Guillermo Klein at the Village Vanguard

Guillermo Klein

When we study jazz history, there is talk of legendary venues: The Cotton Club, The Palomar Ballroom, Minton's Playhouse, The Five Spot, The Plugged Nickel, etc...Of course, one of those places that still thrives today is the Village Vanguard. Located on 7th Avenue South right in the heart of Greenwich Village, this famous club has been a hot ticket since the mid 30's. I've only performed here a handful of times over the years, but I've seen a lot of great music there. I must say, in some ways, the Vanguard, like many famous places, can underwhelm at first glance: it's pretty small, the dressing room is the remnants of a working kitchen, and the proprietor (Lorraine Gordon, widow of Max Gordon, the founder) can be quite gruff to the customers. And yet, the sound of the room is great, and it carries a lot of cache to get a booking there. Furthermore, it's one of the few clubs where you can still book an entire week, which means it's possible to develop the music over six nights, which is what the masters did back when there were a plethora of performing opportunities.

Los Guachos

A friend convinced me to come down to the Vanguard and see pianist and composer Guillermo Klein y Los Guachos. "Guachos" is apparently Argentinian slang for "buddies". Klein is Argentinian and lives and teaches there currently, although he did live in Boston as a Berklee student, and also lived in New York and Barcelona previously. I actually saw his big band when they used to play at Small's in the mid 90's. Klein's music is extremely unique: he's doing things with a large ensemble that I guarantee you've never heard before. Klein is an accomplished pianist, but he doesn't use his band to showcase any sort of pianistic virtuosity. He leads his men from the piano, while letting the many other formidable soloists in his band take the spotlight. One of Klein's trademarks is his isolation of rhythm as a thematic element, much like classical composers like Steve Reich, John Adams, and maybe, dare I say, Beethoven?

Bill McHenry

The night started with a piece called "Human Feel" that really seemed blatantly minimalist: a large repeated phrase in 3/4 that implied smaller groupings of 5 within it, and then shifting to more of a 6 feeling, and then back to the 5 groupings. It's as if Klein is orchestrating his piano improvisational vamps for the large band, which consisted of two trumpets, trombone(occasionally 2 trombones when trumpeter Diego Urcola doubled on valve trombone), three saxes, electric bass, guitar, drums, percussion(although impressively, the percussionist picked up a trumpet on occasion), and of course, Klein on piano.The next piece, called "Juana", had a suspended chord vibe, and featured an amazing solo by tenor saxophonist Bill McHenry; it began with one note, very intensely, and then he tapered down with some contrasting rapid firings, and then brought the energy back up again with lyricism.

Jeff Ballard

"Mariana", the next tune, I found to be distinct in that it combined some very brooding harmony, and a possibly romantic sentiment, with a 5/4 rhythm that had a syncopated backbeat. This 5/4 rhythm served as sort of a rhythmic M.C. Escher painting, in that you can hear the melody in 5, or in 6, depending on how you focus your attention. Drumming master Jeff Ballard is an expert in endeavors such as this, and his navigation of the rhythmic labyrinths of Klein's compositions makes it all seem effortless. This is what was so compelling about this piece is that the oddness of the meter wasn't the only thing happening; it's only one element.

Most of the music that was performed was new, however, I did recognize one piece from Klein's 2008 release Filtros; the seemingly 7/4 "Muila" is another rhythmic illusion, where it seems as though the band is riding the metronome at various speeds, but actually, the perceived metric modulations are all created by the notation, with the quarter note staying constant. The band was super tight in it's execution of all of these difficult ideas; this was a Sunday night, so obviously, they had five previous nights to solidify things. I was told that Los Guachos only plays about once a year now; with that in mind, it speaks to the level of virtuosity throughout the band.

Miguel Zenon

Other standout soloists were alto saxophonist Miguel Zenon, (who is a tremendous bandleader and composer in his own right), Urcola (who is a great trumpet player, but played one of the best valve trombone solos I've ever heard!), and Chris Cheek on baritone saxophone. Taylor Haskins, who is a wonderful improviser, held down the lead trumpet chair with precision and confidence; he has the high chops, but a beautiful, dark sound, not that sort of bright "screechy" lead sound that we tend to associate with that sort of thing. Virtuoso guitarist Ben Monder, strangely, did not have any solos.( I asked him why after the concert, and he jokingly replied," Hey, you're right! Why didn't I?)

