Jazz At Symphony Center By Dan Zeff Chicago – The
2009-2010 Jazz at Symphony Center subscription series closed Friday night at
Orchestra Hall with a septet of young musicians playing a tribute to the late
jazz immortal Dizzy Gillespie. Dizzy would have been honored by the
commemoration, though he may have been a bit perplexed by the presentation of
some of the numbers associated with him. The concert was labeled “Things to Come: 21st
Century Dizzy.” The band, on a cross country tour, is fronted by Panamanian
pianist Danilo Perez. The best known sidemen in the group are Puerto Rican tenor
saxophonist David Sanchez and Brooklyn-born bassist John Patitucci. The rest of
the combo consists of trumpeter Amir ElSaffar (Iraqi heritage), also
saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa (India), Brazilian percussionist Rogerio
Boccato, and New York City drummer Adam Cruz.
Dizzy would have approved of the international composition of the band, being
one of the forerunners in spreading the music throughout the world. Dizzy led
the United Nations jazz orchestra in 1989 with a very young Danilo Perez as his
pianist. The
septet may take its texts from the bebop era, but the music ventured more into
the free jazz realm of a couple of decades later. The rhythm section laid down
propulsive walls of sound that often blanketed the front line horns. Sanchez,
always a free spirit on the tenor sax, Mahanthappa, and ElSaffar played raucous
solos and turbulent ensemble passages in which each horn man seemed to go his
own way. The
program was familiar Gillespie (“Salt Peanuts,” “Manteca,” “Kush,” etc.),
though the arrangements, mostly by members of the band, tended to deconstruct
each number into turbulent waves of notes. The normally lilting and swinging “Algo
Bueno” was almost unrecognizable in the frenzied arrangement. And that wasn’t
the only selection during the evening that flirted with controlled chaos. There
was one lyrical interlude, Perez paying homage to Hank Jones, the eminent jazz
pianist who had died a few days before the concert. Perez led a moving trio
version of the Thelonious Monk classic “Round Midnight.” Sanchez joined the
performance with a disciplined and reflective solo that revealed a new face to
his otherwise ferocious style.
Curiously, the most successful number in the concert was a long rendition
of an original work by Adam Cruz. The highlight was a trumpet solo by ElSaffar
that was drenched in the melancholy strains of bullfight music. The band moved
into a hard bop mode that was pure Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers before
reverting to its regular turbulent manner. Perez
was a distinctive and occasionally eloquent soloist throughout the evening and
an engaging master of ceremonies. Patitucci was a major contributor with his
large sound and Mahanthappa displayed a fiery Phil Woods-ish attack played at
warp speed. Cruz and Boccato were relentless in their rhythmic underpinnings
with an emphasis on a Latin beat. The
audience seemed to warm up to the group as the intermissionless concert moved
along, perhaps adjusting to the band’s loud and intense sound. The music may
have been born with Dizzy Gillespie in the mid 20th century, but it
was speaking with a new and tumultuous voice. If that’s Dizzy in the 21st
century, then so be it. Contact
Dan at zeffdaniel@yahoo.com. May 2010 ************************** Jazz at Symphony Center (Redman & Cohen) By Dan Zeff CHICAGO—Jazz fans concerned about today’s state of
the art form should have left the Symphony Center Presents Jazz concert Friday
night feeling pretty good about the present and future of the music. They had
just heard two excellent sets by two quartets of very talented young instrumentalists. The quartets were led by the Israeli
clarinetist and saxophonist Anat Cohen and saxophonist Joshua Redman. Redman,
who seems like he’s been around forever, recently turned 40 and has been well
known on the jazz scene since the early 1990’s. Cohen moved to the United
States from Israel in 1996 and just started making her mark as a soloist and
leader a couple of years ago. Both should have an artistic shelf life that
takes them well into the new millennium. They are both wonderful performers and
on the evidence of Friday night’s concert they both can build a superior rhythm
section that acts as full partners in the music making and not just as
accompanists.
Cohen appeared in a November concert
in the Symphony Center jazz series and blew everyone away with her tenor saxophone
and clarinet playing. Friday night Cohen played a short set using only the clarinet.
There are certainly no complaints about her clarinet playing but one number on
tenor sax would have enriched the set. Cohen is bravely trying to
reestablish the clarinet as a major voice in contemporary jazz. The instrument
fell from popularity with the popularity of bebop in the 1940’s and has never completely
recovered. Cohen played three extended selections that demonstrated her total
command of the instrument in all registers and at all speeds. She started off
with a deconstructed version of Fats Waller’s “Jitterbug Waltz” and continued
with the Cuban romantic ballad “Siboney.” After a brief rendition of a modern
Israeli ballad she ended her set with a white-hot interpretation of the swing
era classic “After You’ve Gone.” Cohen has a sleek sound that doesn’t
quite achieve the richness of the big band masters Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw.
But she yields to nobody in her dazzling technique, especially in the difficult
upper register. But her style isn’t just pyrotechnics. Cohen is smooth in the
middle register and warm in the lower register. She took off like a rocket in “After
You’ve Gone,” playing avalanches of notes at warp speed. Cohen’s rhythm section was led by
her longtime colleague Jason Lindner on piano Lindner soloed with a winning impressionist,
sometimes introspective style. Israeli bassist Omer Avital and Miami-born
drummer Obed Calvaire supported deftly and delivered tasteful and musical
solos. This was a very tight trio and the entire combo deserved more than its
40 minutes of stage time. The Redman group took the stage
after the usual excessive 25 minute intermission and performed nonstop for 80
minutes plus an encore. I say nonstop because the quartet went from one
extended number to the next, omitting any introduction or commentary. The
audience didn’t hear a word from the normally gregarious Redman until the end
of the regular set, when he introduced his associates. All of the numbers
likely were originals composed by members of the quartet, but the listeners
were none the wiser. The band calls itself James Farm for reasons never
disclosed. The audience may not have heard
verbally from Redman but they heard plenty from his tenor and soprano
saxophones and his associates—Aaron Parks on piano, Matt Penman on bass, and
Eric Harland on drums. The group played at a magnificently high level on every
piece, whether it was funky, straight ahead post bebop, or edgy modern. Redman
alternated between long flowing lines and jagged bursts of notes, occasionally
ending in squawks that sounded like a cry of pain supplication. His total commitment to the
music led in one number to his dropping to one knee and bowing his head as if
in prayer or meditation as his compatriots soloed.
Parks
delivered one fascinating solo after another, sometimes playing with Brad
Mehldau-like lyricism and other times with the density of a Keith Jarrett.
Penman was all over the bass as a rhythm provider and soloist and Harland
offered one groovy solo after another. A tenor sax-led quartet runs the brisk of
monotony, especially during a long set. And performing nothing but unfamiliar
originals can tax an audience’s attention span. But James Farm held the stage
from first note to last, no matter what the mood and tempo of the piece and no
matter who held the solo spotlight. This was jazz at a very high level,
aesthetically and professionally. The 2009-2010 jazz series concludes
April 21 with the appearance of pianist Danilo Perez leading an international
septet in a celebration of the music of Dizzy Gillespie. For tickets, call 312
294 3000 or visit www.cso.org. April 2010 Contact Dan at zeffdaniel@yahoo.com . **********************************************************************************
Symphony
Center Presents Jazz (2010-2011) By Dan Zeff CHICAGO--The
Symphony Center Presents Jazz bookers have done a handsome job of program
building for the Center’s 2010/2011 jazz subscription series. The concerts at
Orchestra Hall will have something for most jazz tastes—big band swing, vocal,
New Orleans, gospel, and international. The series will be especially attractive to lovers of jazz
piano and jazz trumpet, bringing in pianists Chick Corea, Marcus Roberts, Allen
Toussaint, and Jason Moran, along with trumpeters Hugh Masekela, Nicholas
Payton, Wynton Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, and Jon Faddis. The 10-concert series opens on October 8 with Chick Corea
leading an all-star trio with bassist Christian McBride and drummer Brian
Blade. The concert will mark Corea’s first appearance in the series in more
than 10 years.
On October 22, Hugh Masekela brings his trumpet and
flugelhorn to Symphony Center in a program melding jazz, pop, and the music of
Masekela’s native South Africa. On December 10, violinist Regina Carter and singer-bassist
Esperanza Spalding join musical forces. Carter is probably the preeminent
violin virtuoso on the contemporary jazz scene. Spalding, who appeared at last
year’s Chicago Jazz Festival, is a singer and composer as well as an
instrumentalist and deals in edgy modern jazz flavored with Spanish and African
influences. On January 14, Allen Toussaint comes up from New Orleans for
his Symphony Center debut, leading a group that includes Nicholas Payton and
clarinetist Don Byron. The program will explore both traditional and today’s
New Orleans music. On February 4, Wynton Marsalis will come to Chicago with the
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. The JLCO appearances have always been among
the most popular in jazz series history, so it would be prudent to get tickets
early. On March 25, another Marsalis comes to the series, Wynton’s brother Branford Marsalis. Branford
and his soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones, will share the program with
trumpeter Terence Blanchard, like Branford an arranger and composer as well as
a performer. On April 15, Dianne Reeves will return for a follow-up visit
after her stunning appearance in the current jazz series.
On April 22, the Count Basie Orchestra will perform along
with Chicago favorite Marcus Roberts and his trio. Roberts will play with the
third Marsalis of the series, drummer Jason Marsalis. On May 20, trumpeter Jon Faddis will lead the Chicago Jazz
Ensemble in a tribute to gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. On June 3, the series concludes with an appearance by veteran
saxophonist Charles Lloyd, for years one of the elder statesmen of the freer
line of jazz. For part of the evening Lloyd will perform with Indian tabla star
Zakir Hussain. Lloyd will then lead a quartet featuring Jason Moran on piano. All concerts will be held on Fridays beginning at 8 p.m. This
year’s schedule is especially user-friendly in presenting only three concerts
during the winter months, thus sparing audiences additional freezing walks to
Symphony Center on the lakefront. Three jazz concerts have been scheduled outside the
subscription series. Herbie Hancock performs on August 21. Wynton Marsalis
accompanies a film homage to Louis Armstrong and Charlie Chaplin on August 25,
and pianist Chucho Valdes leads the Afro-Cuban Messengers on October 10. Subscriptions can be purchased in five- and 10-concert
packages. Prices range from $204 to $746 for the complete series and $115 to
$418 for the five-concert package. The subscriptions provide 33% discounts over
single ticket prices. For information call 312 294 3000 or 800 223 7114, or
visit www.cso.org. April 2010 Contact Dan
at zeffdaniel@yahoo.com . ************************* Jazz At Symphony
Center By Dan Zeff Chicago - The
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra made one of its treasured visits to Orchestra
Hall Friday night as part of the Jazz at Symphony Center series, devoting the
evening to a program of original works, all connected to the theme of modern
painting. The
modern art theme was a little tenuous and many of the pieces bore no
discernable aural connection to the visual character of the modern art. But
that didn’t prevent the orchestra from delivering its usual superior
performance, a top notch blend of ensemble musicianship and spot-on solos. The
centerpiece of the concert was a new suite called “Portrait in Seven Shades,”
composed by orchestra reed man Ted Nash. Nash’s work was preceded by a small
cluster of works that included celebrations of African American painter Romare
Bearden and nineteenth century American realistic artist Winslow Homer. The
concert was primarily a showcase for the orchestra’s crisp and clean section
work from the reed and brass players who collectively have produced the best
big band sound in jazz for almost two decades. The solos were distributed evenly
through the band, with artistic director Wynton Marsalis himself taking only
two extending breaks, a gutsy plunger mute solo on “Winslow Homer” and a
virtuoso turn on “Picasso” from Nash’s suite. The
solos were fine but the ensemble playing carried the evening, tastefully supported
by the rhythm section of pianist Dan Nimmer, bassist Carlos Henriquez, and
drummer Ali Jackson. In his short solos, Nimmer once again demonstrated his
brilliant technique and distinctive style, and once again the listener could
reflect that the young man would be well worth hearing in a trio format for an
entire set. Jackson
played tastefully and musically, showing that a percussionist doesn’t require a
tedious five-minute solo to make his mark in a concert. The same could be said
for Henriquez with his concise solos and rock solid rhythm work. Nash
introduced each piece in his suite, imparting personal reflections with a
disarming informality that never seemed false or affected, even though he’s
likely delivered the same verbal material in numerous concerts. The
orchestra has retained its personnel over the years, the newest member,
trombonist Elliot Mason, joining the group in 2007. The musicians obviously feel
comfortable with each other and that relaxed feeling communicated itself to the
audience, which jammed the stage and the balcony behind the musicians as well
as filling the main hall itself. Marsalis’s usual witty commentary further
enhanced the intimacy and accessibility of the concert. The
best pieces of the evening were a matter of taste. I particularly liked the “Chagall”
segment from Nash’s suite, with its eastern European flavor punctuated by the
klezmer sound of traditional Jewish music. The “Jackson Pollock” segment captured
the unpredictable energy of the artist’s abstract style with a sequence of
honks and squeals climaxed by a long, pungent solo by trumpeter Ryan Kisor. But
every musician had at least one glory moment, typified by a lyrical trumpet
solo from Sean Jones on the suite’s “Van Gogh.” Unfortunately, that piece was
lumbered by a vocal interlude from trombonist Vincent Gardner that was corny to
the max. Fortunately, we soon heard an eloquent soprano saxophone solo by Walter
Blandings that righted the artistic ship. After
completing Nash’s suite, the orchestra left the stage except for the rhythm
section and Marsalis, who treated the audience to an encore of numerous
choruses of New Orleans trumpet playing, maybe the musical highlight of the
evening and a perfect end to a glowing evening. The
Symphony Center series continues on April 9 with a visit from the eminent tenor
saxophonist Sonny Rollins and his quintet. For tickets call 312 294 3000 or
visit www.cso.org. March 2010 Contact Dan at zeffdaniel@yahoo.com. *************************** Jazz At Symphony Center by Dan Zeff Chicago– It was Latin night at Friday
evening’s Jazz at Symphony Center concert, offering one set of pure Latin jazz
and a second set of straight ahead jazz with a Latin flavor. The Latin flavored
set was pretty good but the pure jazz opener was scintillating. The
first set belongs to a quartet led by Brazilian born Eliane Elias, who is not
only one of the best pianists in jazz today but also the most glamorous. Elias
made an eye popping appearance in an off the shoulder basic black dress that
contrasted luminous with her long blonde hair. But once the music started it
was her artistry rather than her sex appeal that blew away the audience.
