Live Music: Bill Cantos, Mari Falcone, Alan Bergman and Lillias White in a Society of Singers Program at Café Cordial

By Don Heckman

When the Society of Singers  (often referred to with the appropriate abbreviation S.O.S.) has a performance program it can best be described as a win-win event.  A winner in the sense that it raises funds for the S.O.S programs providing financial support for singers in need.  And a winner in the sense that audiences at S.O.S. events always experience programs of appealing musicality.

Which was exactly what happened at Café Cordial Monday night, when an enthusiastic turnout of S.O.S. supporters was entertained by the stellar line up of Alan Bergman, Bill Cantos & Mari Falcone and Lillias White.

Bill Cantos

Pianist/singer/songwriter Cantos was the emcee, the primary accompanist, and a performer in his own right for most of the evening.  As humorously entertaining as he was musically versatile, he assembled and managed an evening filled with songs.

Many came from his own growing catalog of works, others were provided by the always engaging Alan Bergman.  And at least one tune –- the whimsical “Everybody’s On the Phone” – was co-written by Cantos with Alan and Marilyn Bergman.

The program kicked off with Cantos’ “Morning Coffee,” followed by his “Sensibility” and “Who Are You?” Each song was delivered with the convincing, story-telling qualities and delightful humor that Cantos brings to his performances.  Add to that his far-ranging musicality, often scatting in unison with his piano lines, sometimes humming back-up counterpoint lines to his melodies.

Alan Bergman

Up next, Bergman offered one of his typically irresistible performances.  Hearing a songwriter sing his/her own songs is always an insightful experience.  But never more so than with Bergman, who is, in addition to his songwriting partnership with his wife, Marilyn, also a convincing singer in his own right.

Before he started, he offered one of his familiar nuggets of background on the art of writing song lyrics, noting that “the words are on the tips of the notes, and we have to find them.”  And then he proceeded to prove his point with his versions of “The Windmills of Your Mind” and “You Must Believe in Spring” (both classics written with Michel Legrand) and  “That Face” (written by Alan as a successful marriage proposal to Marilyn).

Lillias White

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Tony Award-winning Broadway star Lillias White then joined the Cantos trio for a jaunty, soulful group of numbers.  Beginning with Canto’s “You Got Me” she followed with a hilariously rocking “I Want A Big Fat Daddy” and the lyrical “Love Wins.”

Mari Falcone and Bill Cantos

The evening was topped off by Cantos and his wife, pianist Mari Falcone.  Interacting musically, sharing the keyboard on their electric piano, they offered delightful renderings of Cantos’ “Perfect Day” and “Smoke and Mirrors,” along with a climactic “I’ve Got Plenty of Nothing.”

Call it a musical evening in which everything went right, from the quality of the performances to the support for the Society of Singers.  All of which provided plenty of good reasons – musical and otherwise — to show up for the next S.O.S. program.

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Photos by Faith Frenz.

Live Jazz: A Brief History Of The World (Piano Division) with Alan Pasqua and Tom Schnabel

By Michael Katz

Jazz on the Westside found a cozy nook to curl up in Monday night, as radio station KCRW presented an Up Close event with pianist Alan Pasqua and music host Tom Schnabel at the New Roads School in Santa Monica. The goal of the evening, a one hour tour of the history of jazz piano, was nothing if not ambitious – it takes Ken Burns an hour just to say hello. And unlike Burns, Messrs. Pasqua and Schnabel elected not to leave out everything after 1950. The idea was to focus on a dozen or so icons, and naturally there were a few interesting inclusions and omissions. Most enjoyably, there was some exquisite solo playing by Pasqua, particularly in celebration of a new CD dedicated to Bill Evans.

Pasqua began with a nod to Jellyroll Morton. Playing a brief version of “Tomcat Blues,” circa 1920, he gave the audience a demonstration of how Morton moved the music from its ragtime roots to the edge of stride and what would become the trademark sound of Louis Armstrong and others. Progressing to the era of Basie and Ellington, Pasqua discussed how Duke used his piano style to recreate the full sound of his orchestra, through brief interludes of “Take The A Train” and “Sophisticated Lady.”

Alan Pasqua

There are certain players who can’t be left out in a Tour De Jazz Piano: Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Bill Evans, Errol Garner. Their contributions are found in various combinations of brilliant compositions and technical and harmonic stylings. Monk, in particular, has a trove of compositions that invite contemporary interpretation. Given the relatively brief time of the show, it was nice that Pasqua chose to explore one Monk tune fully.  He filled in the opening bridge of “Round Midnight” with a flourish and extended the standard with his own lively adaptation. Whereas with Bud Powell, he discussed jazz contrafact, demonstrating how Powell took the chord changes from “How High The Moon” and converted them to his own dense style in Charlie Parker’s “Ornithology.”

