Jim Chute, U-T San Diego, 6th June 2015
“Francis’ gift is his ability to energize a melodic line, or a phrase, or a group of phrases, or an entire section of music. There are no dead spots. The line, whether on a micro or a macro level, is always in a dynamic state, and most often gaining energy.
You can see it in his baton, where most of the energy is not in the downbeat, but in the upbeat, as if he’s pulling the music out of the musicians, and he often uses his left hand for much the same purpose.”