Elias
presided at the pianist, providing informative and relaxed commentary on the
music, which concentrated almost entirely on bossa nova compositions. She
included a couple of American pop standards with Latin jazz inflections (“They
Can’t Take That Away from Me” and “Tangerine”) but the set was largely given
over to works by the stars of Brazilian bossa nova—Gilberto Gil, Antonio Carlos
Jobim, and Joao Gilberto. Yet Elias stayed away from the bossa nova standards—no
“Desifindo,” “The Girl from Ipanema,” “Corcavado,” or “Morning of the Carnival.”
No matter, because her program waved the bossa nova flag bravely, in both instrumental
and vocal renditions. Elias
is a classically trained pianist and it showed in her virtuosity on the
keyboard. But she swings like crazy, not only in Brazilian rhythms but also in
bebop and even barrelhouse modes. She is brilliant with both hands, unlike so many
jazz pianists who let their right hand do the playing while the left hand adds
a few chords along the way. Elias
is also a persuasive singer. Not many of her listeners understand Portuguese
but she was able to communicate the spirit of her Brazilian music even when we
couldn’t understand a word she sang. Elias doesn’t have a big voice but bossa
nova doesn’t encourage blast furnace vocalizing. Her firm, emotional singing
suited the music perfectly. She even slipped her shoes on and moved from the
piano to the center of the Orchestra Hall stage to sing a stand-up vocal accompanied
by her rhythm section, suggesting Elias would have as secure place in jazz
solely as a vocalist. Elias’s
intimate style could have been diminished in the spacious Orchestra Hall venue,
but she was able to shrink the auditorium into an intimate night club
atmosphere through her ability to reach out to the audience like we were all a
group of friends gathered to hear her play, sing, and chat. Her animated body
language at the piano certified a musician who really enjoyed her music and
that carried into the appreciative audience. Elias
led an exceptionally tight quartet consisting of Rubens de La Corte on guitar,
Marc Johnson (Elias’s husband) on bass, and Rafael Barata on drums. They all
complemented the leader to a turn, though it would have been nice to hear more
guitar solos. But the role of the three sidemen was to lay down solid rhythm
accompaniment for Elias and that they did. Barata even pulled off that rarest
of percussion feats, delivering an exceptionally inventive extended drum solo
at the end of the set. It
was the misfortune of Conrad Herwig’s Latin Side All-Star Band to follow Elias’s
exceptionally entertaining set. Herwig leads a septet that plays Latinized
versions of music associated with Miles Davis and three of his most illustrious
associates, Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane, and Wayne Shorter. Thus we heard
Latin adaptations of such numbers as “So What” and “The Sorcerer.”
The
front line consisted of Herwig on trombone, Mike Rodriguez on trumpet, and
Craig Handy on tenor saxophone and flute, with Bill O’Connell on piano. They
are all strong soloists with Handy particularly effective on the flute. But
with one exception, all the music was performed in an up tempo hard bop style
that gave the set a sameness of impact. Much of that sameness can be attributed
to the “one size fits all” rhythm section of Ruben Rodriguez (electric bass),
Robby Ameen (drums), and Pedro Martinez conga drums. They laid down a dense
carpet of Latin rhythm sound that leveled the music’s impact to a single
continuous sound. And where is it written that a conga drummer always must be
allotted a long, long percussion solo? Martinez is an accomplished performer
but the congas are best taken in much smaller doses. Herwig
has recorded several albums in the last five years dedicated to Latin
interpretations of Davis, Hancock, Coltrane, and Shorter. The audience could
have profited from Herwig explicating a bit on the concept of the band and its
choice of music. Elias explained her music with grace and informality and
intelligence. Jazz
at Symphony Center continues on March 19 with the hottest ticket of the series,
the annual appearance of Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.
For information call 312 294 3000 or visit
www.cso.org/jazz. Feb. 2010 Contact Dan
at zeffdaniel@yahoo.com . ****************************** Jazz at Symphony Center By
Dan Zeff Chicago
–
The Kings of the Crescent City visited Orchestra Hall Friday night as the latest
entry in the Jazz at Symphony Center jazz series, celebrating the four pillars
of New Orleans jazz in the 1920’s—King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Sidney
Bechet, and Louis Armstrong. The
Kings consist of eight musicians, a few actually from New Orleans, who began
playing about two years ago under the auspices of the Jazz at Lincoln Center
Orchestra. Half of the band has its roots in the JLCO, led by reed player
Victor Goines, now the director of jazz studies and professor of music at
Northwestern University.
The
Kings performed their program in four mini sets, each dedicated to one of the
four jazz greats of New Orleans. The performances were high spirited and
entertaining, but there were a few nits to pick with the program selection.
Still, the large and enthusiastic audience should have departed from Orchestra
Hall with a renewed appreciation of the buoyancy of New Orleans jazz in its
prime, as well as its technical brilliance. The
most successful set was the opening salute to King Oliver and his Creole Jazz
Band, a revolutionary ensemble in the early 1920’s that featured the young
Louis Armstrong and set a new standard of creativity and musicianship in the
pioneering days of jazz. Kings performances of “Chattanooga Stomp,” “Chimes
Blues,” and “Snake Rag” recaptured the marvelously balanced ensemble of the
Oliver band, its tight sound, and the extraordinary interplay between Oliver
and Armstrong. The
Oliver set featured the trumpet work of Marcus Printup and Freddie Hendrix, along
with Goines on clarinet and Wycliffe Gordon on gutbucket trombone, ably
supported by the rhythm section of Diehl on piano, Herman Burney on bass,
Herlin Riley on drums, and Don Vappie on banjo and guitar. Vappie was a revelation
in demonstrating how the banjo could be a viable rhythm and solo instrument in
the right jazz context. The
glitches started with the Jelly Roll Norton set. Morton was the first important
jazz composer and his discography is loaded with small masterpieces. The Kings
selected a couple of novelty numbers in “Sidewalk Blues” and “Hyena Blues” that
had their share of good music but were tarnished by vaudeville-style comic chat
and vocalizing, just like the original records. There were other Morton pieces
that were more musical, though the audience got a kick out of all the comic
mugging. Diehl took an idiosyncratic solo on the jazz standard “The King Porter
Stomp” that exhibited the pianist’s chops but didn’t have much to do with Jelly
Roll Morton. Sidney
Bechet was one of the inimitable instrumental stylists in jazz on both the
clarinet and soprano saxophone. The Kings played five selections to honor
Bechet, including Scott Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag,” an odd choice. Goines soloed
on the Bechet signature tune “Petit Fleur,” selecting the clarinet instead of
the more passionate-sounding soprano sax. Goines’s solo was filled with
dazzling technique but went on too long and occasionally lapsed into a thin
reedy sound in the upper register. The
evening closed with the Louis Armstrong commemoration. Replicating Satchmo’s
playing and singing is a daunting assignment for even the most gifted performers.
Printup soloed on the classic duet “Weatherbird” with Diehl providing the Earl
Hines accompaniment and while the playing was resourceful and accomplished, it
suffered in comparison with the Armstrong original recording. The same could be
said for Hendrix stepping into Armstrong’s musical shoes for the “West End
Blues”—fine playing but for those fans who knew Armstrong’s 1928 recording note
for note it didn’t quite measure up. The
rest of the Armstrong salute concentrated on Satchmo’s later years when he was
as much a showman as a jazz musician. Thus there was an extended rendition of “I’ll
Be Glad When You’re Dead, You Rascal You” with every member of the ensemble contributing
a brief comic vocal chorus. The number was a crowd pleaser but the time could
have been better devoted to the more musical Armstrong classics. These
multiple nits do not invalidate an evening that produced much quality playing,
performed with obvious affection by the Kings. Paying tribute to exceptional
artists is always a dicey business. How much do you copy, and risk being found
wanting in comparison with the original, and how often do you take liberties,
which may distance the listener from the specifics of the subject’s work? The
Kings of the Crescent City clearly struck what they feel is a proper balance,
emphasizing the feel-good character of the music. The program may not have been
ideal, at least in one person’s opinion, but the Friday night crowd had a great
time and in this spirit the evening was a success.
The
Jazz at Orchestra Hall series continues on February 19 with an evening of Latin
jazz by Brazilian pianist-singer Eliane Elias and Conrad Herwig’s Latin Side
All-Stars. For tickets call 312 294 3000 or visit www.cso.org. January 2010 Contact Dan at zeffdaniel@yahoo.com.
************************** Jazz at
Symphony Center By
Dan Zeff Chicago
– About
200 years of cumulative jazz experience went on display Friday night at the
Jazz at Symphony Center concert at Orchestra Hall. The venerable George Wein
brought in his latest edition of the Newport All-Stars and the predictable
result was a long set of easy swinging pleasures delivered by an ensemble of
old pros. Wein
has been occasionally touring with collections of mainstream jazz stars since
the 1950’s. For the Friday night concert, his group was made up of a front line
of Randy Sandke on trumpet, Lew Tabackin on tenor saxophone and flute, and the young
Israeli-born clarinet born soprano saxophone virtuoso Anat Cohen. The
basic rhythm section consisted of Wein on piano, Howard Alden on guitar, Jay
Leonhart on bass, and Winard Harper on drums. The septet was augmented during
the evening by appearances from guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli and pianist Dick Hyman, both well into their 80’s (Wein
is 84) and both playing as good as ever. The
concert presented a well thought out program of mix-and-match groupings,
starting with the basic septet, followed by unaccompanied solos, duets, trios,
quartets, and even a couple of novelty vocals from Wein and Jay Leonhart. The
concert drew almost exclusively from the Great American Songbook, with special
attention to a large helping of Ellingtonia. The concert opened and closed with
jam sessions on Duke Ellington’s “Johnny Come Lately” and “Take the ‘A’ Train”
along with a Sandke-led rendition of “The Mooche.”
Dick
Hyman has been a top-tier jazz pianist of awesome versatility for more than 50
years and he gave the appreciative crowd a scintillating taste of his technique
and invention with a wonderful solo on Fats Waller’s “Ain’t Misbehavin’” as
channeled through Art Tatum. He then played a dazzling fantasia on Irving
Berlin’s “Cheek to Cheek” with rhythm accompaniment. Pizzarelli
honored the inimitable style of gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt with a lyrical
and swinging exploration of “Manor de mes Reves” (better known as “Django’s
Castle”). Howard Alden joined him for a high velocity duet version of
“Tangerine.” The big crowd pleaser of the night came from the duo of Alden and
Cohen, who showed astonishing chops on the clarinet in a scorching ragtime
number. Cohen
played fine soprano sax throughout the concert, starting with the bossa nova
standard “Morning of the Carnival” in partnership with Lew Tabackin on flute.
