Photo and Written By Jasmine Durst
Jerry and Marlène Tachoir hosted a recital on Tuesday, September 24 at 7:30 p.m. in Stretansky Concert Hall. Susquehanna music instructors, Donald Fisher and Eric Hinton, commented “it is events like these that may spark an inspiration in someone.” Jerry Tachoir played the vibraphone using four mallets, and Marléne Tachoir sang and played the piano. The Duo Tachoir performed nine pieces without the usage of sheet music.
Beginning their recital, they played a piece titled “Anthem.” “Every one of these compositions has a story,” Jerry Tachoir claimed. They discussed how it is often hard to come up with titles to their songs since their songs do not have words. When describing the process of titling their piece, “Natchez”, they said that they went for a mile long walk to see if they could come up with some titles from signs around their neighborhood.
A few years ago, when gas prices skyrocketed and people were turning towards electric cars to better the environment, Jerry had turned to Marlène and asked, “What can we do to be better citizens?” Marlène went inside their studio and brought back a piece of music paper. When he asked, “What is that?”, she replied that it was “A Greener Blues”. It was a piece of music paper made from recycled paper.
The Tachoir’s fourth song was originally made for CVC television. The original length was 12 minutes in the show. After complications, it was reduced to seven minutes and then three minutes before it was cut completely from the show. Because it was a contracted gig, they still got paid even after being removed from the show and replaced. The duo originally had no title for this piece, but during a concert, they challenged their audience to pick a title for the piece, whoever had gotten chosen got credit. They received a stack of papers with suggestions, but a guy came up to the couple and said, “I didn’t write this down, but how about “Dance of the Dormouse?” And so, that was the chosen name for the piece.
Their fifth piece was a newer song, and the concept was to be a positive step forward. Their rescue kitten had hopped up on Jerry’s vibraphone, walking along it. He remembered when his father used to cut his hair when he was a little boy. His father would say “Cat Step” when he had cut a piece of hair that he wasn’t supposed to. “Cat Step” is the name for a mistake a barber made.
Marlène shared about a time that she had written a different piece each day for three straight days. Each day, would Jerry come into her studio and she would play a new piece. He would ask, “What happened to the other piece you were working on yesterday?” She simply responded, “I finished that one.” These three pieces that Marlène had written then made up the three movements for their song “Reflections.” The duo played their middle movement called “Tearful.”
When talking about their inspiration for the song, “Flyer,” the Tachoir’s shared how their daughter is a filmmaker. They told the story of how their daughter was a flyer for the cheerleading team in middle school. They were supporting their cheerleader daughter at game in the gym and watching her flip in air. When they got home that night, Marlène went to her studio and began crafting a song. They submitted it to a Jazz Competition Contest, winning first place.
Song nine was a Chick Corea song called “Song for Sally” – also known as “Sea Journey” – to remember the passing of Chick Corea, a legend in the jazz community.
The performance was inspiring and new for Susquehanna University, and attending was an exciting way to experience musical innovation.