Rigmor Gustafsson Quintet - Kumbaya

Topic: Jazz - Title
Tino Derado created a version of "Kumbaya" that made no reference to the original song when he was working with the Rigmor Gustafsson Quintet in 1998. Instead, he used the relentlessly fast pace and instrumentation of Bebop with a piano, string bass, and drums. Gustafsson vocalized with the saxophone.

His version had more thematic unity than most jazz compositions that allowed each instrumentalist to improvise in his or her own style. [1] Derado created two recurring motifs. One was the rhythmic one he played on the piano to signal the beginning of each of the solos. The other was the melodic one, which, because it required Gustafsson and Gabriel Coburger to move in unison, imposed a discipline on both.

Derado’s work entered the jazz repertoire as a virtuoso piece for young vocalists. Karolina Zibkute posted a short segment that featured only the vocal duet with the saxophone in 2015. Her Lithuanian group used an electric keyboard and bass, and supplemented the regular drummer with two small snare drums played with sticks.

Manon Pellicorio performed her own version in a Dublin club in 2016. Her pace was slower, and she did less unison work with the saxophone player. Instead, she treated parts of Gustafsson’s duets as solos. Both women had just completed conservatory training programs.

Performers
Gustafsson [2]
Vocal Soloist: Rigmor Gustafsson
Vocal Group: none
Instrumental Soloist: Gabriel Coburger, saxophone

Instrumental Accompaniment: Tino Derado, piano; Hans Glawischnig, bass

Rhythm Accompaniment: Roland Schneider, drums

Zibkute
Vocal Soloist: Karolina Zibkute
Vocal Group: none
Instrumental Soloist: saxophone
Instrumental Accompaniment: keyboard, electric bass
Rhythm Accompaniment: drum set plus two small snare drums

Pellicorio [3]
Vocal Soloist: Manon Pellicorio
Vocal Group: none
Instrumental Soloist: Nick Roth, tenor saxophone

Instrumental Accompaniment: Cormac Kenny, piano; Barry Rycraft, string bass

Rhythm Accompaniment: Brendan Doherty, drums

Credits
Gustafsson
"Composer: Tino Derado." [4]

Zibkute
None given

Pellicorio
"written by Tino Derado (Rigmor Gustafsson)" [5]

Notes on Lyrics
There were none

Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: Tino Derado
Tempo: fast

Basic Structure: recurring motifs

Singing Style: Gustafsson, Zibkute, and Pellicorio scatted alone or in unison with the saxophones

Notes on Performance
Gustafsson [6]
Occasion: recording session, September 1998.
Location: Systems Two, New York

Zibkute
Location: theater stage
Microphones: Zibkute had a hand-held mike

Clothing: Zibkute had straight blond hair cut in the style of Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary. She wore a yellow dress and matching coat. The men were in the shadows in the video.

Pellicorio [7]
Occasion: 10 June 2016
Location: Dublin, Ireland, club

Microphones: Pellicorio had a hand-held mike; the rest had floor mikes.

Clothing: Pellicorio wore a dress with black tights; the men wore dark long-sleeved shirts and slacks.

Notes on Movement
Zibkute
When she was not singing she stepped from one diagonal to another and let the arm that was not holding the microphone swing freely. When she sang, she bent her knees to keep time and bent her left arm at the elbow. During the staccato section she used that hand to mark the beats.

Pellicorio
The grand piano was between the pianist and Pellicorio, creating a barrier between it and the other musicians who were widely spaced. She kept time with her hands.

Notes on Performers
Gustafsson was raised in Grums, Sweden, where she learned to play guitar in public school when she was eight-years-old. [8] After she moved to New York in 1993 to study at the New School for Jazz, she formed a quintet that played local clubs. [9] The group toured for several years after she graduated in 1995. [10]

Two of the musicians on the "Kumbaya" recording, Derado and Coburger, also had been at the New School in those years. Coburger’s post-school quartet included Gustaffson’s drummer, Roland Schneider. [11] The bass player, Hans Glawischnig, was at the Berkee School when they were at the New School, but moved to New York where he studied at the Manhattan School of Music. [12]

Zibkute’s vocal talent was discovered early, and she was sent to schools that specialized in the arts. While a student at the conservatory in Klaipedos, [13] she placed fourth in the Baltic voice contest. [14] After graduation she moved to Vilnius to continue study at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. In 2017, her Facebook page indicated she had used the name Carolyn Lu when she was in Chicago. [15] Her musicians in 2015 were Leonardas Beksa, Augustas Genutis, Kasparas Petkus, Vilhelmas Rudys, and Paulius Stonkus. [16]

Pellicorio was raised in Zürich, Switzerland, where her father "encouraged me very early to sing songs with him, which he then accompanied on the guitar." [17] She studied at the Musikschule Konservatorium Zürich and the Hochschule für Kunst, Design und Populäre Musik in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, before going to Dublin where she earned a degree in jazz performance from the Newpark Music Centre in 2016. [18]

Availability
Rigmor Gustafsson Quintet
Album: Plan #46. Prophone Records PCD 044. 1998.

YouTube: uploaded by NAXOS of America on 13 February 2015.

Karolina Zibkute
YouTube: uploaded by infokarolina on 6 June 2015.

Manon Debora (Pellicorio)
YouTube: uploaded by Manon Debora on 30 November 2016.

End Notes
1. John Wesley Work described this jazz style in the post for 26 February 2018.
2. Gustafsson personnel list from "Rigmor Gustafsson Quintet - Plan #46." Discogs website.
3. Pellicorio personnel list from YouTube.
4. Gustafsson credit from YouTube.
5. Pellicorio credit from YouTube.
6. Gustafsson recording information from Discogs.
7. Pellicorio performance information from YouTube.
8. Wikipedia. "Rigmor Gustafsson."
9. Rigmor Gustafsson website.
10. Wikipedia, Gustafsson.
11. German Wikipedia. "Gabriel Coburger."
12. German Wikipedia. "Hans Glawischnig."
13. "Carolina Lu (Karolina Zibkute)." Facebook.

14. "Baltic Voice 2014 4-th Place/ Karolina Zibkute." Uploaded to YouTube by infokarolina on 14 July 2014.

15. Facebook, Zibkute.
16. Zibkute personnel list from YouTube.
17. Manon Pellicorio. Quoted by Instrumentor website.
18. "Manon Pellicorio." Take Jazz website.