The one name that most in the audience were unfamiliar with was Jaki Byard, best known for his work with Eric Dolphy and, through much of the sixties, Charles Mingus.  More significantly to this evening, he was a teacher and mentor to Alan Pasqua, so if his presence in this list seems slightly biased, that’s quite all right. “Tribute To The Ticklers” was a nod to Fats Waller and the stride pianists. It is noteworthy that in the turbulent sixties, when Byard wrote this piece, he was able to reach backwards and create something contemporary, a reminder that jazz is a living time machine, able to go in every direction in ways unlike most other musical forms.

Tom Schnabel

There were nods to others, including McCoy Tyner and Herbie Hancock, and time constraints didn’t allow Pasqua to get to Dave McKenna and Keith Jarrett. Not surprisingly there were some notable omissions, most obviously Dave Brubeck. Pasqua allowed in the Q and A afterward that he didn’t think he could attempt to approach Brubeck without a rhythm section, though I don’t think you can leave him out of the conversation. Same with Oscar Peterson, ditto Mary Lou Williams. And the show’s format had such a resemblance to Marion McPartland’s Piano Jazz series, that she probably deserved a mention as well.

I’ve left Bill Evans for last, because he’s such a clear influence on Pasqua. There was a brief quote from “Green Dolphin Street,” followed by a lovely medley of Evans’ composition “Very Early,” and his classic interpretation of “Sleepin’ Bee.” Evans’ use of harmonics, his ability to sound almost lush and yet breathtakingly simple at the same time, challenge any type of written transposition. Pasqua’s new CD Two Piano Music is a nod to Evans’ Conversations With Myself, consisting of dual solo piano tracks. Pasqua’s composition “Grace” is on that CD, and that is how he concluded the hour long performance Monday night.

KCRW host Schnabel provided a bright counterpoint throughout the evening, offering a wealth of jazz knowledge to go along with Pasqua’s own musical history. He’s planning a similar evening focusing on Brazilian music later on this year, and that is good news for jazz fans in Santa Monica, and one assumes listeners of KCRW as well.

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To read more iRoM reviews and posts by Michael Katz click HERE.

Click HERE to visit Michael Katz’s personal blog, Katz of the Day.

Live Jazz: Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein and Bill Stewart at Vitello’s

By Don Heckman

Let’s start with full disclosure: I haven’t always been a fan of B-3 organ jazz.  But what I’ve realized over the years is that the problem hasn’t been the instrument, but a few of the instrument’s players.

All of which was fully clarified last night at Vitello’s with the stellar performance of jazz organist (and all around master keyboardist) Larry Goldings and his musical cohorts, guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer Bill Stewart.

Peter Bernstein, Bill Stewart, Larry Goldings

Larry Goldings

The opening set, delivered to an overflow full house crowd, began with a high spirited romp through “It Ain’t Necessarily So.”  At its best, it set the tone for the high spirited, energetic tunes to follow.  Among them, a few originals – Goldings’ “Jim Jam” and Bernstein’s “Dragonfly” — showcased the improvisational skills of both composers.  Tossing ideas back and forth, supporting each other’s soloing, they were propelled by a tsunami of rhythmic currents from Stewart.

But it wasn’t until they reached the old standard, “I Surrender, Dear,” that a full range of the trio’s more subtle creative aspects began to emerge.  Beginning with an impressionistic array of tonal coloring from Goldings’ organ, the piece evolved into a creative showcase for Bernstein’s soaring improvisational imagination.

Peter Bernstein

The set continued with more imaginative playing: an untitled tune in 5/4 that appeared to be based on the chord changes of ‘Tea For Two”; a similarly untitled piece resembling an eight bar blues.

But whatever they played, Goldings, Bernstein and Stewart brought it to life with their own unique collective style.

The only distraction in an otherwise appealing collection of contemporary jazz playing at its finest was Stewart’s occasional tendency to play with a volume and an intensity overriding the acoustic limits of Upstairs at Vitello’s.  Drummers who play the club regularly are well aware of the risks of, so to speak, overblowing the room.

