A brass quintet plus the punch of a percussionist, the Meridian Arts Ensemble builds its repertoire on experimental foundations. Its Web site name-drops big-haired artists such as Bach, Frank Zappa and Jimi Hendrix, separated by hundreds of years but braided together in its concerts.
On Sunday, its innovative performance made room for Stravinsky, Zappa and living composers David Sanford and Nick Didkovsky.
The ensemble had specially commissioned Didkovsky's piece, "Slim in Beat Dreamers." Each of its 15 movements reveals a different sonic side of the Meridian Ensemble, but few of them seemed to work. Unlike the largely well-chosen pieces of the rest of the concert, the Didkovsky arrangement fell flat with a bang.
Aside from the Didkovsky, the ensemble's performance truly invigorated the ears. After bowing to convention with Renaissance composer Schein, the group diverted tradition and embraced far-out variety with its subsequent sets.
Horn player Daniel Grabois prefaced a Stravinsky/Gesualdo juxtaposition by connecting the artists as iconoclasts.
The trumpets weaved above and below one another as the horn, tuba and trombone filled the gaps to create an insistent, alarming call.
The following piece by Sanford drew percussionist John Ferrari on stage. The first strong chord threw the word "bright" into the air like a Batman action-scene bubble.
Sanford's "Corpus" introduced the jazz stream, which flowed to the concert's completion.
The ensemble's melodies dwelled in jazz club basements, neon signs and forced improvisations. From the Sanford, Didkovsky and Zappa music sheets came harsh harmonies and delayed percussion beats. The sources couldn't have been more different, and the traveling left little room for contemplation.