Cohen looks young enough to be the granddaughter of most of the men on the
stage, but she yielded to nobody in her musicianship and swing. In
addition to serving as the master of ceremonies, Wein played some solid
mainstream piano, highlighted by a lovely solo on “The Mooche.” Wein is the
most important impresario in jazz history but he is also a pianist with a
bottomless knowledge of the jazz repertoire. Wein, the two guitarists,
Leonhart, and Harper all joined contributed in various combinations to provide
faultless rhythm accompaniment. And what a relief to hear drum solos from
Harper that were concise and intelligent instead of the prolonged ego trips
that too often afflicted previous jazz concerts. All
in all it was a rewarding evening of music by men and one woman who had nothing
to prove, everyone relaxed and comfortable in their musical skins. Every one of
the nine performers on stage clearly enjoyed their work and they listened to
each other with concentration and appreciation. They may be senior citizens,
Ms. Cohen excepted, but in professionalism and jazz expertise they represent
the best in the jazz tradition, a generation who will be hard to replace. The
next Jazz at Symphony Center concert will feature pianist McCoy Tyner and his
trio working with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra on December 11. For tickets call
312 294 3000 or visit www.cso.org. Nov.2009 Contact
Dan: zeffdaniel@yahoo.com
*********************** Jazz at Symphony Center by
Dan Zeff
CHICAGO - Friday night’s “Jazz at
Symphony Center” concert looked like a fine opportunity to check out three of
the major young voices on today’s jazz scene, pianists Vijay Iyer and Jason
Moran and saxophonist Chris Potter. The merits of the concert were a matter of
taste, but Iyer emerged as the clear winner of a long night of very modern
jazz. Iyer
is only 36 but he’s been recording since 1996, earning considerable praise from
critics if not a huge amount of recognition from the jazz public. Iyer is
loaded with technique and displayed a jazz imagination that took the listener
to all kinds of surprise places. His playing shuttled from dissonant to swinging,
funky to lyrical, and gentle to aggressive. Iyer can begin a piece with quiet tenderness
and suddenly shift gears to hard driving and explosive. He plays complex music
that requires the total attention of the listener. Iyer’s music is accessible
but it never coasts on jazz clichés. Like Keith Jarrett, his playing always
keeps you on the edge of your seat.
Friday
night Iyer played selections from his latest CD, “Historicity,” as well as numbers
that have been embedded in his repertoire for years. He has an eclectic taste
in modern music, performing pieces by the hip-hop artist M.I.A. (“Galang”),
Stevie Wonder (“Big Brother”), the avant garde saxophonist Julius Hemphill (“Dogon
A.D.”), and the cutting edge jazz pianist Andrew Hill (“Smoke Stack”). Iyer
played one standard, Leonard Bernstein’s “Somewhere” from ”West Side Story”
that was a marvelous meditation on the melody, reflective and thoughtful in some
choruses, swirling with well placed note in others.
Bassist
Dave Holland completed the concert with his Overtone Quartet. Holland is one of
the premiere bassists in jazz as well as an important combo and big band
leader. His quartet consisted of Eric Harland on drums as well as Moran and
Potter. The group played in the post bop mode, with lots of long, angular solos,
especially by Potter on tenor and soprano saxophones. All the selections were
original compositions by members of the quartet. Potter
was the principle soloist, playing extended solos, some stimulating and well
thought out and others just frenetic cascades of notes, especially on the
soprano. For spectators who prefer saxophonists in the post-Coltrane/Wayne
Shorter style, Potter put on a good show. For listeners who like some swing in
their solos and appreciate a musician who edits as he goes along and leaves
some space for the music to breathe, Potter’s performance was often fatiguing,
especially his work on the soprano. Unfortunately,
Jason Moran didn’t get much solo space, ands what solos he took were divided
between the acoustic piano and the electric piano. The electric piano robbed
the musician of his distinctive sound, though all the notes were there. Moran
has made some terrific records that range from atonal to James P. Johnson.
Hopefully, the Jazz at Symphony Center series will bring him back for his own
set so audiences can get more exposure that they received Friday night to one
of the stars of the under-40 jazz scene. Holland
soloed eloquently and tastefully, plucking a beautiful soft sound from his
bass. Regrettably, drummer Harland banged and crashed through several self
indulgent and overlong solos, soaking up solo space that would have been more
happily allotted to Moran. Lovers
of more traditional jazz should be well served by the next series concert on
November 13 when jazz patriarch George Wein brings in a group of mainstream
performers called the Newport All-Stars. The group will include guitarists
Howard Alden and Bucky Pizzarelli, saxophonist Lew Tabackin, and pianist Dick
Hyman. For
tickets, call 312 294 3000 or visit www.cso.org. Nov. 2009
*************************
Dianne
Reeves At Jazz at Symphony Center By Dan Zeff
CHICAGO—The Jazz at Symphony Center series advertised its opening concert
of the 2009-2010 season as “Dianne Reeves Strings Attached.” That
evoked an image of the diva backed by a battery of saccharine violins. Instead,
the strings consisted of a pair of the most accomplished electric guitar players
in jazz. The guitarists and Reeves combined to convert Orchestra Hall into an
intimate jazz club and their music Friday night was terrific. Reeves
touched all the bases during her 100-minute intermissionless set—jazz, rhythm
and blues, bossa nova, blues, a touch of gospel, African rhythms, and even a
helping of scat singing. Guitarists Russell Malone and Romero Lubambo took turns
as accompanists and soloists. They fit with Reeves like a musical glove, and
what could have been a one-night “hope for the best” jam session was a
beautifully selected program of adroitly arranged numbers—standards mixed with
the new and the unfamiliar.
Reeves
has been singing professionally for more than 30 years (she turns 53 this
Friday). She’s taken some critical hits in the past for meandering among jazz,
pop, and rhythm and blues styles without establishing a clear musical identity.
Friday night she demonstrated her mastery of all styles, flourishing her clear,
powerful voice and impeccable diction.
There
wasn’t a weak number in the concert, but the peak came with Reeves’ moving yet
swinging rendition of Thad Jones’ classic “A Child Is Born,” which flowed into a
stirring unaccompanied riff on African music that set the vast Orchestra Hall
audience roaring.
Reeves
acknowledges Sarah Vaughan as an inspiration and she celebrated the Devine Sarah
with her encore, a lovely interpretation of “Misty” that refreshed the
over-familiar standard and ended with Reeves sashaying off the stage in the
perfect ending to her superb set.
Malone and Lubambo stand high in the pecking order of jazz
instrumentalists and earned slots on the subscription series on their own
merits. Lubambo isn’t as well known as Malone but he has the chops, enriched by
his Brazilian heritage, to swing both mightily and sensitively. The two warmed
up the crowd with a fine high speed rendition of “I Remember April” before
Reeves made her entrance. Lubambo had a bit more of the solo action during the
evening but Malone had the instrumental show stopper of the concert with an
unconventionally raucous interpretation of “We Shall Overcome” that was both
rocking and tasteful.
Reeves
sang almost all her numbers seated with Malone and Lubambo flanking her on
either side. Their musical connection with each other was continuous and
unfailing, performing the arrangements with an ease that suggested plenty of
rehearsal, but the spontaneity of the music was never compromised. This was
chamber jazz of at a very level, unforced, deeply felt, and technically
flawless.
Reeves
was a gracious hostess, weaving informal chat and anecdotes into the set between
numbers and converting the hall into what she called her “living room.”
Audiences at the Jazz at Symphony Center series have always been quick with a
standing ovation, but the cheers Friday night at the end of the performance were
genuine, reflecting the crowd’s appreciation and affection for the singer and
her two colleagues.
The Jazz
at Symphony Center series continues at 8 p.m. October 30 with Indian pianist
Vijay Iyer and his trio and the David Holland quartet featuring pianist Jason
Moran and saxophonist Chris Potter. For tickets call 312 294 3000 or visit www.cso.org/jazz.
October 2009
Contact
Dan at zeffdaniel@yahoo.com.
********************************************** Feature Jazz at Symphony Center
2009-2010 season At Orchestra
Hall By Dan Zeff
CHICAGO—There aren’t many elder
statesmen left in jazz but the Jazz at SymphonyCenter series has booked several
of the most notable jazz patriarchs for its 2009-2010-subscription
season. The
series will highlight tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins, arguable the last of the
jazz superstars of the 1950’s and 1960’s. Rollins delivered a brilliant set in
2005 and he doesn’t seem to be slowing down as he pushes toward his eightieth
birthday.
Another series favorite who, at age 71, has reached senior citizen status
is pianist McCoy Tyner, returning to perform with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra.
Two of the most durable elders in jazz will appear with the Newport
All-Stars. The group will be led by 83-year old George Wein,
better known as a jazz impresario but a pianist who has found his way onto
countless quality jazz records. On the same program will be 81-year old pianist
Dick Hyman, a musician who defies pigeon holing, except that he has been one of
jazz’s most consistent pianists for half a century. Youth
will also be served during the series. Anat Cohen, an Israeli-born tenor
saxophonist and composer in her 30’s, will play in a quartet led by Joshua
Redman, who just turned 40 himself. Cohen has become a presence in the New York
City jazz scene since arriving from Israel in 1998. Pianist Jason Moran, an
established combo leader at the age of 33, will be the pianist in Dave Holland’s
quartet, which also will feature 38-year old saxophonist Chris Potter. The
Holland quartet will share the concert with the trio of 35-year old pianist
Vijay Lyer.
Several familiar names will appear in the Orchestra Hall series, starting
with singer Dianne Reeves, who performs in the opening concert. Wynton Marsalis
brings the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra to the series for what happily has
been an almost annual visit. Several Lincoln Center alumni will play in the
Kings the Crescent City band, including reed man Victor Goines, trumpeter Marcus
Printup, trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, and drummer Herlin Riley.
Plenty of ethnic diversity will be spread throughout the series. In an
all-Latin concert, trombonist Conrad Herwig’s Latin Side All-Star Band will play
the music of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter with
a Latin beat. The band will share the evening with Brazilian singer/pianist
Eliane Elias, which means lots of bossa nova. Vijay Lyer will blend American
jazz with the music of his native southern India. Panamanian pianist Danilo
Perez leads an international group in a concert called “Things to Come:
21st Century Dizzy,” dedicated to the music of Dizzy Gillespie. The
group will also include Puerto Rican tenor saxophonist David Sanchez, Indian
alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, and Iraqi-American trumpeter Amir
ElSaffar.
Series tickets can be ordered on the web from www.cso.org/jazz or by calling
312 294 3000. Patrons can order the complete 10-concert series or select from
one of two five-concert packages. All concerts start at 8 p.m. Here
is the entire series lineup: October 16: Dianne
Reeves;
November 13: Newport
All-Stars; December 11: MyCoy Tyner
and the Chicago Jazz Orchestra; January 29: Kings of
the Crescent City; February 19: Conrad
Herwig’s Latin Side All-Star Band and Eliane Elias; March 19: Jazz at
Lincoln Center Orchestra led by Wynton Marsalis; April 9: Sonny Rollins;
April
23: Joshua Redman quartet with Anat Cohen; May
21: Things to Come: 21st Century Dizzy.
visit www.cso.org/jazz.
Contact Dan at zeffdaniel@yahoo.com
********************************************************************************* Chicago Jazz
Ensemble At Orchestra
Hall By Dan Zeff
CHICAGO—Duke Ellington’s suites
have been a bone of contention among jazz critics for decades. Back when the
first suites were performed, critics tended to dismiss them as unfortunate
examples of a jazzman overreaching his powers of composition. A
whiff of racial condescension hovered over the negative reaction to the early
Ellington suites but today the best of them rank among the master’s finest
compositions and among the finest examples of American music of the twentieth
century. The
Jazz at Symphony Center series concluded its 2008-2009 season with an appearance
by the Chicago Jazz Ensemble performing two Ellington’s suites, “Black, Brown
& Beige” from 1943 and “The New Orleans Suite” from 1970. The ensemble, led
by trumpeter Jon Faddis, played each work as written by Ellington with the only
improvisation coming from the ensemble’s stable of capable soloists. Any
musical group faces a daunting handicap in recreating Ellington’s music. The
strength and beauty of the music emerges from the sound of the Ellington
orchestra. No other band, even one as skilled as the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, can
replicate that sound. So the Friday night audience at Orchestra Hall had to cut
Faddis and his musicians some slack. The sound of the Ellington orchestra is
inimitable, but the local group certainly gave the compositions a commendable
effort. The
first half of the evening was devoted to the “New Orleans Suite.” The work has
no storyline. It’s essentially a series of vignettes that try to capture the
landscape and musical traditions of the city, augmented by musical portraits of
four jazz performers associated with New Orleans—Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet,
Mahalia Jackson, and early jazz bassist Wellman Braud. The
ensemble delivered a smooth performance and the soloists were well up to the
mark, especially Dan Nicholson on alto saxophone and flute, veteran Chicago
trumpet player Art Hoyle, who was outstanding all night, and trombone player
Tracy Kirk. The performance likely succeeded more with listeners unfamiliar with
the original Ellington recording of the work, but the performance still provided
pleasurable listening, especially the rhythmic opening movement, “Blues for New
Orleans.”
“Black, Brown & Beige” is the more substantial of the two suites and
maybe Ellington’s crowning achievement in the extended form. Duke called it “a
tone parallel to the history of the American Negro,” an indication of the work’s
soaring ambition. Ellington wanted to portray the history of black Americans
from their African roots through slavery and emancipation and to assimilation,
with its triumphs and tragedies. In
the Friday night performance, Ellington introduced each of the three movements
through a low-fi recording of comments he made when the work first came out. It
was a nice nostalgic touch but the depth and complexity of “B, B & B”
demanded more cogent analysis from the Orchestras Hall stage. For example, there
was no explanation that the haunting “Come Sunday” theme represented the slaves
in their day of rest and prayer. Bobbi Wilsyn sang the stirring “Blues” and
should have sung the “Come Sunday” portion, too, but didn’t. These
quibbles aside, the Ensemble presentation conveyed much of the work’s majesty
and emotion and drama. Tracy Kirk’s eloquent and soulful trombone solo in “Come
Sunday” was a highlight of the evening and a magical moment of
Ellington.
