Sunday’s (10/14) Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock) includes an interview with violinist Charles Yang, a member of the trio Time for Three, which will perform later this month with the Fort Smith Symphony in Arkansas. Yang “has been described … as someone who ‘plays classical violin with the charisma of a rock star.’ If Yang ever decides to quit his ‘day job,’ he could have a future in spoken word/stand-up comedy…. Yang grew up in Austin, Texas … where his friends were listening to Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel…. Yang’s introduction to playing outside his classical comfort zone came when he was invited to jam with a friend. ‘He played in a band called Peach Fuzz! Isn’t that a great Austin band name? … I had learned Beethoven and Tchaikovsky violin concertos by that time, so I walk in and ask, “Where’s my music?” He said, “I don’t read music; I just know the blues pentatonic scale.” … It kind of changed my mindset.’… Since 2016, Yang has been collaborating with Nick Kendall, also a violinist, and Ranaan Meyer, who plays double bass, in … Time for Three, which [combines] classical, country, gypsy and jazz into something all its own.”
Posted October 15, 2018
