical game to his work, beyond mere fretboard gymnastics. He has a varied menu of moods and vibes to share. A recent release, “Traverse the Sky” (link), finds him in a restrained and reflective frame of mind over a 20-minute journey, and he wriggles wildly around with Bootsy Collins and Jennifer Batten (MJ’s guitarist) on 2025’s Free Bucket (link), while other tracks in “Bucketheadland” scream and wail for attention, carving out a path between metal-ish shredding and experimentalist spirit. You know: Bucketheadland. Head on down to Ventura for a visit to his special world, and buckle up.