Violinist Regina Carter was the concert’s guest star but was underused.
The same was true of Faddis, who played just a couple of short solos, including
a too brief rendition of the Louis Armstrong portrait in “The New Orleans
Suite.” For more information contact:www.cso.org/jazz. ********************* Jazz at Symphony Center By Dan Zeff
In
1989, 26-year old jazz pianist Marcus Roberts made his debut as a leader in
three sessions gathered together and released in 1990 as “Deep in the Shed.” The
six Roberts compositions were collectively called a blues suite. The album got
mixed reviews but Roberts obviously considered the work significant enough to
organize a commemorative tour of the work. The
jazz at Symphony Center played host to the twentieth anniversary of “Deep in the
Shed” on Friday night with Roberts leading a septet in an expanded version of
the suite, which ran only 42 minutes in its album release. But even at a doubled
length, it was difficult to discern any enduring qualities in “Deep in the
Shed.” The suite had its moments, but it scarcely qualifies as a landmark in
modern jazz. The
original recording session brought together shifting personnel of six to eight
musicians. At Orchestra Hall the ensemble consist of Roberts’s regular trio,
with bassist Roland Guerin and drummer Jason Marsalis, augmented by a four-man
horn section of Wess Anderson and Stephen Riley on saxophones, Ron Westray on
trombone, and Marcus Printemp on trumpet. The
concert presented the same six compositions featured on the album release,
though in different order. But only “Spiritual Awakening,” inspired by Mahalia
Jackson, really engaged the listener for its entirety. The piece was deeply felt
and had a churchy New Orleans feeling that was both moving and
swinging. The
number called “E. Dankworth” had some hard-driving swinging interludes and every
piece profited from fine solos by Roberts and Printemp, but they were separated
by erratic solos from the other horn players. Overall, most of the compositions
meandered to no particular musical purpose. Tenor
saxophonist Riley played with a thin, arid sound and Westray honked and squealed
on his trombone. Westray sounded much more musical in the trombone section of
the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Anderson played on five of the
six compositions recorded in 1989. Normally a fierce swinging soloist, on Friday
night he wandered into avant-garde territory and soloed on a soprano
saxophone-like instrument with dismaying abrasive results. Other
than “Spiritual Awakening,” the two most successful numbers of the evening
opened and closed the concert. Roberts began the set with his trio playing
Thelonious Monk’s “Ba-lu Bolivar ba-lues-are” that demonstrated the pianist’s
superb technique and his distinctive, not to say idiosyncratic style.
The encore was an original composition with a Greek title I didn’t catch.
It had an agreeably smooth West Coast ensemble sound to open and close the piece
with plenty of free-for-all soloing in between. In
the interest of fair comment, it should be reported that the audience was highly
enthusiastic, though crowds for the Jazz at Symphony Center concerts are
invariably a cheering throng. But I left Orchestra Hall wishing the evening had
been devoted to the Marcus Roberts trio, leaving the blues suite back in its
shed. Visit www.cso.org/jazz.
Contact Dan at zeffdaniel@yahoo.com.
May
2009 *********************** Jazz at Symphony
Center By Dan Zeff
CHICAGO—Brad Mehldau is the
preeminent jazz pianist of his generation and his appearances at the Jazz at
SymphonyCenter series are concerts to be
cherished. So expectations were high Friday evening when Mehldau appeared in a
trio setting for the first set and played solo piano after the intermission. The
results were mesmerizing.
Mehldau has limitless technique that never calls attention to itself. A
single selection delivers a wondrous display of tempos, harmonics, rhythms, and
textures. His extended rumination on “My Favorite Things” was a dazzling
exploration of this Rodgers and Hammerstein chestnut, converting the tune into a
mini concerto. For
all his technique, Mehldau concentrates on the middle register. His hands rarely
stray from the middle of the keyboard. One hand may create a rolling cascade of
notes while the other hand crosses over to insert perfectly placed single notes.
Close your eyes and you will be convinced that two pianists are performing. How
could a single musician produce so much rich music with only two
hands?
Mehldau starts each selection at full tilt and the music flows on until
the pianist simply stops. What would be no more than inspired noodling in a
lesser pianist is coherent and melodic, allowing the listeners to lose
themselves in the music. Even though most of Mehldau’s selections were
unfamiliar, the audience never lost contact with the heart and soul of each
piece. The large crowd was vociferous in its approval at the end of each number
but silently engrossed during the performance, with nary a cough or a rustling
program heard throughout Orchestra Hall. The
opening set placed Mehldau with his long-time rhythm section of bassist Larry
Grenadier and percussionist Jeff Ballard. Except for a single extended solo from
each during the set, both were unobtrusive but rock solid accompanists, yet
functioning like an organic trio rather than the standard rhythm plus piano.
Ballard’s solo in particular was superbly musical and technically
accomplished. But
the solo portion of the concert really reached celestial heights. Mehldau’s
pristine touch and remarkable flow of ideas had the stage to itself. And Mehldau
was generous with his playing. The second set ended with no less than four
encores, surely a record for a Jazz at Symphony Center concert. Each encore was
a concise gem, from the two originals to a Cannonball Adderley piece to “Cry Me
a River.”
Mehldau’s repertoire is as extensive as his talent. There is a bit of
bebop, some cool, some Bach-tinged jazz/classical selections, a dip into the
great American song book of pop standards, some bossa nova, and pieces by Neil
Young and Paul McCartney, Yet one had the feeling that he could take a singe
song and nourish it into a full two-hour concert of endless variations. If a
certain sameness of sound and tempo crept into the solo set, it was sameness of
ravishing quality. The
only quibble in this incandescent evening was Mehldau’s reticence as master of
ceremonies. His liner notes for his many CDs mark him as one of jazz’s most
articulate writers and the audience would have profited from more than an
introduction to his trio and identification of his numbers. The
series continues Friday night when pianist Marcus Roberts returns to Orchestra
Hall to re-create his famous “Deep in the Shed: A Blues Suite” composition,
leading a septet that is scheduled to include Marcus Printup on trumpet, Ron
Westray on trombone, and Stephen Riley and Wess Anderson on
saxophones. Visit www.cso.org/jazz.
Contact Dan at zeffdaniel@yahoo.com. May
2009 **************************** Jazz at
Symphony Center At Orchestra
Hall By Dan Zeff
CHICAGO—Branford Marsalis brought
his quartet to the Jazz at Symphony Center series Friday night,
shrinking the cavernous Orchestra Hall to the intimacy of a small jazz club with
his affable presence.
Marsalis is a jazz musician of many horns and many moods and the large
and enthusiastic audience heard them all Friday night. Marsalis played the
tenor, alto, and soprano saxophones, running the technical and emotional changes
from edgy Coltrane-esque to a fulsome mainstream ballad. And just to demonstrate
that this very contemporary jazz star knows his roots, Marsalis delivered a
swinging “Honeysuckle Rose” as an encore.
Throughout the evening, Marsalis cementing the judgment that he may be
the finest soprano sax player on today’s jazz scene, Certainly I’ve never heard
a performer play this notoriously balky instrument with so much assurance and
such a rich fluid sound.
Marsalis played an uninterrupted 1 hour and 45 minute set, a model of
programming that allowed the spectators to leave Orchestra Hall by 10 p.m.,
filled to the brim with quality music embellished by the leader’s delightful
commentary and anecdotes. The
set began on a skittish note, or multitude of notes, with “Return of the Jitney
Man,” a frantic number composed by Jeff “Tain” Watts. It featured a feverish
tenor solo by Marsalis and a hyper solo by Joey Calderazzo, Marsalis’s long time
pianist and as much a musical partner as an accompanist.
Calderazzo contributed a pair of compositions to the set, notably a
keening number that showed the pianist could operate melodically at less than
full throttle. Calderazzo’s Fats Waller-style stride piano solo on “Honeysuckle
Rose” proved the man is at home in swinging mainstream tempos. While
the soprano sax was Marsalis’s star instrument of the concert, he displayed a
fat tenor sound as he delved into the great American songbook for a lush
rendition of “You Don’t Know What Love Is.” But the highlight of the night
before the Waller encore was Calderazzo’s meditative “The Last Goodbye,” with
lovely work by the composer and a liquid solo by Marsalis on soprano
sax. The
rhythm section consisted of Eric Revis on bass and Justin Faulkner on
percussion. Revis played self-effacing rhythm bass until the last number of the
regular set, when the rest of the quartet left the stage and he took a solo on
an extended and unidentified number that progressed into a violent attack on his
instrument’s strings. Revis displayed an impressive technique but his solo ran
about 10 minutes, maybe 7 minutes too long for any bass solo.
Faulkner shifted between sensitive accompanying and flash. Like Revis, he
was allowed one solo showcase, in “Honeysuckle Rose,” which at least
demonstrated that he can get around his drum set with maximum
velocity. Many
of the number could have been shortened by a couple of choruses, but it’s no
negligible feat to hold an audience for 105 uninterrupted minutes with only a
single horn player and rhythm section. The concert didn’t revolutionize jazz in
our time but its variety was refreshing, the leader’s soprano sax playing a
treat, and his skill as a raconteur a delight. On
May 3, the great Brad Mehldau comes to Orchestra Hall for an evening of solo and
trio piano. Visit www.cso.org/jazz. ******************* Jazz at
Symphony
Center At Orchestra Hall By Dan Zeff
CHICAGO—If any jazz record label
deserves a celebration, it’s Blue Note. For most of its seven-decade history
Blue Note’s stable of recording artists has been a Who’s Who of modern jazz,
from the funky through bebop to the avant garde. So it
was entirely fitting and proper that the Jazz at Symphony Center series booked a
concert honoring Blue Note’s seventieth anniversary. The music was performed
Friday night in Orchestra Hall by the Blue Note 7, a blue ribbon septet led by
pianist Bill Charlap. The concert had no particular theme, just selections from
the Blue Note catalogue, all freshly arranged, mostly by members of the
combo. The
septet favored the edgier side of the Blue Note repertoire, tending toward the
more experimental school of Jackie McLean and Wayne Shorter rather than the
swinging, funky jazz represented by such Blue Note stalwarts as Jimmy Smith and
Stanley Turrentine. But the program was always accessible and the selections
clearly fit the musical personalities of the group. The
septet presentation reflects the Blue Note leaning toward small group jazz.
There is very little big band music ion the BN catalogue. The Friday night
program avoided the label’s greatest hits, selecting mostly lesser know but
representative pieces that honored such BN regulars as Thelonious Monk, Joe
Henderson, Horace Silver, Duke Pearson, Art Blakey, Grant Green, Lee Morgan, and
Wayne Shorter. The
septet has recorded as a unit and is in the midst of a three-month cross-country
tour and their work shows the tight ensemble playing that comes with extended
collaboration. What could have been just another blowing session was structured
into a series of concise solos, with everyone getting a piece of the action,
even to taking turns at the microphone introducing the next number. The
septet front line consists of trumpeter Nicholas Payton, tenor saxophonist Ravi
Coltrane, and alto saxophonist Steve Wilson, who doubled on flue on a lovely
render of Bobby Hutcherson’s “Little B’s Poem.” The all-star rhythm section is
made up of Charlap, bassist Peter Washington, guitarist Peter Bernstein, and
drummer Louis Nash, back in Orchestra Hall for the second time this series after
leading the Max Roach “We Insist!” tribute in February.
Everyone in the group had ample solo space, the star being Charlap with
his dazzling technique and a musical imagination that shifts gears melodically
and harmonically in a nanosecond. The series could profitably book Charlap as a
separate act and allow this supremely gifted keyboard artist an opportunity to
really open up. His slashing, intensely personal solo on Monk’s “Criss Cross”
was a stunner. Nash
pleased the crowd with his supersonic slight of hand drumming, though we could
have done without his scat singing on the group encore, Lee Morgan’s “Party
Time.” Washington displayed a big fat tone on bass and delivered a juicy solo in
the encore that still could have been a chorus shorter. All
eight numbers provided musical highlights. Bernstein played an eloquent solo in
commemoration of Grant Green in “Idle Moments.” Coltrane has become identified
with the more far out style pioneered by his famous saxophone playing father,
but he was in fine form with a smooth tone and well constructed solos,
especially on “Mosaic,” Cedar Walton’s composition for Art Blakey and the Jazz
Messengers.
Payton has performed frequently in the jazz at Symphony Center series so
we have come to expect, and relish, his limitless chops and soaring and swooping
solos. The revelation may have been Steve Wilson, probably the least known horn
man in the septet. Wilson was the swingingest musician on the stage and it would
have been pleasurable to hear him belt out some Lou Donaldson soul, but the
audience couldn’t have everything. The
septet played for one hour and 45 minutes without an intermission, an ideal
concert format that should be employed whenever possible at Orchestra Hall. Too
often, interminable intermissions drag out the evening to train-missing length.
