Mandolin Moments

By Tim Connell

Radim kicked off the show with an uptempo medley of two original compositions, the chord melody “Spring Break”, originally featured on David Grisman's Tone Poets album, and the fiddle-tune-inspired “Twin Peaks”,  both performed on his signature Rosta Capek extra-wide-necked mandolin.  Radim would return to this instrument throughout the show, but he would also pull out a seemingly endless parade of stringed and wind instruments during the course of the show, like the single-course mandola he played fingerstyle on the next piece, a gentle orignal titled “Uneaten Apples”.

Radim Zenkl

Following this came Radim's tribute to the music and country he seems to love almost as much as his native Czech Republic: Ireland.  He played an insanely original take on the Irish tin whistle entitled “Kyvalka”, grounded in the traditional style, but exploiting aspects of the instrument that I never knew existed.  He followed this with a gentle piece on the Irish bouzouki, “Last Call”.

As the evening progressed, Radim would pull out a dizzying array of humble folk instruments and dazzle the audience with sounds that do not seem possible: a “koncovka”  a Czech shephard's whistle, over 6 feet high with an other-wordly sound; a nylon-stringed mandolin; a two-stringed ukelele that he turned into a full orchestra; a bull-horn ocarina that somehow produced a gorgeous melody; an end-blown flute with no holes, which produced over 15 separate notes through the magic of overblowing to access the harmonic series; and a compact, travel-sized Australian didgeridoo which he played in the traditional style, complete with circular breating.  And of course, the audience was treated to the alternative mandolin technique for which Radim is most well-known: the thumbpick duo-style he employed on his original “Pegasus Descent” among other pieces.

It must get lonely doing a solo show, so at the start of the second set, Radim shared the stage with several of his Portland friends, including this reviewer.  First up were mandolinist Olivia Duffy and classical guitarist Rene Berblinger, playing a Gervasio piece, a Brazilian choro and an original piece as well.  I was honored to join Radim in a two-mandolin exploration of his original piece “Rodrigues”.  I have not had the pleasure of playing with Radim since our tour in Poland with the Ger Mandolin boys, and we had a blast getting crazy on this Spanish-influenced jam-vehicle.  Up next was an Irish trio in which Radim was joined by Doug Smith and Eleanor Plunkett on the guitar and low whistle for a piece by the great Irish harper, Turlough O'Carolan.  And Ryan Francesconi brought out his amazing tambura for the traditional Bulgarian piece “In Between the Mountains”.

Radim closed the show with his delay-pedal extravaganza “Talk With the Rock”, met with a standing ovation.  Before playing the encore, a gentle “Revival” on his single-course mandola, Radim thanked the audience for their support and the wish that they “be inspired to create with whatever their own 'mandolin' is in life.”