Of scatting and surprises

I attended one of the most bizarre concerts of my life last night. Joel A. Martin, a pianist, and vocalist Sharon Clark, both from the States, were capably supported by Bishkek players on drums, electric bass and tenor saxophone. While the performance featured more jazz standards than what I ordinarily enjoy, Clark’s expressive vocals, particularly her scatting, Martin’s swinging piano, and several dynamic solos by saxophonist Aleksandr Akimov made for a lovely and energizing evening. However, the show opened with a fashion show, elegant models and clothes no one would wear off a catwalk. OK, I thought, sponsorship takes some funny forms and the tickets were cheap. Plus, I‘d never attended a fashion show before. At the intermission, there was second fashion show of mostly wedding style gowns. All right. But I was still unprepared for what followed: a young, hard-bodied male who performed on two pieces of fabric suspended from the rafters of the Russian Drama Theater stage in what appeared to between some homoerotic fusion between the gymnastic rings and Cirque du Soliel. I half expected the Village People to march out singing “YMCA.”