Friday night the large and enthusiastic crowd left Orchestra Hall before 10
p.m., happy with what they heard and comfortable at getting home at a decent
hour. Visit www.cso.org/jazz. March
2009
************************* Jazz at Symphony Center
At Orchestra Hall
By Dan Zeff
CHICAGO—You can count on two
certainties when the Jazz at Symphony Center series books the Jazz at
Lincoln Center Orchestra. The concert will attract a wildly enthusiastic
overflow audience and the music will be exceptional. And so it was Friday night
at Orchestra Hall.
Music
director Wynton Marsalis brought in the JLCO for an evening devoted to the
compositions of Thelonious Monk. The orchestra played big band arrangements of a
baker’s dozen of Monk’s works, ranging from standards like “Epistrophy” and
“Blue Monk” to lesser-known pieces like “Oska T” and “Bye-ya.” Marsalis provided
a running commentary on Monk’s music and life between selections, leavening the
informative prepared text with his own droll asides.
Monk’s compositions don’t translate naturally into the big band format.
Throughout his career, Monk worked almost exclusively in small units—primarily
solo piano, piano trio, and the classic quartet that featured tenor saxophonist
Charlie Rouse. Monk did record a couple of large ensemble concerts, with mixed
results. But generally the challenges of his angular and dissonant music have
been best met in the small group format, until Marsalis and his merry band took
their shots.
Orchestra personnel provided arrangements for nearly all the evening’s
selections, arrangements that were remarkable for their intricate structure and
personal sound. Some of the compositions were virtually reinvented, like the
down home bluesy interpretation of the elegiac “Crepuscule with Nellie.”
Listeners who find Monk’s music weird would be comforted by the beautiful
rendition of “Ugly Beauty” that displayed some superb unison playing by the reed
section.
The
orchestra is a great ensemble and it’s also a great collection of soloists.
Marsalis made sure everyone in the band got some solo space and kept in the
background for most of the concert. But he contributed a superb gutbucket
plunger mute solo on “Oska T” and a dazzling turn on “Four in One.”
Orchestra chairs were filled mostly with faces familiar from previous
appearances at Orchestra Hall. The reed section was all veterans—Joe Temperley,
Walter Blanding, Ted Nash, Sherman Irby, and Victor Goines. Temperley starred on
a lush rendition of “Blue Monk” and Goines affirmed his status as the best
clarinet player in jazz with his sustained solo on “Criss Cross.” Nash was
everywhere on saxophones and flutes and also prepared some of the night’s
richest arrangements.
The
trombone section had a new face in Chris Crenshaw, a strong arranger who showed
superb chops on his plunger mute solo in “Ba-lue bolivar ba-lues-are.” And
Crenshaw looks like he is in his early 20’s.
The
rhythm section once again starred pianist Dan Nimmer. A keyboard player has
special responsibilities in a Thelonious Monk program and Nimmer reflected the
Monk spirit in his solos while still performing with individuality and
tremendous technique. If Nimmer ever goes out on his own, he will instantly
ascend to the top tier of contemporary jazz pianists. His work on
the fiendishly difficult “Skippy” was a concert highlight, complemented by a
marvelous Ted Nash soprano sax solo. The rhythm section of Carlos Enriquez on
bass and Ali Jackson on drums was rock solid and soloed with invention and
intelligence.
Hopefully the JLCO will record the Monk program like the group did its
programs of music by Charlie Mingus and Duke Ellington. This orchestra’s
translation of Monk’s works to the big band format honor both the composer and
the ensemble. Visit www.cso.org/jazz. March 2009 Contact Dan at zeffdaniel@yahoo.com.
*************************** Jazz at
Symphony
Center Concert
At Orchestra Hall
By Dan Zeff
CHICAGO—In 1960, jazz drummer Max
Roach recorded an explosive civil rights album called “We Insist! Freedom Now
Suite.” The seven-movement work was an angry and defiant call for racial justice
at the outset of the turbulent decade of the 1960’s. The recording has been
praised as a social and cultural classic and also has had a major influence on
later jazz percussion.
The
Jazz at Symphony Center series presented a reconstruction of the Suite Friday
night with the same instrumentation and two members of the 1960 ensemble. A
composition so topical cannot be separated from the conditions of its day and
“We Insist!” is very much a reflection of its moment. Roach and his
collaborators could not have imagined that less than a half century later an
African American would be president of he United States. “We Insist!” still
looked back to the evils of slavery and protested apartheid in South Africa.
A
revival of “We Insist!” cannot re-create the social resonance of the original
recording. It speaks from another era, and for all its emotional intensity it
doesn’t rouse the listener the way it must have back in the early 1960’s.
If
the album’s social impact can’t be completely recaptured, the listener can still
judge the Suite on its musical merits. At Orchestra Hall Friday night the
55-minute performance was a series of peaks and valleys. The peaks arose from
the amazing percussion work by Ray Mantilla, who performed on the original
recording, and Neil Clarke. Their drumming summarized the styles of Afro Cuban,
African, and African American percussion with an excitement and invention that
shame all those endless and self-indulgent drum solos jazz fans have endured in
jazz clubs and concerts over the years.
Singer Abbey Lincoln dominated the 1960 recording. Her duet with Roach on
“Triptych” was a vocal cry of anguish and rage that was hair raising in its
militant ferocity. Friday night Dee Dee Bridgewater scalded the audience’s ears
with her feral cries to the drumming of Louis Nash, the music director for the
concert. Bridgewater also soloed on the opening “Driva’ Man,” wryly insinuating
the droll, cynical lyrics by the late Oscar Brown, Jr. Bridgewater was also a
forceful presence on “Freedom Day” and the concluding “Tears for Johannesburg.”
The
Friday night concert replicated the original horn front line of tenor saxophone,
trumpet and trombone. The Bridgewater brothers, Ron and Cecil, took the sax and
trumpet parts while Julian Priester, the other original musician from the 1960
session, repeated on trombone. The trio was confined to short scripted solos
that allowed for little stretching out. The concert belonged to the singer and
the percussionists. The pianoless rhythm section consisted of Nash and bassist
Ira Coleman.
The
“We Insist!” revival demonstrates that with some works of art you can’t always
go home again. It’s an honorable project and Clarke and Mantilla alone were
worth the price of admission. Fortunately this country has progressed far enough
in its race relations to reduce the Suite to an interesting artifact from an
earlier and more troubled time.
The
concert opened with a set by Maggie Brown honoring the music of her father,
Oscar Brown, Jr. The woman has a strong, assertive voice complimented on a
couple of numbers by her sister Africa. I remember seeing Brown when he first
exploded on the Chicago scene at the old Blue Note. I left the club convinced
that I had just been entertained by one of the most talented men in the world.
Strangely and sadly, it never quite happened for Brown, who should have reached
the iconic status of a Sammy Davis. But his daughter’s tribute was heart felt
and well deserved.
Maggie was accompanied by a quintet of lute, violin, and
rhythm section. The group, led by pianist Miguel de la Cerna, was tight, musical
and well worth hearing on its own. Too bad it was limited to effective but
unobtrusive backup for the entire set.
Next
up in the Jazz at Symphony Center series is the always
anticipated visit by Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra on
February 27. Visit www.cso.org/jazz. February
2009
Contact Dan at zeffdaniel@yahoo.com
*********************** Jazz at
Symphony Center
At Orchestra Hall
By Dan Zeff
CHICAGO—Jazzman Benny Golson is a
master of many trades—musician, bandleader, composer, and arranger. He wore all
hats with distinction Friday night when he brought a sextet to the Jazz at
Symphony Center concert that celebrated his eightieth birthday a few days
earlier on January 25.
Golson, looking closer to 50 than 80, led a band that reflected the
instrumentation of the famous Jazztet he co-founded with trumpeter Art Farmer in
1959—tenor saxophone, trumpet, trombone, and rhythm section.
The
current Golson band is a tight group that performs a wide variety of material,
all filtered through Golson’s arranging skills. Friday night the sextet played
an adaptation of a Chopin piece, a number build on a theme from Verdi’s opera
“La Forza del Destino” that had little jazz content but was still interesting, a
bouncy piece called “Gypsy Jingle-Jangle” inspired by a theme from the 1932
“Frankenstein” movie, a swinging original called “Uptown Afterburn,” and a
personal interpretation of the Thelonius Monk standard “Epistrophy.”
The
sextet consisted of Golson on tenor sax, Eddie Henderson on trumpet, and Steve
Davis on trombone, with a rhythm section of Mike LeDonne on piano, Buster
Williams on bass, and Carl Allen on drums.
The
Golson set was not a blowing session. The solos were short and concise, embedded
in the arrangements. All six musicians had their moments, starting with Golson
with his Coleman Hawkins-tinged style. The underappreciated Henderson delivered
several well thought out hard bop solos, but for me the most interesting soloist
of the set was pianist LeDonne, performing with an assertive swinging style that
melded mainstream and bebop. The arrangements limited LeDonne or a chorus or two
per selection. It would be have a pleasure to hear him stretch out for a full
number.
Throughout the set, Golson served as an urbane and witty master of
ceremonies, drolly bantering about each selection. Curiously, he avoided
performing any of his major jazz hits until the sextet stomped off on a rocking
version of his classic “Blues March.”
While
the sextet didn’t raise the roof during its 70-minute set, it played with
elegance and professionalism, allowing the audience a glimpse into the gifted
musical mind of one of the patriarchs of jazz. A most successful birthday party
for both the musicians and the large and enthusiastic audience.
The
Mulgrew Miller played an introductory set. Miller was full of rapturous praise
for Golson, who requested that his trio open the concert. In appreciation,
Miller and colleagues Ivan Taylor on bass and Rodney Green on drums honored the
Golson repertoire with renditions of “Whisper Not,” “Stablemates,” and “I
Remember Clifford.” Throughout the set Miller played with fluency and authority.
He doesn’t have a defining style but within the hard bop tradition he is an A
list performer.
Miller was especially eloquent on the “Clifford” number that celebrated
the great trumpeter whose death at the age of 26 was one of the great calamities
in modern jazz history. The trio got a chance to show its individual chops on a
rip roaring rendition of the Charlie Parker bebop anthem “Relaxing at
Camarillo.”
The
Jazz ay Symphony Center series continues on February 13 with a reprise of the
famous 1960 Max Roach recording “We Insist! Freedom Now Suite.” The concert will
feature vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater backed by a front line of Cecil Bridgewater
(trumpet), Julian Priester (trombone), and Billy Harper (saxophone), with
drummer Lewis Nash occupying Max Roach’s chair as the anchor of the rhythm
section. Singer Maggie Brown will open the concert with a tribute to her father,
Oscar Brown, Jr.
Visit www.cso.org/jazz.
January 2009
***************************
Bossa Nova Anniversary Celebration
Jazz at Symphony Center series
By Dan Zeff
CHICAGO—For those who believe that bossa nova is worth celebrating, Orchestra Hall was a good place to be Friday night. A group of Brazilian musicians and singers presented a 90-minute concert of bossa nova songs under the name of one of the iconic figures of the style, Antonio Carlos Jobim. The occasion was the 50th anniversary of the Brazilian music style.
Jobim, who died in 1994, composed two of the great bossa nova anthems, “The Girl from Ipanema” and “Desafinado.” The Jobim trio shared the stage with one of the super stars of bossa nova, Milton Nascimento. Separately and together they entertained the large crowd, which seemed to be having a fine times, especially if they understood and spoke Portuguese.
The Jobim Trio, actually a quartet, consists of guitarist Paulo Jobim (Antonio’s son), pianist Daniel Jobim (Antonio’s grandson), drummer Paulo Braga, and bassist Rodrigo Villa. Nascimento expanded the group to a quintet with his guitar playing and singing.
The show was high on musicianship and low on information. There were no announcements, at least in English, identifying the individual numbers. Most of the approximately two dozen selections came from the trio’s latest CD “Novas Bossas.” “The Girl from Ipanema” was among the numbers and possibly “Desafinado,” though it was difficult to tell. The concert opened with the trio/quartet, joined by Nascimento and his occasionally falsetto singing, which is an acquired taste.
The evening begin with light and breezy bossa nova rhythms, turned funkier when Nascimento joined the program, and ended up in a pop vein. The intimacy of the music made the large Orchestra Hall venue a bit problematical, but a bigger problem, at least for jazz fans, was the lack of jazz content in the concert.
The musicians are stopping in Chicago as part of a national tour and one got the feeling that this was precisely the concert one could have heard on any of the stops on the tour. But the spectators who danced in the aisles and exchanged chatter in Portuguese with the performers on stage clearly were satisfied.
There were some musical highlights, many provided by Paulo Jobim’s tasteful piano solos. The rhythm section was solid and unobtrusive. Nascimento showed a broad vocal range in his expressive voice, sometimes accompanying himself on guitar and sometimes not.
The concert included some nice production values, with the lighting color coded to match the atmosphere of the music, orange lighting for a beach at sunset and lusher pieces, pale blue for the yearning of ballads (especially the palpable yearning of “Esperanca Perdida”), and traditional stage lighting for the up tempo pieces.