Bill Stewart

That said, however, it’s worth noting that Stewart’s career has been brightened by a masterful ability to blend swinging rhythms with subtle complexities, offered with a colorful range of dynamics.  And the passages in this set when those qualities were present – as in “I Surrender, Dear,” – were attractive reminders of his impressive skills.

For the enthusiastic audience, the individual players in this trio of gifted jazz artists could do no wrong, with Stewart, in particular, receiving ovations after every solo.

And, from this listener’s perspective, by the time the set was over, both my organ jazz phobia and Stewart’s hyper-intensity had been dissipated by the memorable impact of the trio’s appealing musicality.

Photos by Faith Frenz.  

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Picks of the Week: May 14 – 19

By Don Heckman

Los Angeles

Brenna Whitaker

- May 15. (Wed.)  Brenna Whitaker.  She could have been a ‘30s platinum blond star.  But Whitaker doesn’t just look good; she can sing, too.  This time out she picks a set of tunes to enhance the birthday of Vibrato co-owner Eden Alpert.  Vibrato Grill Jazz…etc.   (310) 474-9400.

- May 15. (Wed.)  Lado B Project.  A lively evening of Brazilian music, featuring Otmaro Ruiz, piano, Larry Koonse, guitar, Edwin Livingston, bass, Aaron Serfaty, drums and Catina DeLuna, voice.  Brazilian music.  Vitello’s.    (818) 769-0905.

- May 16. (Thurs.)  Lisa Hilton. The ever adventurous pianist/composer Hilton continues her quest for new musical territories for her to explore. Catalina Bar & Grill.   (323) 466-2210.

- May 16. (Thurs.)  John Proulx.  Singer/pianist Proulx has begun to claim a position in the rare category of male jazz singer.  Proulx, like his musical role model, Chet Baker, brings the flowing phrases of his instrumental playing to his vocal interpretations.    H.O.M.E. (House of Music and Entertainment)   (310) 271-4663.

- May 17. (Fri.)  Jim Snidero Group.  Saxophonist Snidero’s lengthy resume reaches from his own numerous recordings to performances with everyone from Frank Sinatra to Frank Wess. The Blue Whale.    (213) 620-0908.

Melissa Manchester

- May 17 – 19. (Fri. – Sun.)  Melissa Manchester. She’s been producing memorable music since the ‘70s, including “Midnight Blue” and “Don’t Cry Out Loud.”  Here’s a chance to catch her in one of her rare club appearances. Catalina Bar & Grill.   (323) 466-2210.

- May 17 – 19. (Fri. – Sun.)  Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein and Bill Stewart.  This is a stellar organ trio if ever there was one.  Each of the players is an influence in his own right.  Don’t miss them.  Vitello’s.    (818) 769-0905.

- May 17 – 19, 23 & 25. (Fri. – Sun., Thurs., Sat.)  Mozart/Da Ponte Trilogy.  The Marriage of Figaro. The second of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s three year trilogy of opera by Mozart and librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte.  The great comic opera is performed in a concert staged version by the Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Master Chorale and soloists.  Disney Hall.  http://www.laphil.com  (323) 850-2000.

- May 19. (Sun.)  Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.  Concerto Finale.  The LACO players offer a fascinating evening of concertos, including Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto, and an offbeat bassoon concerto performed with a 1927 silent film.  Add the Beethoven Coriolan Overture and anticipate an engaging program.   CAP UCLA at Royce Hall.   (310) 825-4321.

- May 19. (Sun.)  Deborah Voigt.  Critically acknowledged as one of the classical music world’s dramatic sopranos, Voigt – who roves freely from Wagner to Puccini – offers an intimate recital of works by Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Bernstein and more.  Valley Performing Arts Center.  (818) 677-8800.

San Francisco

Bela Fleck

- May 16 – 19 (Thurs. – Sun.)  Bela Fleck solo.  Banjo master Fleck has performed in every imaginable setting.  But he is especially compelling musically when he plays in the creative intimacy of a solo performance.  SFJAZZ Center Miner Auditorium.    (866) 920-5299.

Seattle

- May 14 & 15. (Tues. & Wed.)  John Hammond.  Praised by the likes of Tom Waits and T-Bone Burnett, Grammy-winning guitarist/singer/harmonica player Hammond keeps the blues alive in everything he plays.  Jazz Alley.    (206) 441-9729.

New York City

- May 14 – 18. (Tues. – Sat.)  Bossabrasil.  Featuring Dori Caymmi with special guest, Joyce.  Rio comes to Manhattan in the form of a pair of Brazil’s most versatile and gifted musical artists.  Birdland.    (212) 581-3080.