I was actually quite impressed with the penultimate tune of the evening, which featured beautiful singing in Spanish by Klein. This first set ended with Klein's orchestration of the first movement of an Albert Ginastera Piano Sonata, which finally showcased off Kliein's pianistic ability, as well as his arranging skills. Urcola told me that they had recorded all the new music during the week, so I urge you to keep an eye out for the next recording from Guillermo Klein y Los Guachos.

Back in New York! Helen Sung Quartet and more Shameful Self Promotion

My father's favorite city, New York, New York!

Hey there, Jazz Fans! I'm back in New York for the summer! Yes, I'm in the true Jazz Capital of the World. Well, I will admit that the scene has changed a lot since I first moved here in 1995. I think New York is tougher than ever, in terms of musicians to make a living. However, the sheer number of amazing performances and performers you can hear on any given night is truly staggering. From the legendary Blue Note in Manhattan to tiny hole-in-the -wall clubs in Brooklyn, there is amazing music to be heard. If you are any kind of a serious jazz fan, you need to come to New York at least once a year.

Houston native Helen Sung

Since I hadn't been in the Apple since December, I decided to go down to Greenwich Village and hear the Helen Sung Quartet at the famous 55 Bar. Sung is a wonderful jazz pianist who has recently decided to go down a more "electric" avenue ( sorry, Eddie Grant...) in her sound. She's played with Lonnie Plaxico and Richie Goods as a side person; I believe that these two gigs influenced her tremendously. A graduate of the Theolonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, Sung has plenty of chops and she's also a prolific composer. She and her band performed some poetry-inspired music which had fusion undertones(Sung played Fender Rhodes electric piano the entire evening), as well as jazz-rock standards like Weather Report's classic "Black Market." She also presented some cool arrangements of the Monk tunes "Eronel" and "Epistrophy."

Straight out of Philly-Johnathan Blake

I was very familiar with her sidemen, since I had worked with all of them extensively. Sometimes it's more fun to be a listening bystander than a performing participant. I enjoyed listening to guitarist Tom Guarna greatly, and I was sitting right in front of his amp (which wasn't cranked to 11, if you care to know). Guarna is becoming know for his tasty use of effects. I hadn't seen drummer Johnathan Blake in a few years, and he still plays with a lot of energy. Blake also has excellent control over his volume, which is so refreshing in a smaller room like the 55 Bar, which can easily become dangerously loud. In fact, the overall acoustic presence of the band was one of the best I've heard in this venue. A big surprise was one of my longtime collaborators on electric bass, fellow Marylander Josh Ginsburg. Most know Ginsburg as a crack acoustic bassist, but in this setting, Ginsburg was laying down some Tower of Power inspired sixteenth note grooves that would make you think that he was a full time electric bassist.

Yes, it's fun to listen to music, but I also enjoy playing music, too! And so, my next trip to a New York City jazz club will be as a performer. My trio will perform a double bill with my wife, pianist Kerry Politzer, at Cornelia Street Cafe on Friday, April 29th. My trio will feature Josh Ginsburg on bass and Melbourne native Danny Fischer on drums. Politzer's trio will consist of yours truly on drums, Ginsburg on bass, and Tom Guarna on Guitar. Sets are at 9pm and 10:30 pm We had a great turnout the last time we did this at Cornelia Street, and I hope we will have a good turnout this time as well. I'm itching to play after spending a good portion of the winter teaching. Not to mention being inspired by Helen Sung's skillful playing!

Tin Pan Alley Revisited: Spike Wilner/ Ned Goold Duo at Smalls

Spike Wilner

Now that my teaching semester at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg is on holiday break, I'm spending the rest of December in New York. Unfortunately, it seems to be just as cold in the Big Apple as it is up north in the ....what's a nickname for Winnipeg? Big.....Ice Cube? I dunno...... Anyway, It seems worse in New York at times more because we don't rely on our cars here, we walk to the subway. We're staying on the Upper East Side near York Avenue, which is a good twenty minutes to any subway. Nevertheless, I braved the windy cold last night to hear some warm jazz at Small's, my favorite club in NYC.