It came down to that cliche, if this is the sort of thing you like, you’ll like this sort of thing. The minimal jazz content was bothersome, and the sameness of the basic bossa nova rhythm tended to sound the music repetitive after a while. But if you wanted to enjoy authentic bossa nova, these were the performers to hear.
The Jazz at Symphony Center takes a long break, returning on January 30 with a concert by the Benny Golson Jazztet. Visit www.cso.org/jazz. Oct. 2008
Contact Dan at zeffdaniel@yahoo.com .
***********************
Jazz
at Symphony Center
By Dan Zeff
CHICAGO-Saxophonist David Sanchez and pianist Danilo Perez are two of the leading jazz artists who were born in the generation of the 1960’s. Both have played major roles in the advancement of the music into the new millennium. Each has carved out an honorable career as a musician, composer, and bandleader, and expectations were high that they would put on a strong concert Friday night at the Jazz at Symphony Center series in Orchestra Hall.
Sanchez and his quartet and Perez and his trio delivered a pair of long and proficient sets, Perez’s set sometimes better than proficient. But I left the hall with the feeling of disappointment that comes with hearing jazz stars who for some reason struck few sparks in the mind or emotions.
Both Sanchez and Perez are engaging personalities, affable in chatting with the large audience and eager to please. Both men played unfamiliar and largely original numbers, which may have contributed to the problem I had in engaging myself with their music. Most of the compositions were decent showcases for the leaders but rarely captured this listener’s imagination. One possible exception was Sanchez’s plaintive tribute to the victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, “The Forgotten Ones.”
Sanchez, the opening performer, concentrated on selections from his soon-to-be released CD, “Cultural Survivor.” The music allowed Sanchez to perform in his firm, Sonny Rollins-tinged style, but there wasn’t much swinging. The ensemble may have been negatively affected by the last minute addition of drummer Antonio Sanchez. The percussionist delivered several slam bang solos but possibly the lack of rehearsal time may have inhibited the rhythmic cohesiveness of the quartet.
Sanchez featured a young Norwegian electric guitarist named Lage Lund who plays with an easy single-finger and chordal style reminiscent of Johnny Smith. But at least early in the set Lund’s sound was muddy and his instrument was never fully integrated into the group. Orlando Le Fleming provided the solid bass underpinnings.
Perez is one of those exuberant young jazz pianists who often gets carried away by the sheer abundance of his technique. Perez can do anything he wants to on the piano, including rummaging in the instrument’s insides for odd sound effects. His trio was much tighter than the Sanchez combo, doubtless because bassist Ben Street and drummer Adam Cruz have served with Perez for several years.
Perez’s repertoire was more heavily Latin-flavored than Sanchez’s program. The pianist often lost himself in his music, producing ruminative choruses and shifts in rhythm and harmony that highlighted his virtuoso skills. Perhaps the best number in Perez’s set was a barely recognizable deconstruction of Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed.”
At the end of the evening, Perez brought Sanchez out for the finale. The saxophonist sounded better, even though the piece they played was overlong and never caught a groove. Possibly Sanchez is better off with a piano in his rhythm section.
This season’s series ends on June 6 with an appearance by jazz patriarch Wayne Shorter celebrating his 75th birthday. Danilo Perez returns as the pianist in Shorter’s quartet.
For more information visit
www.cso.org. May 2008
Contact Dan: zeffdaniel@yahoo.com
*********************
Jazz
at Symphony Center
2008-2009 schedule
By Dan Zeff
CHICAGO—Some familiar faces have been signed for the 2008-2009 Jazz at Symphony Center series, along with several concept concerts. The 10-night series begins on September 26 and runs through June 5.
The upcoming series deals exclusively with jazz over the past 50 years. There is no traditional music on the schedule and no swing, unless one counts a program of Duke Ellington music, which, of course, defies categorization. Overall, the program is a tribute to the resourcefulness of the Jazz at Symphony Center management in booking so much quality from a shrinking pool of star musicians and singers.
For connoisseurs of this series, the two names that jump out are Wynton Marsalis and Brad Mehldau. Marsalis brings his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra to Symphony Center on February 27. The orchestra’s program has not been announced but the band’s legion of fans in the area doubtless will again make the group’s appearance the toughest ticket of the series.
Pianist Brad Mehldau has provided some of the most indelible moments in the history of the Symphony Center series. He will perform on May 1 both as a soloist and with his rhythm section of Larry Grenadier on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums.
The first concept performance comes on October 17 with a program celebrating the 50th year of bossa nova. The headliner will be Brazilian singer/composer Milton Nascimento accompanied by the Jobim trio, named for one of the godfathers of bossa nova, Antonio Carlos Jobim. The trio consists of Jobin’s son Paulo on guitar and his grandson Daniel on piano with Paulo Braga on drums.
The next concept show arrives on February 13, a commemoration of the of “We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite.” Jazz percussionist Max Roach recorded the civil rights suite in 1960, with his wife, Abbey Lincoln, as vocalist. The re-creation will feature Dee Dee Bridgewater as vocalist, along with saxophonist Billy Harper, trombonist Julian Priester, and trumpeter Cecil Bridgewater. The evening will open with a set by vocalist Maggie Brown in honor of her multi talented father Oscar Brown Jr.
A program calling itself the Blue Note 70th Anniversary Concert comes on March 20. A septet will survey seven decades of music recorded by the famous Blue Note record label. The biggest names in the group are trumpeter Nicholas Payton, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane (John’s son), and pianist Bill Charlap.
On May 8 pianist Marcus Roberts will lead a septet in re-creating his acclaimed album “Deep in the Shed: A Blues Suite” from 1990. The all-star septet will include three veterans of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra—trumpeter Marcus Printemp, trombonist Ron Westray, and saxophonist Wess Anderson, along with another member of the Marsalis musical family, drummer Jason Marsalis.
The series closes with Jon Faddis leading the Chicago Jazz Ensemble in a performance of two Duke Ellington extended compositions, “Black, Brown, and Beige” and The New Orleans Suite.”
The series opens with a performance by singer Cassandra Wilson. On January 30, Benny Golson will bring in still another version of his Jazztet, with a front line of Golson on saxophone, Eddie Henderson on trumpet, and Steve Davis on trombone. The group will share the evening with pianist Mulgrew Miller and his trio. On April 17, still another Marsalis will perform, saxophonist Branford Marsalis. His brilliant performance opposite saxophonist Joshua Redman was a highlight of this year’s series.
All performances will begin at 8 p.m. at Orchestra Hall in Symphony Center, 220 South Michigan Avenue. Subscriptions are now on sale in five-concert and ten-concert packages. Tickets for single concerts go on sale on August 15. Call 1 800 223 7114 or go to the series website at www.cso.org.
Contact Dan: zeffdaniel@yahoo.com
********************
Ahmad Jamal Concert
at Symphony Center
By Dan Zeff
CHICAGO—Ahmad Jamal received a standing ovation from the capacity crowd at Orchestra Hall Friday night before he even took his seat at the piano. Jamal then justified all that adulation with a scintillating opening set that showcased his distinctive style that goes back more than half a century, still sounding fresh and emotionally and technically engaged.
Jamal calls Chicago his second home, after his birthplace of Pittsburgh. But for whatever reason the great man had never been booked for the Jazz at Symphony Center series until Friday night. The program consisted of an opening set featuring Jamal’s current trio, followed by a closing set in which he was joined by the Chicago Jazz Orchestra.
It’s hard to believe that early in his career many jazz critics wrote Jamal off as just a cocktail pianist and entertainer. Then in the mid 1950’s Miles Davis pronounced Jamal a master and Miles’s seal of approval instigated a reevaluation with Jamal receiving his due as one of the most innovative and creative jazz pianists of his day.
Jamal really took off on the jazz scene with his late 1950’s-early 1960’s recordings that showcased one of the tightest trios in jazz—Jamal, bassist Israel Crosby, and drummer Vernell Fournier. The current trio of Jamal, bassist James Cammack, and drummer Idris Muhammad has been together for 10 years and they all reside comfortably in each other’s musical skins.
Jamal’s style today is both instantly recognizable and full of surprises. He still keeps the listener enthralled and off balance with Wagnerian bursts from his left hand while his right hand delivers melodic strains of lacey delicacy, with tempos constantly and unpredictably shifting in jagged phrasing. Jamal remains one of the few two-handed pianists in jazz, a musician who declined to clone the bebop piano style of the mid 1900’s with its heavy reliance on right-handed runs while the left hand tosses in occasional accents.
Jamal’s style may be familiar but it has actually deepened and matured. Two measuring sticks came in the opening set when Jamal played “Poinciana” and “But Not for Me” from his famous live recordings at the Pershing Hotel on Chicago’s south side in 1958. Jamal must have played both numbers hundreds of times in the last 50 years but he approached both songs with a wonderful intensity and freshness, as though he were interpreting both tunes for the first time. Even as he approaches his 78th birthday Jamal refuses to coast.
Muhammad and Cammack fell in perfectly behind their leader, with Muhammad in particular driving the music with his slam-bang drumming that still managed to be rhythmic and musical without upstaging the piano. Cammack didn’t play as assertively as Crosby in the first classic Jamal combo but he was a rhythmic rock. Jamal often directed his colleagues from the piano, gesturing with one hand like a symphony orchestra conductor while sustaining his solo with the other hand.
I wasn’t familiar with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra before the concert and I still wasn’t familiar with the group at the end of the evening.
The CJO, under Jeff Lindberg’s direction, consisted Friday night of 13 pieces with the Jamal trio sitting in as the rhythm section. Their set consisted primarily of a kind of three-piece suite of Jamal compositions—“The Aftermath,” “Should I?” and “The Devil’s in My Den.” Jamal dominated the performance with the orchestra mostly provided background fills. About half the CJO musicians took solos, with the best coming from a tenor saxophonist and the last trumpeter to step forward. Regrettably, none of the soloists were identified by name from the stage.
If the concert was booked as a coming out party for the CJO for Symphony Center subscribers, it missed the mark. The listener couldn’t detect the orchestra’s musical personality from its role as Jamal’s accompanist. Maybe in a future series appearance the CJO will be allowed its own spotlight to show local audiences what it’s got. Still, the concert was all about Jamal and he emphatically validated his status as one of the premiere keyboard artists in jazz today. Visit www.cso.org/jazz. April 2008
Contact Dan @ zeffdaniel@yahoo.com
********************************************************
New Orleans Jazz Orchestra
at Symphony Center
By Dan Zeff
CHICAGO—The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra made a stop at the Jazz at Symphony Center series Friday night as part of its cross-country tour. If the large audience expected an evening of straw hat ands striped blazer Dixieland, with musicians recycling “When the Saints Go Marching In,” they were in for a happy surprise. The NOJO is a full-sized big band ensemble as much at home in Birdland and on 52nmd Street as at Preservation Hall or Bourbon Street.
The NOJO, led by trumpeter Irvin Mayfield, is a 16-piece unit, every musician a virtuoso. The size of the ensemble puts it in the mold of the typical modern jazz band rather than the traditional New Orleans combos that rarely exceeded nine pieces. The sections followed the format of the big band reeds-brass-rhythm breakdown, no old time banjos or tubas, though a couple of times musicians broke out a pair of tambourines.
The concert opened with a slide show projected on a large screen that depicted the evolution of jazz amid the multi-culturalism of New Orleans. The evening ended with a much more stirring film and slide survey of New Orleans today, highlighting the heartbreaking devastation of Hurricane Katrina. In between, the orchestra stomped and swung. There were some echoes of New Orleans sounds in the music, as when Mayfield quoted “When the Saints…” during the elegiac final number “May Your Soul Rest in Peace.” But essentially this was a concert of big band music that bridged all styles, from New Orleans to the edgiest post bebop sounds.
The orchestra personnel included only one man familiar to me, trombonist Ron Westray, a staple of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra for many seasons. Whether Westray has switched ensembles or is just on loan for the NOJO tour, he is a considerable ornament to the group, dazzling the crowd with his speed-of-light technique.
Virtually every musician contributed memorable solos. First among equals may be Evan Christopher, a member of the stellar reed section, whose clarinet solos proved that the instrument is not yet dead in jazz. It just requires a risk-taking player with the range and drive and chops of an Evan Christopher.
Chicagoan Maurice Brown took some spectacular trumpet solos ands participated in a long trumpet chase that would have stirred admiration in the old Woody Herman and Dizzy Gillespie brass sections. Pianist Victor Adkins demonstrated that his comfort zone extended from the stride style of he 1920’s to the latest sounds.
Mayfield played some sumptuous trumpet, displaying a warm tone, limitless technique, a sense of humor, and plenty of passion, though he could have cut down on some of the squiggles and slurs in his solos. He deferred to his colleagues for much of the evening, but it would be a pleasure to hear Mayfield in a small group where he could play on and on.