- May 14 – 19. (Tues. – Sun.)  The Gil Evans Project.  Directed by Ryan Truesdell.  An amazing week of music, featuring a large ensemble exploring the full range of Gil Evans’ extraordinary talents.  The selections for each night include Gil Evans’ music for the Claude Thornhill Orchestra, “Out of the Cool,” “New Bottle, Old Wine,” “Great Jazz Standards,” “The Individualism of Gil Evans,” “Miles Ahead,” “Porgy and Bess,” Check with the club for scheduling.  The Jazz Standard.    (212) 576-2232.

London

Roy Haynes

- May 15 & 16. (Wed. & Thurs.)  The Roy Haynes Fountain of Youth Band. The Fountain of Youth has had the biggest impact upon the leader, drummer and role model in this band.  At 88, Haynes is still playing with the imagination and energy of youth.  Ronnie Scott’s.   +44 20 7439 0747.

Berlin

- May 17 & 18.  (Fri. & Sat.)  Lee Ritenour.  He used to be called “Captain Fingers” in honor of his high-speed dexterity.  But guitarist Ritenour has a more lyrical side as well, often employing octave melody style of his favorite musical model, Wes Montgomery.  A-Trane.    +49 30 3132 ext. 550

Copenhagen

- May 15 & 16. (Wed. & Thurs.)  Mark Whitfield.  Dubbed the “best young guitarist in the business” by the New York Times, Whitfield performs with a trio of prime Danish jazz musicians: Henrik Gunde, piano, Kasper Vadsholt, bass and Rasmus Kihlberg, drums.  Jazzhus Montmartre.   +45 31 72 34 94

Milan

Anat Cohen

- May 18. (Sat.) Anat Cohen.  Clarinetist/saxophonist Cohen is in the forefront of an impressive generation of female jazz instrumentalists.  She’s backed by Jason Lindner, piano, Stefano Bellani, bass and Daniel Freedman, drums.  Blue Note Milano.    +39 02 6901 6888.

Tokyo

- May 14 – 16. (Tues. – Thurs.)  Benny Golson Quartet.  Tenor saxophonist/composer Golson is still, at age 84, a player with a lot of music to express.  Hopefully he’ll also play some of his jazz hits such as “Killer Joe,” “Whisper Not,” “Along Came Betty” and more.  The Blue Note Tokyo.    +81 3-5485-0088.

Live Music: Emily Bear in a Jazz Bakery Movable Feast at the Musician’s Institute.

By Don Heckman

“I just do it.”  That was the brief comment I received from young pianist/composer Emily Bear when I spoke to her after her Wednesday night performance at the Musicians’ Institute.

Four little words.  In response to my query about her orchestral composition “Santa Fe.”  How, I wondered, had she developed the skills to write so authoritatively for a full symphonic orchestra.

And she replied, “I just do it.”

Emily Bear

Which is probably the response that this remarkable eleven year old prodigy would have to all the other impressive accomplishments she has had with her music.

In case you haven’t been watching the Ellen DeGeneres Show lately, or haven’t stumbled upon her numerous film clips on YouTube, you may not be too sure about who Emily Bear is.  Suffice to say that she’s been receiving a lot of attention, with good reason.

Displaying musical talent on the piano at the age of two, she began to compose a year later.  At six, she performed at the White House, and she guested on the DeGeneres Show six times.  As she got older, her skills reached from pop and jazz and rock to classical music, often via performances with a full orchestra, performing in venues in the U.S. and Europe.

Emily Bear and Quincy Jones

Quincy Jones was so impressed when he heard Emily in action that he immediately made a deal to take over management of her career.

“She is the complete 360-degree package,” says Quincy, “and there are no limits to the musical heights that she can reach.”

All of which was amply clear in her Jazz Bakery performance.  In a single, hour and half set, she offered a sequence of all original works, performing with bassist Peter Slavov, drummer Kevin Kanner and, on a few works, cellist Zuill Bailey.

Emily Bear

The music covered a gamut of styles: lyrical, adagio-like classical melodies; briskly swinging bebop lines; an atmospheric flamenco-styled piece; some rhythmically energizing salsa; a theme that could easily have been the principal melody in an Italian film; and much more.

All of it was delivered in Emily’s warm engaging style, clearly enraptured within the music, communicating her creative intensity to the other players with captivating smiles and gestures.