On the bill for the early set was an interesting piano/ tenor saxophone duo featuring pianist Spike Wilner and saxophonist Ned Goold. Wilner is currently the proprietor of Small's, however, he has been paying his dues as a jazz musician for almost two decades in the city. And you may know Goold from his work with the Harry Connick Jr. Band. Both musicians are quite accomplished technically, and also have a strong interest and respect for the history of the music. Furthermore, they are both very creative  players, and seemed very comfortable in the exposed, intimate setting of duo. 

The theme of the evening was performing obscure tunes from the "Tin Pan Alley" era of American songwriting. For those of you who don't know, Tin Pan Alley refers to tunes written roughly between the turn of the 20th century( some say as early as 1885, when music publishing began in New York) and 1950(when rock and roll took over ). Much of the jazz repertoire is taken from this era: all the famous tunes by Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Fats Waller, and so on, were from this era. More importantly, "Tin Pan Alley" was an actual place: West 28th Street between 5th and 6th Avenue. (I think there's a Starbuck's there now....) All the publishing houses were there, and they had people called "song-pluggers" who played new songs on pianos all day long, so that people might hear the tune and come in and buy the sheet music.( This was before radio, of course.) The cacophony of all these pianos being played all at once sound like, well, "tin pans" being thrown down an "alley". Hence the name. 

And as Mr. Wilner mentioned during the performance, jazz musicians use a small portion of these Tin Pan Alley tunes as vehicles for jazz. But there were so many tunes which were great but never made it into the jazz lexicon. Sometimes it's fun to dust off some of these gems and take them for another ride. And that's just what Wilner and Goold did last night.

The evening began with "Gone With The Wind" written by Allie Wrubel and Herb Magidson in 1937, which is actually not so obscure for jazz players. One thing I noticed right away from this ensemble was the commitment to the melody. The themes were always very clear and the original chords were respected. Indeed, if you look at old fake books, sometimes the original changes are hipper than what they morph into today. 

Earl " Fatha" Hines

I have heard Wilner deal with some heavy bop and post bop over the years. In this setting, however, Wilner drew from Earl Hines, Teddy Wilson, Fats Waller, and Art Tatum with great aplomb. Various inceptions of stride piano in the left hand were used throughout the evening, quite skillfully. In the stride idiom, the use of tenths in the left hand, or a third and an octave, are used frequently. It takes a pretty good stretch of the thumb, unless you can "roll" the jump and make it sound smooth. Wilner had no problems with this endeavor. Also, his right hand carried on independently from the left with much dexterity and tone.

Ned Goold's sound reminded me of Lester Young a bit. I was luckily sitting in the first row at Small's, so I could hear the sound acoustically right from the bell of Goold's horn. (I sort of wondered what Lester Young would have sounded like from that vantage point, if I was a time traveller.). Goold has a ton of bebop vocabulary, although it was executed in a very fluid, off- the-cuff manner. Every once in a while,  Goold would venture into an almost sheets-of-sound territory, and even allude to some quite dissonant intervallic material (which most saxophonists worth their salt seem to have at their fingertips). 

Some of the tunes presented were gems like "I'll Tell The Man In The Street" by Rodgers and Hart, "I Surrender Dear" by Harry Barris (Wilner joked that Barry Harris could do a record of Harry Barris tunes!), "Well, Did You Evah?" by the prolific Cole Porter. A version of "Too Marvelous For Words" gave a nod to the famous Art Tatum version. 

Stephen Foster

I found it interesting that they choose a Stephen Foster tune entitled "I Dream Of Jeannie With The Light Brown Hair." Foster was someone who wrote many tunes for the minstrel shows of the mid-19th century. Since publishing was not regulated back then, Foster did not earn royalties the way composers do today, and he died penniless. 

Also surprising in the set was a rousing version of Theolonious Monk's "Crepiscule with Nellie." This is one of those Monk tunes which is really hard to improvise on because of the odd structure. Wilner and Goold found some new ways to approach it. 

The set ended with a virtuoso rendition of Gerswin's "Liza".  I stayed after a bit to hear the next band, which was pianist and Winnipeg native Jill McCarron and her wonderful quartet consisting of altoist Vincent Herring, bassist Essiet Essiet, and drummer Joe Strasser. They had a mixed meter version of Joe Henderson's "Short Story" that was quite impressive. I left that night amazed at the plethora of jazz music that one can hear in New York on any random Thursday night. 

