Diversions LA

There are art experiences, there are music experiences, there are performances, installations, and walk- throughs. Sometimes, in a city as diverse and exciting artistically as Los Angeles, you get a mix of the visual and aural in one cool package, tied up with a metaphorical bow.

But it is a rare event to have something as haunting – the score is still in my head from Sunday’s performance – as lush, loving, and soul-stirring as Rhythms of the City at the Rendon Hotel in DTLA. On top of the beauty of the program, which included music, dance, and installation art, the event itself had a beautiful purpose – 100% of the proceeds from Rhythms of the City benefitted Play with Music, an LA-based nonprofit bringing music and tech education to underserved youth, connecting them to eight- week mentorship programs.

The magic and love inherent in the experience shold draw you – fast, fast – to any future Art at the Rendon production.  Produced by Cindy Schwarzstein, participants hummed, danced, swayed, and stood in awe of the multi-room production.

Composed by the extremely gifted Heitor Pereira, and directed by Ralph Ziman, with creative direction from Maria Greenshields-Ziman, and music direction from John Leftwich, attendees were invited onto both the second and third levels to watch the central starting point – repeating every 15 minutes – of the program.  This took place in an inner courtyard visible from both floors. Opera singers Anna Gregory and Rachel Staples Guettler, accompanied by rapper Jordan NliteN Tolbert performed the piece, from which harmonies, melodies, and reinterpretations spun out in all the rooms of the hotel. Guettler and Gregory’s dulcet vocals were like spun silk; Tolbert’s work was a rich, deeper counterpoint – the two styles merging into a seamless tapestry.

Leaving the courtyard area and pausing fairly briefly in each room, we were able to take in each of the riffs and expansions of the central piece; my only disappointment was that there was no time left at the end of the captivating performance to go back and revisit some of our favorite rooms.

That said, it’s also hard to play favorites. There were flaminco dancers, a gifted belly dancer, ballet, and jazz dance.

Music was wide ranging in style and approach.

There was African rhythm and rap; the alternative singing and guitar of Michelle Shocked (whose radio hits a few years back were favorites of mine); ipad techno, synthesizer, Native American sounds, Indian Raga, Hip Hop, the sounds of Peru, and even the use of Industrial and Found objects. 

Shocked, above; Klezmer performers Ted Falcon Gypsy, below

From a digiridoo to steel drum, to Klezmer, jazz, and electromagnetic field recordings of the sounds of the city, the audience would be hard put to not find “their” type of music, whether that meant music from their personal heritage, or just their favorite sounds and styles.

Tom Freund, above; Marcus Lundqvist Trio, below

Personal highlights included the sublime blues performed by Tom Freund; the vibrant rock of the Marcus Lundqvist Trio; the Rio Trio with Kleber Jorge Pimenta, Marco Dos Santos, and Rodrigo Galvao; and the riveting rhythm of Mexico performed by Elizabeth Sanchez Martinez, Claudia Lugue, and Geovanni Suarez. Elle Lewis played an ethereal solo flute; John Leftwich thundered his bass. Mike Dupree’s hip hop was passionate and compelling.

Above, Elizabeth Sanchez Martinez, Claudia Lugue, and Geovanni Suarez

Lewis on flute, above; Mike Dupree plays below

The production was beautifully mixed, with speakers providing the central melody in each hallway.

Several rooms had video monitors, others were hung with fabric, one was thatched with branches.

The result was inspirational, exciting, and filled the admiring audience with longing to repeat the experience. Described as an immersive, collaborative performance, that is just the beginning. It’s kind of literally the stuff of dreams.

If you haven’t supported Art at the Rendon before, be sure to do so whenever their next production comes around – this was my third “stay” at the old hotel; and each one gets better — more exciting, more profound.

The evening ended with the chance to get two free glasses of beer, wine, or soda at the dark and cool speakeasy in the hotel’s basement, and mull over the musical magic.

Visit www.artattherendon.com to find out more about past and upcoming events.

• Genie Davis; photos: Genie Davis