Elias Faingersh, the Swedish trombonist who starred in last year’s Solo From the Pit, was on a plane that had a catastrophic engine failure over the middle of the Atlantic on his flight to Florida, which forced him to spend the night in sub-Arctic Canada and miss his preview performance. So, if for no other reason than that he risked life and limb bringing his production to Orlando, I encourage you to patronize The Soundtrack of My Life, his quirky combination of live concert and international travelogue.

During the show, Faingersh shows footage he’s shot in his travels around the world, and synchronizes it with a one-man orchestral score by using a digital sound machine to loop musical lines, along with beat-box thumps and unintelligible chants. The resulting songs draw on a grab-bag of world cultures, reflecting – like his footage of people, buildings and foods from nearly every continent – Faingersh’s globetrotting adventures; think Klezmer jazz meets Philip Glass in the New York subway.

Of course, being a carefree artist isn’t as easy as it looks, and Faingersh often has arguments with his own inner voice, which appears on screen to undermine him. The video segments (which were edited by Faingersh’s wife, Keren Klimovsky) include astounding shots of Elias paragliding himself into a broken arm. While some bits could use a bit of trimming, they help transform this from simply a showcase of Faingersh’s tremendous trombone technique, into an accessibly oddball tribute to artists like Elias who persevere through obstacles internal and external.

The Soundtrack of My Life
Teater KEF
Malmo Skane Region SWEDEN
Brown
Ages 7 and up
60 minutes
$12
Wednesday, May 15th 8:45 PM
Friday, May 17th 9:00 PM
Saturday, May 18th 10:45 PM
Sunday, May 19th 6:15 PM
Wednesday, May 22nd 8:30 PM
Thursday, May 23rd 9:00 PM
Saturday, May 25th 11:30 AM

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This article appears in May 8-14, 2019.