Watching and listening to the utter musical authenticity of her playing, I couldn’t help but recall another illuminating remark from Emily, one that perfectly illustrates the creative reality of this impressive young artist:  “I have so much music in my heart,” she says, “that it just falls out.”

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Emily’s latest recording, Diversity(Concord/Qwest Records), was produced by Quincy Jones.  Her seventh album, it includes much of the material presented at the Jazz Bakery performance.  It’s the perfect introduction to the work of a very gifted, very young woman with – as Quincy has pointed out – “no limits to the heights she can reach.”

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Photos by Faith Frenz.

Live Jazz: The Playboy Jazz Festival Free Community Concert with Antonio Fargas and the New Jump Blues Band

By Don Heckman

The ramping up to the 35^th annual Playboy Jazz Festival in mid-June got under way with a high spirited kick-off Sunday afternoon at the Beverly Hills Civic Center.  The event, the first of two Playboy free community concerts, featured performances by Antonio Fargas and the New Jump Blues Band and the Beverly Hills High School Jazz Band.

The far-reaching range of music was characteristic of the sort of diversity we have come to expect from Playboy jazz programs.

Fargas, who may be best known from his long run as the character “Huggy Bear” in the ‘70s television series Starsky and Hutch, is also an engagingly dynamic music performer, the sparkplug energizing each of the set’s tunes.

Antonio Fargas and the New Jump Blues Band

Fargas and the New Jump Blues Band, with three electrifying singer/dancers — Adrian Battle, Airreal Watkins and Malakhi Eason — three horns and a four piece rhythm section, are reviving the urban blues styles of such ‘40s artists as Louis Jordan, T-Bone Walker, Jack McVea, Earl Bostic and others.  Rooted in the Swing bands of the thirties, enlivened by the blues, it evolved into one of the great pop music styles.

The New Jump Blues Band

And in the voices, feet and hands of the New Jump Blues Band, it came vividly to life.  Their opening number immediately showcased the essence of their art with fast-stepping choreography and rapid-fire vocals.  The songs were classics from the jump blues era: “All She Wants To Do Is Mambo,” “Cow Cow Boogie,” “One Mint Julip,” “Rum and Coca-Cola,” “Good Rockin’ Daddy,” “Sugar Bum Bum” and more.

Antonio Fargas and Airreal Watkins

Each piece was presented as a choreographed musical story, sometimes – as on “Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean” — with back and forth dialogue interspersed with a song.  And at other times – as on the lyrical “Since I Fell For You” — with dance moves illuminating a song’s inner story.

By the time the New Jump Blues Band polished off their set, one couldn’t help but wonder why they haven’t been booked for the Playboy Jazz Festival itself.  Their irresistible rhythmic charge and all-encompassing musical excitement seemed precisely tuned to the conga-line, dance-in-the-aisles excitement that always seems to surface at the Festival around the six o’clock hour.

But if it’s too late in the scheduling process for the New Jump Blues Band to be included on the 2013 program, they should be added to the list now for next year’s Festival.

The opening set by the young players of the Beverly Hills High School Jazz Band, led by Bob Bradbury, was delivered with enthusiasm and a real love of jazz.  At its best, it offered convincing evidence of the value flowing from Playboy’s continuing presentation of high school bands at every Festival program.

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Photos by Faith Frenz.

 

 

Live Jazz: International Jazz Day at Herb Alpert’s Vibrato Grill Jazz. Etc.

By Don Heckman

Bel Air, CA. International Jazz Day was celebrated in high spirited fashion Tuesday night at Herb Alpert’s Vibrato Grill Jazz…etc.  The room’s Music Director and bassist Pat Senatore, who schedules an appealing flow of jazz talent in the attractive Bel Air club, picked many of his regular players to perform in a 3 ½ hour sequence of virtually non-stop spontaneous jazz.

It wasn’t exactly a jam session, but there were times when it came close: the players making spontaneous on-stage decisions about what tunes to play, shifting from number to number and group to group, tossing ideas back and forth, working out endings on the spot.

Bob Sheppard, Putter Smith, Dontae Winslow

The horn players covered a complete gamut of styles and methods – exactly what one might expect from the presence of such sterling talents as saxophonists Bob Sheppard, Tom Peterson and Chuck Manning, trumpeters Steve Huffsteter and Dontae Winslow and trombonist Bob McChesney.

And with rhythm teams that included pianists Joe Bagg, Ed Czach and Otmaro Ruiz, bassists John Belzaguy, Chris Colangelo, Jeff D’Angelo, Putter Smith and Pat Senatore, and drummers Matt Gordy and Dick Weller, it was no surprise that there was no let-up in the music’s propulsive rhythmic drive.