The NOJO was established in 2002 and already has established itself as one of the major large ensembles in jazz. Ironically, its identification with New Orleans may limit its exposure because audiences may pigeonhole the group as a kind of museum caretaker of the vanished New Orleans music tradition of Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, and Sidney Bechet. And the NOJO might not disagree. The orchestra is clearly committed to New Orleans, past and present, at a very emotional level. The ensemble is a fine ambassador for the city and what it represents in the national psyche, but it’s an equally luminous standard bearer for the vitality of American jazz in the new millennium. Visit www.cso.org/jazz. April 2008
Contact Dan : Zeffdaniel@yahoo
*********************************************
Jazz at Symphony Center Concert By Dan
Zeff
CHICAGO—Wynton Marsalis brought his Jazz at Lincoln Center
Orchestra to the Jazz at Symphony Center series Friday night in a program he
called “The Love Songs of Duke Ellington.” The evening’s two sets did include
many of the Ellingtonia hits in the romantic vein, but Marsalis expanded the
program to demonstrate that for Ellington, a love song could be directed toward
his orchestra and its soloists as well as to a man-woman
relationship. Along with such
obvious selections as “Prelude to a Kiss” and “Satin Doll,” the orchestra played
non-romantic numbers like “Concerto for Cootie,” also known as “Do Nothing ‘Til
You Hear from Me,” a showcase for the great Ducal trumpeter Cootie Williams, and
“Rockin’ in Rhythm,” a swinging valentine to his entire orchestra. However
Marsalis defined Ellington’s love songs, the concert was a joyous celebration of
the entire Ellington repertoire and further validated the Lincoln Center
ensemble as the finest jazz band playing today. The orchestra came
to Symphony Center with most of the musicians we’ve heard and enjoyed in the
group‘s numerous previous appearances in the jazz series. There were a couple of
new trombone players in Christopher Crenshaw and Elliot Mason. Sherman Irby
replaced Wess Anderson on alto saxophone, and Seneca Black no longer helped
anchor the trumpet section, but the 15 musicians are still a matched set of some
of the finest jazzmen going today, including multi-reed man Joe Temperley, one
of the last living musicians who played with
Ellington. Most of the
numbers were faithful to the original Ellington arrangements and most were
performed in concise renditions. Many of the performances could have fit on an
old 12 inch 78 rpm record. The only extended piece was the encore, “C Jam
Blues,” aka “Duke’s Place,” a jam session allowing each musician to play a
parting half chorus for the huge and adoring
audience.
Marsalis was
his usual gracious and humorous self as master of ceremonies and played some
tremendous trumpet, beginning with a down and dirty plunger mute solo on “Creole
Love Call,” followed later by pensive and meditative solos on “Solitude” and
“Mood Indigo.” Everyone got at
least one solo opportunity during the evening. Ryan Kisor followed the
originally Williams solo closely on “Concerto for Cootie,” yet still made this
classic his own with his distinctive phrasing and intonation. In an evening of
highlights, probably the most haunting was a duet between Temperley on bass
clarinet and pianist Dan Nimmer on Ellington’s exquisite “A Single Pedal of a
Rose.” Talk about soulful! Nimmer also soloed on the Duke’s jaunty finger
snapping “Dancers in Love” and showed the crowd he’s a technically accomplished
and imaginative musician deserving of wider
recognition. Along with the
Ellington pop and jazz standards, Marsalis programmed some lesser heard pieces,
including excerpts from several Ellington suites of the 1950’s and 1960’s.
Victor Goines took a lovely tenor sax solo on Ellington’s tribute to Coleman
Hawkins, “Self Portrait of the Bean.” Goings will be leaving the orchestra to
assume his new position as director of jazz studies at Northwestern University.
That will be a hard chair to fill in the orchestra but local jazz fans can
anticipate some great sounds coming from Evanston under Goings’
administration. Obviously Marsalis
couldn’t cover all the well-known Ellington love songs in a single concert.
Surprisingly, “Sophisticated Lady” wasn’t on the program, one of the most rueful
romantic ballads in American music. But what the orchestra did play was golden,
like Irby saluting Johnny Hodges in “Warm Valley.” Marsalis obviously has great
respect and affection for Ellington and his music and the concert was as much
the orchestra’s love song to Ellington as a salute to the great man’s
compositions. The jazz series
takes a breather during the cold weather season and returns on March 14 with a
concert by the San Francisco Jazz Collective, an all-star octet that features
Joe Lovano on saxophone, Dave Douglas on trumpet, Renee Rosnes on piano, and
Stefon Harris on vibraphone and marimba. Jan. 2008 Contact Dan : zeffdaniel@yahoo.com Marsalis was his
usual gracious and humorous self as master of ceremonies and played some
tremendous trumpet, beginning with a down and dirty plunger mute solo on “Creole
Love Call,” followed later by pensive and meditative solos on “Solitude” and
“Mood Indigo.” Everyone got at
least one solo opportunity during the evening. Ryan Kisor followed the
originally Williams solo closely on “Concerto for Cootie,” yet still made this
classic his own with his distinctive phrasing and intonation. In an evening of
highlights, probably the most haunting was a duet between Temperley on bass
clarinet and pianist Dan Nimmer on Ellington’s exquisite “A Single Pedal of a
Rose.” Talk about soulful! Nimmer also soloed on the Duke’s jaunty finger
snapping “Dancers in Love” and showed the crowd he’s a technically accomplished
and imaginative musician deserving of wider
recognition. Along with the
Ellington pop and jazz standards, Marsalis programmed some lesser heard pieces,
including excerpts from several Ellington suites of the 1950’s and 1960’s.
Victor Goines took a lovely tenor sax solo on Ellington’s tribute to Coleman
Hawkins, “Self Portrait of the Bean.” Goings will be leaving the orchestra to
assume his new position as director of jazz studies at Northwestern University.
That will be a hard chair to fill in the orchestra but local jazz fans can
anticipate some great sounds coming from Evanston under Goings’
administration. Obviously Marsalis
couldn’t cover all the well-known Ellington love songs in a single concert.
Surprisingly, “Sophisticated Lady” wasn’t on the program, one of the most rueful
romantic ballads in American music. But what the orchestra did play was golden,
like Irby saluting Johnny Hodges in “Warm Valley.” Marsalis obviously has great
respect and affection for Ellington and his music and the concert was as much
the orchestra’s love song to Ellington as a salute to the great man’s
compositions. The jazz series
takes a breather during the cold weather season and returns on March 14 with a
concert by the San Francisco Jazz Collective, an all-star octet that features
Joe Lovano on saxophone, Dave Douglas on trumpet, Renee Rosnes on piano, and
Stefon Harris on vibraphone and marimba. Jan. 2008 Contact Dan : zeffdaniel@yahoo.com at Symphony
Center
CHICAGO—There have been only a
handful of modern jazz saxophonists who have performed successfully in the trio
format, and two of them were on swinging display at Friday night’s Jazz at
SymphonyCenter concert. The
concert was billed as the Joshua Redman trio with special guest Branford
Marsalis. Redman opened the show with a rhythm section of Larry Grenadier on
bass and Gregory Hutchinson on drums, both veterans of Redman concerts and
recordings going back to the 1990’s. About halfway through the show Marsalis
strode onto the stage, meshing with Redman for the rest of the evening in a
scintillating union on both the tenor and soprano saxophones.
Redman is still in his 30’s, though he seems to have been at the top of
the jazz scene forever. He made an immediate impression on audiences and critic
s in the early 1 990’s with his hard driving sound and his
passion for the music. That passion was continuously evident Friday night in the
musician’s animated body language and yelps and shouts of pleasure in reaction
to his own playing and the work of Marsalis. The
concert consisted largely of Redman originals. There wasn’t a weak number in the
program, but probably the highlight was his eloquent soprano sax solo on
“Zarafah,” much of it unaccompanied, paying tribute to his mother. Both Redman
and Marsalis blew the roof off on their soprano duet in the dense yet swinging
“Citizen Tain.”
Marsalis and Redman are remarkably compatible musicians. Marsalis may
have a little more muscular sound and style, but a listener with his eyes closed
would have difficulty separating one player from the other as they exchanged
solo breaks. Both sax men sounded well rehearsed in their
ensemble passages. They didn’t indulge in any “last man standing” cutting
contests, but performed with the fluid integration of two like-minded jazz stars
operating on the same musical and emotional wavelength. As a
tightly focused quartet, Redman and Marsalis brought to mind such classic tenor
sax pairings as Al Cohn and Zoot Sims, Eddie Davis and Johnny Griffin, and Gene
Ammons and Sonny Stitt. Indeed, the regular program closed with a rip-roaring
rendition of the Ammons-Stitt shouter “Blues Up and Down.” The pair changed pace
for their encore with an eloquent version of “Body and Soul.”
Grenadier demonstrated exceptional chops both as a soloist and in the
rhythm section. He has a huge sound and his extended solo in “Citizen Tain” was
one of the evening’s many musical peaks. Hutchinson took a couple of tumultuous
solos on percussion but generally confined himself to providing strong rhythmic
backup. Spectators who feared an evening lumbered with long, tiresome bass and
drum solos were gratified at the judicious use of Grenadier and Hutchinson both
in the background and foreground.
Redman enhanced the concert with his genial announcements and chitchat
with the audience. His obvious respect and affection for Marsalis endowed the
evening with a further feel good atmosphere. The
concert was presented without an intermission, always a positive in the jazz
series. The musicians played for 90 minutes and there were doubtless attendees
who would have remained all night to enjoy performances of this caliber. But 90
minutes was just right and future concerts should take note. Those 25 minute
intermissions are a drag.
March 2008
************************* Jazz at
Symphony
Center By Dan
Zeff
CHICAGO—All-star jazz groups can be problematical.
Put a collection of heavyweight musicians on the stage together and the audience
is liable to hear a string of long solos with no attempt at continuity or a
cohesive ensemble. The SFJAZZ Collective is an
all-star group with a difference. The octet includes some of the top performers
in jazz today but, as the name implies, this is a true ensemble, a collective
that strives for a genuine group approach to its music. The Collective was the Friday night
attraction in the Jazz at Symphony Center series at Orchestra Hall and gave the
appreciative audience a demonstration of what jazz can accomplish when
individual egos are sacrificed to the greater good of the
composition. The evening provided plenty of outstanding
soloists and indeed given the high quality of the talent on stage, the listener
would have welcomed even more extended solos. But that’s not what the Collective
is about. It was the composition, especially the arrangement that took charge
Friday night. The octet is made up of Dave
Douglas on trumpet Joe Lovano on saxophones, Miguel Zenon on alto saxophone,
Stefon Harris on vibes, Robin Eubanks (replacing Andre Hayward) on trombone,
Renee Rosnes on piano, Matt Penman on bass, and Eric Harland on drums. Most of
the group has led their own combos in clubs and in the recording studio, but in
Orchestra Hall they all meshed into a seamless whole that spoke of much
rehearsal time and a total empathy with the Collective’s musical
goals. The SFJAZZ Collective was created in San
Francisco five years ago. The concept was to gather top drawer musicians and put
together programs that annually concentrated on one notable jazz composer,
augmented by the compositions of the individual members. The Collective is very modern
in its artistic outlook. Previous subjects of retrospectives have been John
Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Herbie Hancock, and Thelonius Monk. This year the
honoree is Wayne Shorter, who will appear later in this series. The Collective plays dense
music that touches the edges of free jazz at times but the music is always
accessible, thanks to the tight arrangements and the high level of the playing.
Friday night the group presented its own versions of the Wayne Shorter
compositions “Armageddon,” “Footprints,” and “Infant Eyes,” interspersed with
compositions from the group, many of them in the Shorter spirit. The Collective produces a remarkably full
sound. With a front line of four horns and vibes, the group sounded like a small
band. Their set got off to a roaring start with a Zenon original that featured a
high energy solo by Harris that had the crowd whooping with delight. With the
momentum generated by that number, the set never let up. There were solo highlights in
every number, with Lovano contributing soprano and tenor sax playing that was
both abstract and melodic. Douglas and Zenon did battle in a ferocious duet in
”Footprints” and Eubanks displayed Olympian chops in his own composition,
“Breakthrough.” The emphasis was on highly charged music until the encore, a
lovely and lyrical piece by Harris. The concert was blessedly free of time
consuming bass and drum solos. Even Penman’s original “The Angel’s Share” did
not allow the composer any major solo space on his bass. Harland did embark on
one extended break in his composition “The Year 2008” (which opened with a
startling and moving recorded recitation of the opening lines of the Declaration
of Independence). But Harland is such an entertaining and driving drummer that
his solo was a pleasure to hear, and to watch. The program was a true
collective in allowing almost all members of the group to take turns announcing
the selections and chatting with the audience. The concert was a model of
organization. It ran a tight 90 minutes without an intermission, extended by
another 10 minutes by the encore. The show ended by 10 p.m., eliminating the
walkouts of spectators who needed to catch trains, a melancholy feature of past
concerts that ran excessively near 10:30. The series returns on March 28, when Joshua
Redman brings his trio, to be joined by guest star Branford
Marsalis.
