Performance Review: 'Brooklyn Babylon' at the Brooklyn Academy of Music

Composer and arranger Darcy James Argue took his unique and sometimes bombastic music to a new level of theatricality with the performance of his new work Brooklyn Babylon at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) this November. Argue’s music, performed by Secret Society, his large ensemble, is a nod to the proletariat with its abundance of styles, ranging from Balkan folk music to minimalism, with lots of jazz, classical, and punk rock in the middle.

A collaborative effort between Argue and Croatian visual artist and graphic novelist Danijel Zezelj, Brooklyn Babylon is more performance art than jazz concert. The work tells the story of Lev Bozdomni, a master carpenter who is contracted to build a carousel on the top of the word's tallest tower. Set in a dystopian futuristic Brooklyn, Argue and Zezelj present a fable of small communities being crushed by the hubris and greed of powerful men, and the small acts of resistance and revolution that the communities mount to maintain their freedom. The story is provided without words by Zezelj’s images through a graphic novel projected on a large screen, and through live painting. Argue provides the score for the wordless piece.

When I attended on Friday November 11th, the evening began with the brass section marching out playing an anthem that reminiscent of the brass band protest music by Carla Bley and the Charlie Haden Liberation Orchestra. The musicians not only provided the score, but were part of the set, as they were dressed as depression-era laborers, complete with overalls and news boy caps.

Slowly the musicians took to the stage, playing as they entered from different sides of the theatre, and converging on a circular platform. The configuration eschewed any traditional setup for a large ensemble, and highlighted the equal importance of each player. Argue watched from a balcony off to the side as the band took its place, and then took joined at the fore, wearing suspenders and a large bowler cap. Zezelj took his place on a scaffold and began to paint a cityscape across a giant canvas, which developed along with the plot throughout the performance.

The music complimented the imagery beautifully, and was performed incredibly well by Argue's Secret Society, an 18-piece ensemble consisting some of New York's top call musicians, including the likes of saxophonist John Ellis and trumpeter Ingrid Jensen. Despite having a traditional big band instrumentation, Secret Society rarely sounds like one. Argue avoids almost all of the cliché's of the genre, and the music often more resembles a soundtrack to a Fellini film than a Thad Jones arrangement. Much of this is thanks to Argue's choice to orchestrate his pieces with woodwinds more often than with saxophones, and with tuba instead of bass trombone.

Brooklyn Babylon was at times overtly bombastic, featuring waves of pounding horn antiphony that complimented the stark imagery depicting the rise of the ominous tower. There was, however, also a quiet side, where acoustic guitar, flutes, and clarinets provided the humanistic and sweet motifs accompanying Lev Bozdomni’s relationship to his daughter, and to his community.

Brooklyn Babylon is a true achievement for both Argue and Zezelj. It’s a total fusion of two completely separate media, combining modern technology, theatricality, sound, and imagery to create a truly unique and original work. While the symbolism and politics are at times a bit heavy-handed, it is refreshing to hear instrumental music that carries a message, and comments on the turmoil that we witness daily in an “Occupy Wall Street” world. Hopefully it will be performed again.