There were plenty of highlights in this extraordinary evening. To mention a few of the sounds still ringing through my mind after the performance, as we drove down Beverly Glen’s twists and turns to the Valley:

- The opening set by a gifted group of teen-age jazz players, whose convincing program reached from a fast-paced “Donna Lee” to a lyrical “Passion Flower.”

Steve Huffsteter, Pat Senatore, Tom Peterson

- A quintet that matched Tom Peterson and Steve Huffsteter in a set of beautifully played versions of “Alone Together,” “Body and Soul” and a simmering bossa nova.

- Another quintet featuring Bob Sheppard and Dontae Winslow – a pair of horn players with fine intuitive interaction, doing their imaginative takes on “Autumn Leaves” and “Straight, No Chaser.”

- Trombonist McChesney’s remarkably fast-paced, articulately expressive soloing in a surprisingly high speed romp through “I Love You,” and Chuck Manning’s similarly fast-paced, spontaneous take on “I Hear Music.”

- And a final set pairing of Sheppard and Huffsteter on a warmly intimate ballad rendering of “I Can’t Get Started” and “Yesterdays” (the Cole Porter, not the Beatles version).

Jazz at its best, in other words.  Precisely the sort of inventive, briskly swinging improvisational music that was being celebrated in locations around the world for International Jazz Day.

Give Pat Senatore, his players and Vibrato lots of credit for the way they handled their share of the celebration, reminding one and all of the Southland’s vital role as one of the important sources of jazz at its finest.

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Photos by Faith Frenz.

Live Jazz: Medeski, Martin and Wood in a CAP UCLA concert at Royce Hall

By Mike Finkelstein

As the Medeski, Martin, and Wood show started at Royce Hall Friday night you got the feeling that the audience wasn’t just dropping in.   The balcony was open and there was a good vibe of anticipation in the hall.  People were ready for this.

Medeski, Martin, and Wood are a New York based trio specializing in nuanced jamming.  MMW describe each other’s musical approach and abilities as “wide open” and they don’t usually gig on the West Coast, so this was an opportunity for them to reach an audience that was clearly hoping they’d get here.   The band is known for their crafty sense of improvisation, and on Friday we got to see both an acoustic first- and electric closing-set from them.  The term acoustic applied mostly to keyboardist John Medeski, who sat at a grand piano with his back turned to the audience for nearly the whole first set. Bassist Chris Wood and drummer/percussionist Billy Martin played the same instruments for both sets.

Medeski, Martin & Wood

The first set was comparatively touchy-feely to the more focused and arranged second one.   The night began with a tasty bit of tuning, tinkering, and noodling that jelled beautifully.    As the set progressed, every moment was nudged along in turn by each of them.   Each idea had a connection to the next.  Sounds churned, jiggled, crashed, lunged, and rumbled quite often.  Sometimes it was dissonant, but not for long and it always led to something interesting.

The three guys approached the improvisation in the music much like jazz players, constantly playing off of each other, but it was apparent from the beginning that they also drew from progressive rock, blues, and spur of the moment curiosity.   In Martin’s words, “The more you accept who you are, the more free you are to express that.”   MMW never did let any one idea linger long enough to spoil, they just kept cycling in new lines.

As their material doesn’t have any vocals, they welcomed the challenge of keeping the music engaging, and each of the three had a wide range of tools to vary his sound.  Billy Martin had a couple of tables worth of hand percussion, whistles, small vibraphones, bags of bones, etc to satisfy any whim he might feel like following, as well as what seemed like a skillet or two hanging from his kit.

Chris Wood

Chris Wood played beautifully on bass all night and he did have several diversions to spiff up his sound, too.   He actually played slide bass at several points during the second set and showed us a very cool effect by bowing a drumstick on the bridge of the bass…it sounded like a bit like a theremin.   He also had a very busy technique where he would get mostly harmonic sounds by tickling the strings as he bowed them.  He played through delays and fuzzes, too.

Near the end of the first set Medeski brought out a tall thin wooden wind instrument, resembling a didgeridoo if only in appearance.   Martin identified it later as a pujama (fujama?) but it shall remain a mystery for now.  To play it, Medeski had to hold it from waist high to considerably above his head and as he held it arms down and blew on the mouthpiece, well, it looked a bit like some involved kissing was going on.  Strange.  Then he split it apart and played the top half horizontally.   It squealed a lot and hand placement controlled the dynamics.   Still strange.