Much Ado About Fred Hersch

Fred Hersch

I've been a longtime fan of the great pianist Fred Hersch. I remember the first time I saw him live was at Blues Alley in Washington, D.C. in the early 90's. Fred was a sideman with the legendary tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson. I recall that the gig started about an hour late. But at last Henderson arrived, and the concert began as if they were warmed up from already playing a few hours. The repertoire was old chestnuts of the Henderson book:"Recorda-Me", "Invitation", "Beatrice", all tunes which are ripe for virtuosic exploration. Henderson did not disappoint, but the highlight was Hersch: he took apart every tune and put it back together as if he had written those tunes himself.

I met Fred for the first time at a concert being given by the then-unknown pianist Ethan Iverson (of The Bad Plus fame.). And over the years I ran into him a number of other times. I always admired the sound that he produced from the piano: always clear, ringing, and beautiful, even, consistent, and warm. I always felt that, as a relatively untrained pianist (my previous instruments were trumpet, then drums), I would never be able to approach that type of pianistic tone. I came up playing with loud drummers and playing on crappy pianos and not-so-crappy-but-still-less-than-authentic keyboards, so my approach to sound production was bang, bang harder, and then bang as hard as you can until you have tendonitis. However, it was suggested to me by a colleague that a lesson with Fred Hersch might actually do wonders for my technique. Indeed, his teaching studio has included great young pianists like Iverson, Sam Yahel, and Brad Mehldau.

So I had the idea to take a lesson with Hersch as mental post-it note for a long time. But it wasn't until I ran into him one night at Small's that I decide to seize the moment."Are you sure you want to take a lesson?" challenged Hersch, in a friendly way. "Of course," I replied, "I'm always trying to improve, and I also want to have a different perspective on sound production for my students." Hersch agreed to meet me at his apartment in Soho for a lesson a few weeks later.

I will admit that even though I attempt to have a real perspective on my strengths and weaknesses as a pianist, I have been doing things a certain way for almost twenty years, and right or wrong, the habits are deeply rooted. Therefore, it took a lot to accept Hersch's judgment. Indeed, he was slightly reluctant, but I insisted that he should not pull any punches. Of course, once we got going, I felt the usual self-doubt and sense of being overwhelmed from all the information. But it was worth it. I hadn't taken a piano lesson in so long, so it was difficult to be critiqued, yet this is what we all need as musicians to move ahead; an honest look at what's working and what's not. We talked a lot about "getting the fingers off the key" and he had a lot of ideas for solo piano playing. I won't give you the entire lesson, because if you are intrigued, you might want to plunk down the clams yourself  and take a lesson from him. It was a great experience, and I recommend Fred Hersch highly as a teacher if you are interested in improving your sound and technique. I will definitely go for a follow-up at some point. (I should note that Fred only takes advanced students.)

Billy Hart

Luckily, I was able to see Hersch give a demonstration of the practical application of his techniques in the form of a set at the famous Village Vanguard Jazz Club.

John Hebert

The trio was fantastic: bassist John Hebert of Baton Rouge, who is now a regular in Hersch's group, and legendary drummer Billy Hart, who was subbing for the great Eric McPherson. I was amazed at the presence of the piano sound: no matter where the music went, the consistency and roundness of the piano voice was so warm yet still shimmering. Even when there was a lot of rhythm going on, Hersch had total control of the sound. Mr. Hart played tastefully yet interactively as always. I was mesmerized by Hebert, who played an acoustic bass with a low C string (instead of the usual E string). Hebert's darkly sustained sound and ultramodern approach sometimes reminds me of Drew Gress, another great bass player and a long-time associate of Hersch. But I think Hebert has come into his own style, and his command of the instrument is indisputable. I was surprised by some odd-meter standards that really gave the trio an opportunity to take rhythmic chances and emerge victoriously on the beat!