Contact Dan: zeffdaniel@yahoo.com
March 2008 ****************************************************************** at Symphony
Center
CHICAGO—There have been only a
handful of modern jazz saxophonists who have performed successfully in the trio
format, and two of them were on swinging display at Friday night’s Jazz at
SymphonyCenter concert. The
concert was billed as the Joshua Redman trio with special guest Branford
Marsalis. Redman opened the show with a rhythm section of Larry Grenadier on
bass and Gregory Hutchinson on drums, both veterans of Redman concerts and
recordings going back to the 1990’s. About halfway through the show Marsalis
strode onto the stage, meshing with Redman for the rest of the evening in a
scintillating union on both the tenor and soprano saxophones.
Redman is still in his 30’s, though he seems to have been at the top of
the jazz scene forever. He made an immediate impression on audiences and critic in the early 1990’s with his hard driving sound and his passion for the music. That passion was continuously evident Friday night in the
musician’s animated body language and yelps and shouts of pleasure in reaction
to his own playing and the work of Marsalis. The
concert consisted largely of Redman originals. There wasn’t a weak number in the
program, but probably the highlight was his eloquent soprano sax solo on
“Zarafah,” much of it unaccompanied, paying tribute to his mother. Both Redman
and Marsalis blew the roof off on their soprano duet in the dense yet swinging
“Citizen Tain.”
Marsalis and Redman are remarkably compatible musicians. Marsalis may
have a little more muscular sound and style, but a listener with his eyes closed
would have difficulty separating one player from the other as they exchanged
solo breaks. Both sax men sounded well rehearsed in their
ensemble passages. They didn’t indulge in any “last man standing” cutting
contests, but performed with the fluid integration of two like-minded jazz stars
operating on the same musical and emotional wavelength. As a
tightly focused quartet, Redman and Marsalis brought to mind such classic tenor
sax pairings as Al Cohn and Zoot Sims, Eddie Davis and Johnny Griffin, and Gene
Ammons and Sonny Stitt. Indeed, the regular program closed with a rip-roaring
rendition of the Ammons-Stitt shouter “Blues Up and Down.” The pair changed pace
for their encore with an eloquent version of “Body and Soul.”
Grenadier demonstrated exceptional chops both as a soloist and in the
rhythm section. He has a huge sound and his extended solo in “Citizen Tain” was
one of the evening’s many musical peaks. Hutchinson took a couple of tumultuous
solos on percussion but generally confined himself to providing strong rhythmic
backup. Spectators who feared an evening lumbered with long, tiresome bass and
drum solos were gratified at the judicious use of Grenadier and Hutchinson both
in the background and foreground.
Redman enhanced the concert with his genial announcements and chitchat
with the audience. His obvious respect and affection for Marsalis endowed the
evening with a further feel good atmosphere. The
concert was presented without an intermission, always a positive in the jazz
series. The musicians played for 90 minutes and there were doubtless attendees
who would have remained all night to enjoy performances of this caliber. But 90
minutes was just right and future concerts should take note. Those 25 minute
intermissions are a drag.
March 2008
************************* Jazz at
Symphony
Center By Dan
Zeff
CHICAGO—All-star jazz groups can be problematical.
Put a collection of heavyweight musicians on the stage together and the audience
is liable to hear a string of long solos with no attempt at continuity or a
cohesive ensemble. The SFJAZZ Collective is an
all-star group with a difference. The octet includes some of the top performers
in jazz today but, as the name implies, this is a true ensemble, a collective
that strives for a genuine group approach to its music. The Collective was the Friday night
attraction in the Jazz at Symphony Center series at Orchestra Hall and gave the
appreciative audience a demonstration of what jazz can accomplish when
individual egos are sacrificed to the greater good of the
composition. The evening provided plenty of outstanding
soloists and indeed given the high quality of the talent on stage, the listener
would have welcomed even more extended solos. But that’s not what the Collective
is about. It was the composition, especially the arrangement that took charge
Friday night. The octet is made up of Dave
Douglas on trumpet Joe Lovano on saxophones, Miguel Zenon on alto saxophone,
Stefon Harris on vibes, Robin Eubanks (replacing Andre Hayward) on trombone,
Renee Rosnes on piano, Matt Penman on bass, and Eric Harland on drums. Most of
the group has led their own combos in clubs and in the recording studio, but in
Orchestra Hall they all meshed into a seamless whole that spoke of much
rehearsal time and a total empathy with the Collective’s musical
goals. The SFJAZZ Collective was created in San
Francisco five years ago. The concept was to gather top drawer musicians and put
together programs that annually concentrated on one notable jazz composer,
augmented by the compositions of the individual members. The Collective is very modern
in its artistic outlook. Previous subjects of retrospectives have been John
Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Herbie Hancock, and Thelonius Monk. This year the
honoree is Wayne Shorter, who will appear later in this series. The Collective plays dense
music that touches the edges of free jazz at times but the music is always
accessible, thanks to the tight arrangements and the high level of the playing.
Friday night the group presented its own versions of the Wayne Shorter
compositions “Armageddon,” “Footprints,” and “Infant Eyes,” interspersed with
compositions from the group, many of them in the Shorter spirit. The Collective produces a remarkably full
sound. With a front line of four horns and vibes, the group sounded like a small
band. Their set got off to a roaring start with a Zenon original that featured a
high energy solo by Harris that had the crowd whooping with delight. With the
momentum generated by that number, the set never let up. There were solo highlights in
every number, with Lovano contributing soprano and tenor sax playing that was
both abstract and melodic. Douglas and Zenon did battle in a ferocious duet in
”Footprints” and Eubanks displayed Olympian chops in his own composition,
“Breakthrough.” The emphasis was on highly charged music until the encore, a
lovely and lyrical piece by Harris. The concert was blessedly free of time
consuming bass and drum solos. Even Penman’s original “The Angel’s Share” did
not allow the composer any major solo space on his bass. Harland did embark on
one extended break in his composition “The Year 2008” (which opened with a
startling and moving recorded recitation of the opening lines of the Declaration
of Independence). But Harland is such an entertaining and driving drummer that
his solo was a pleasure to hear, and to watch. The program was a true
collective in allowing almost all members of the group to take turns announcing
the selections and chatting with the audience. The concert was a model of
organization. It ran a tight 90 minutes without an intermission, extended by
another 10 minutes by the encore. The show ended by 10 p.m., eliminating the
walkouts of spectators who needed to catch trains, a melancholy feature of past
concerts that ran excessively near 10:30. The series returns on March 28, when Joshua
Redman brings his trio, to be joined by guest star Branford
Marsalis.
Contact Dan: zeffdaniel@yahoo.com
March 2008 ****************************************************************** Jazz at Symphony Center Concert By Dan
Zeff
CHICAGO—Wynton Marsalis brought his Jazz at Lincoln Center
Orchestra to the Jazz at Symphony Center series Friday night in a program he
called “The Love Songs of Duke Ellington.” The evening’s two sets did include
many of the Ellingtonia hits in the romantic vein, but Marsalis expanded the
program to demonstrate that for Ellington, a love song could be directed toward
his orchestra and its soloists as well as to a man-woman
relationship. Along with such
obvious selections as “Prelude to a Kiss” and “Satin Doll,” the orchestra played
non-romantic numbers like “Concerto for Cootie,” also known as “Do Nothing ‘Til
You Hear from Me,” a showcase for the great Ducal trumpeter Cootie Williams, and
“Rockin’ in Rhythm,” a swinging valentine to his entire orchestra. However
Marsalis defined Ellington’s love songs, the concert was a joyous celebration of
the entire Ellington repertoire and further validated the Lincoln Center
ensemble as the finest jazz band playing today. The orchestra came
to Symphony Center with most of the musicians we’ve heard and enjoyed in the
group‘s numerous previous appearances in the jazz series. There were a couple of
new trombone players in Christopher Crenshaw and Elliot Mason. Sherman Irby
replaced Wess Anderson on alto saxophone, and Seneca Black no longer helped
anchor the trumpet section, but the 15 musicians are still a matched set of some
of the finest jazzmen going today, including multi-reed man Joe Temperley, one
of the last living musicians who played with
Ellington. Most of the
numbers were faithful to the original Ellington arrangements and most were
performed in concise renditions. Many of the performances could have fit on an
old 12 inch 78 rpm record. The only extended piece was the encore, “C Jam
Blues,” aka “Duke’s Place,” a jam session allowing each musician to play a
parting half chorus for the huge and adoring
audience. Marsalis was his
usual gracious and humorous self as master of ceremonies and played some
tremendous trumpet, beginning with a down and dirty plunger mute solo on “Creole
Love Call,” followed later by pensive and meditative solos on “Solitude” and
“Mood Indigo.” Everyone got at
least one solo opportunity during the evening. Ryan Kisor followed the
originally Williams solo closely on “Concerto for Cootie,” yet still made this
classic his own with his distinctive phrasing and intonation. In an evening of
highlights, probably the most haunting was a duet between Temperley on bass
clarinet and pianist Dan Nimmer on Ellington’s exquisite “A Single Pedal of a
Rose.” Talk about soulful! Nimmer also soloed on the Duke’s jaunty finger
snapping “Dancers in Love” and showed the crowd he’s a technically accomplished
and imaginative musician deserving of wider
recognition. Along with the
Ellington pop and jazz standards, Marsalis programmed some lesser heard pieces,
including excerpts from several Ellington suites of the 1950’s and 1960’s.
Victor Goines took a lovely tenor sax solo on Ellington’s tribute to Coleman
Hawkins, “Self Portrait of the Bean.” Goings will be leaving the orchestra to
assume his new position as director of jazz studies at Northwestern University.
That will be a hard chair to fill in the orchestra but local jazz fans can
anticipate some great sounds coming from Evanston under Goings’
administration. Obviously Marsalis
couldn’t cover all the well-known Ellington love songs in a single concert.
Surprisingly, “Sophisticated Lady” wasn’t on the program, one of the most rueful
romantic ballads in American music. But what the orchestra did play was golden,
like Irby saluting Johnny Hodges in “Warm Valley.” Marsalis obviously has great
respect and affection for Ellington and his music and the concert was as much
the orchestra’s love song to Ellington as a salute to the great man’s
compositions. The jazz series
takes a breather during the cold weather season and returns on March 14 with a
concert by the San Francisco Jazz Collective, an all-star octet that features
Joe Lovano on saxophone, Dave Douglas on trumpet, Renee Rosnes on piano, and
Stefon Harris on vibraphone and marimba. Jan. 2008 Contact Dan : zeffdaniel@yahoo.com The
concert was billed as the Joshua Redman trio with special guest Branford
Marsalis. Redman opened the show with a rhythm section of Larry Grenadier on
bass and Gregory Hutchinson on drums, both veterans of Redman concerts and
recordings going back to the 1990’s. About halfway through the show Marsalis
strode onto the stage, meshing with Redman for the rest of the evening in a
scintillating union on both the tenor and soprano saxophones.
Redman is still in his 30’s, though he seems to have been at the top of
the jazz scene forever. He made an immediate impression on audiences and critic
s in the early 1 990’s with his hard driving sound and his
passion for the music. That passion was continuously evident Friday night in the
musician’s animated body language and yelps and shouts of pleasure in reaction
to his own playing and the work of Marsalis. The
concert consisted largely of Redman originals. There wasn’t a weak number in the
program, but probably the highlight was his eloquent soprano sax solo on
“Zarafah,” much of it unaccompanied, paying tribute to his mother. Both Redman
and Marsalis blew the roof off on their soprano duet in the dense yet swinging
“Citizen Tain.”
Marsalis and Redman are remarkably compatible musicians. Marsalis may
have a little more muscular sound and style, but a listener with his eyes closed
would have difficulty separating one player from the other as they exchanged
solo breaks. Both sax men sounded well rehearsed in their
ensemble passages. They didn’t indulge in any “last man standing” cutting
contests, but performed with the fluid integration of two like-minded jazz stars
operating on the same musical and emotional wavelength. As a
tightly focused quartet, Redman and Marsalis brought to mind such classic tenor
sax pairings as Al Cohn and Zoot Sims, Eddie Davis and Johnny Griffin, and Gene
Ammons and Sonny Stitt. Indeed, the regular program closed with a rip-roaring
rendition of the Ammons-Stitt shouter “Blues Up and Down.” The pair changed pace
for their encore with an eloquent version of “Body and Soul.”
Grenadier demonstrated exceptional chops both as a soloist and in the
rhythm section. He has a huge sound and his extended solo in “Citizen Tain” was
one of the evening’s many musical peaks. Hutchinson took a couple of tumultuous
solos on percussion but generally confined himself to providing strong rhythmic
backup. Spectators who feared an evening lumbered with long, tiresome bass and
drum solos were gratified at the judicious use of Grenadier and Hutchinson both
in the background and foreground.
Redman enhanced the concert with his genial announcements and chitchat
with the audience. His obvious respect and affection for Marsalis endowed the
evening with a further feel good atmosphere. The
concert was presented without an intermission, always a positive in the jazz
series. The musicians played for 90 minutes and there were doubtless attendees
who would have remained all night to enjoy performances of this caliber. But 90
minutes was just right and future concerts should take note. Those 25 minute
intermissions are a drag.
March 2008
Jazz