John Medeski

For the second set Medeski rotated between several keyboard setups but used a Hammond organ and a clavinet most of the time.   The rich, swirling Hammond sound is so recognizable that it made the band seem a little less out there than they had been for the first set.  Wood played mostly on a Hofner electric bass but still kept his rotation with the acoustic stand-up going throughout.   At times he would turn the big bass towards Medeski and groove off him.  Other times, he would chew up the runs, and at still other times he would clearly lay back and savor the tone of the big bass notes.   You could see that he pretty much wore the groove on his face, as did Martin.

Billy Martin

Martin is a hard hitter but with a wide range of approaches.   He could be very light with the hand percussion and clearly thinking on the fly.   He doesn’t play with the classic light touch of jazz drummers but he was still both subtle and able to really let if fly in the heavy patches.   For him it’s all about improvising.  Drumming on anything available.  Primal.  Like a child wanting to know what it will sound like if he drums on it. Sometimes he would stand up to accentuate a cymbal stroke.   It only seemed as though he was tweaking a large machine.

In a trio format, everyone has a lot of musical ground to cover.  No body stayed in any one pocket for very long Friday night.  MMW take a very open eared approach to everything they do. They listen to each other very alertly and make the effort to react to the subtleties and dynamics of the moment.  We saw changes in one idea ripple through the band like water waves. All night, the sound morphed into something new.

The evening ended with a slow, haunting, mesmerizingly beautiful piece of music called, I believe, “Dracula.” It sounded nothing like the beginning of the evening but it had us in a trance.    The interplay between the keys and bass was so seductively spooky.  And this tune had the softest landing you could want, too.   Medeski played only a pianica, Wood grooved in slow mode on the long notes and Martin kept it light.  They really did set it down to rest pretty.   I wouldn’t have expected anything less.

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To read more reviews and posts by Mike Finkelstein click HERE.

Live Jazz: Cat Conner’s “Birthday Bash” at Vitello’s

By Don Heckman

Jazz singer Cat Conner gave a birthday party to remember at Vitello’s Thursday night.  Actually, a “Birthday Bash,” as she described it, in which she and her close friend, Lee Hartley, sang their way through a delightful evening of song.

Christian Jacob. Cat Conner, Chuck Berghofer

Cat Conner

Backed by the stellar trio of pianist Christian Jacob, bassist Chuck Berghofer and drummer Ray Brinker, with creative contributions from saxophonist/clarinetist Gene “Cip” Ciprano, Conner and Hartley were clearly enjoying each of the numbers they sang in a nearly two hour program.

After the trio’s opening romp through “Stella By Starlight,” Conner dug into a jaunty “What A Little Moonlight Can Do,” following it with “You Stepped Out Of A Dream” and Dave Frishberg’s whimsical blues, “I Can’t Take You Nowhere” (which she dedicated to her mother.)  Here, as elsewhere, Conner displayed her warm, intimate way with a song.

Cat Conner and Lee Hartley

Hartley, an impressive jazz artist in her own right, added her gently swinging “I Love Being Here With You” and an original song inspired by Nat “King” Cole.

There was much more to come, including “My Wish For You,” an intriguing version of a lovely Luis Bonfa melody from the film, Black Orpheus, with lyrics by Peggy Lee.  And a romp through “Mr. P.C.” featuring Berghofer’s articulate soloing.  Along with the occasional pairing of Conner and Hartley on tunes such as “I Mean You” and a lyrically revised “Girl Talk.”

Cat Conner, Gene “Cip” Cipriano and Lee Hartley

Cipriano, playing clarinet (and calling up images of Artie Shaw), joined Conner and the rhythm section to duet on “Moonglow” and “Squeeze Me.”  Conner was also especially on target, continuing to focus on her musical storytelling via warm interpretations of “How Deep is The Ocean?” and “Embraceable You.”  She wound up the celebration with a high spirited romp through Sonny Rollins’ “St. Thomsas.”

The birthday party climaxed with, appropriately, some birthday cake, and a lot of celebratory hugs between Conner and her listeners, most of whom seemed to be close friends and musical acquaintances.

Which wasn’t exactly what one expects from a mid-week gig.  But on this enjoyable evening, Conner, Hartley and their back-up trio found all the pleasant linkages between the music and the birthday celebration.  And, as oten happens at Vitello’s, the performance had the relaxed feeling of a living room jam session among close friends.

No wonder Cat was smiling for most of this night to remember.

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Photos by Faith Frenz.

Live Jazz: “A Tribute To Miles” with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Marcus Miller, Vinnie Colaiuta, and Sean Jones at Disney Hall

By Devon Wendell

Los Angeles, CA. Any tribute to Miles Davis really goes against Miles’ core belief in always growing and never looking back at past ideas and concepts.  But when you gather five musicians (three of whom — Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Marcus Miller — played with Miles) who are constantly  pushing themselves beyond what they know, and collectively changing Miles’ compositions from all eras of his career, the result will likely be something Miles would have been proud of. This is what the Tribute To Miles performance achieved on Tuesday night at Disney Hall.

Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter

Witnessing Hancock, Shorter and Miller, along with drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and trumpeter Sean Jones together onstage, was in itself something to behold, whether it was a tribute to Miles Davis or not.   Throughout the night, the solo order was pretty much the same with Jones playing the first solo on trumpet, followed by Shorter on tenor and soprano saxes, then Miller and Hancock exchanging leads between bass and keys.

Marcus Miller

The band opened the show with “Walkin’,” giving this Miles hard-bop classic a funky/fusion twist to it, especially in the tight, slick groove laid down by Miller on bass and Colaiuta on drums. Jones’ trumpet style sounded very close to that of Miles’ mid-‘60s playing, which mixed perfectly with Shorter and Hancock, since both were core members of Mile’s second classic quintet of that time.

Although the harmonies and arrangements of each number were drastically altered, the long time connection between Hancock and Shorter could be felt during the entire program, especially on “Little One,” which was the only piece close to the ‘65 original in its melodic approach. This piece was rarely performed with the next Davis quintet, so it was exciting to see Hancock and Shorter revisiting it all these years later.

Vinnie Colaiuta

The arrangements of each song were changed so much that even the most devote Miles fan would have had to take a moment to figure out the tune, which kept the material fresh on classics such as “Milestones,” “All Blues” and “Directions.” Only true masters who understand Miles’ music intimately could have done this as successfully as these players did. The energy level grew with each nuance and it felt as though the players had ESP and were symbiotically feeding each other new ideas, pushing themselves beyond the parameters of the songs’ structures.

Miller’s mournful bass clarinet playing on “In A Silent Way” was truly haunting and mesmerizing, as the other band members dropped their sound down to a whisper.  Shorter alternated between tenor and soprano sax, Hancock moved from his grand piano to his various synthesizers, and Colaiuta played with sticks, brushes, and his hands, all over the kit from one moment to the next. There was constant motion within the band as well as reactions to ideas that happened in the moment.

Sean Jones

Although neither man actually played with Miles, Sean Jones’ youthful energy and aggression, matched with Colaiuta’s dynamic fire and bombast, pushed Miller, Shorter, and Hancock to amazing heights. This was especially the case in an up-tempo, joyful reading of “Fran Dance.” Here, Hancock played a fluid solo that quoted directly from Bill Evan’s piano part on the original recording from 1958.  Jones played muted trumpet and only emphasized syncopated segments of the original melody line, with Shorter filling in those spaces on tenor sax. The results were brilliant on all levels.

The highlights of the entire evening were stark, sinister versions of “Someday My Prince Will Come,” and Shorter’s masterpiece “Footprints.” Shorter played a brief soprano sax solo on “Footprints” that screamed and shrieked into a place beyond good or bad as only a genius like Shorter could pull off. And he made it look easy, as if it wasn’t and couldn’t have been rehearsed.

Even with all of Hancock’s adventurous synthesizer experimentations, the bebop qualities were not lost on “Dr. Jackle.”  Jones’ trumpet squealed into the upper register, venturing into a Don Cherry, avant-garde style, and Miller switched to upright bass. Colaiuta conjured up the spirit of Tony Williams and Philly Joe Jones, without abandoning his own unique musical presence.

The band finished with an encore of “Jean Pierre.” Miller played the slap-happy bass line with the same youthful vitality he expressed on the original recording with Miles in 1981.  Hancock made some delightfully peculiar sounds on his many synthesizers to match Miller’s live vocal special effects. And all the players were laughing and having fun.

The Tribute to Miles was a powerful statement of focus, soul, and wisdom by some of the greatest musicians in the world. The constant energy and movement made it seem as if Miles were there watching each musician with the intense look that only Miles could give – a look that meant that you’d better give it your best.  And these remarkable players did just that.

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To read more posts, reviews and columns by Devon Wendell click HERE.