Eric McPherson

Since that night at the Vanguard, I've been checking out Hersch's two most recent CDs. One is called Whirl, featuring Hebert and McPherson back on the drums. A satisfying mix of standards and originals, the standards are well arranged and the originals are memorably melodic. "You're My Everything" begins with a beat by McPherson which is part Vernel Fournier, part Art Blakey, a bit of Jack Dejohnette; it's kind of latin-ish but swinging…it's not a beat, really, it's just an approach which feels solid, groovy and free all at once. Hersch starts out soloing as if they cut in mid-performance. As expected, ideas are abundant, and Hersch makes a minor third modulation (from G major to Bb major) part of the form. Fred definitely has some Bill Evans-ish vocabulary, but it's not forced; one phrase or texture or development easily leads to the next one. At last, the melody appears and the trio vamps out softly on EMaj7 with some light impressionism from Hersch.

"Snow is Falling" is a gorgeous waltz, which makes nice use of the effect of the piano in unison with the bassist using his upper register. The piece starts out swaying between two chords, B-G-D to C-G-D, which are more implications of harmony, giving the introduction a mysterious quality, possibly giving the listener the image of a dark snowy evening.  And then the melody leads us into some different, warmer colors. There is much theory behind jazz harmony, but Hersch, like most fully-actualized jazz musicians, writes and plays for the emotional quality of each chord. (Isn't that what music is supposed to be about? Sometimes telling students to used the altered scale on a dominant 7th  chord and a dorian scale on a minor 7 is so abstract because they don't feel anything from the harmony. There's so much "emotional content" in harmony.)

Charlie Parker

There's a lot of different influences on Whirl. There's some playful bebop on "Skipping" and "Mrs. Parker of K.C.", where the title and the tune reference the father of bebop, altoist Charlie Parker. "Mandevilla" uses the Cuban Habanera rhythm with some Herschian harmonic modulations. The title tune "Whirl" kind of reminds me of Schubert's famous lieder "Gretchen am Spinnrade"(Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel) but doesn't lose the intense jazz-waltz character. I'm impressed with how Hersch and the trio are able to channel all of these various influences and hone it into one complete performance. You'll want to sit down and listen to this CD straight through, as if you were hearing them do a set at the Vanguard, just to hear the cohesive variety.

Scott Joplin

But wait, there's more! Fred Hersch Plays Jobim is solo piano, a format in which Hersch excels. Here, you can really hear Hersch's full command of the piano and all of its tonal, rhythmic, and orchestral possibilities. The piano is the instrument that, of all the jazz instruments, has the deepest connection to Europe. Indeed, most of the great jazz pianists had some form of classical training, if not a serious grounding in classical piano (Scott Joplin, James P Johnson, Fats Waller, Art Tatum, Duke Ellington, Bud Powell, Herbie Hancock, the list goes on.). Hersch is no exception; however, I contend that even when playing rubato, a jazz pianist approaches the push and pull very differently from a pianist who only plays classical music. (I'm not trying to start a controversy-I said differently, not better than...)

Hersch has a great feel for the shape of the dynamics and timing in relation to the harmony. Pieces like
"Por Toda Minha Vida" and "Luiza" are absolutely breathtaking, especially the latter tune; I was so moved by the melancholy of this track that I think someone should write, cast, and produce a tragic French film solely around Hersch's performance of the song! (OK, let's not get carried away...) But at times I was thinking about two solo pianists who I love to listen to; Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett. In my humble opinion, Hersch gives them a run for their money with this collection.

Antonio Carlos Jobim

Antonio Carlos Jobim was a Brazilian composer who combined the harmony of Chopin with the rhythm of the Samba. One would be remiss to omit Hersch's rhythmic prowess on the samba tunes. This is no easy feat as a solo pianist; Brazilian music requires a certain bounce, especially from the bass, and it's hard to technically cover all the bases (no pun intended) and make it feel complete (believe me, I have tried...). When you listen to performances like "Meditacao", you never miss the band; Hersch covers it all, with a lot of rhythmic liberties but never letting the samba suffer. "Brigas Nunca Mais" is one of my favorite tunes (I got to hear Joao Gilberto sing it live at Carnegie Hall years ago), and Jamey Haddad joins Hersch on some gentle agogo bells, an originally African instrument but considered traditional in Brazilian music. A sensitive rendition of "Corcovado" ends the concert in a relaxed, mature way.

I think Fred Hersch really balanced the energy well on this CD; there's great samba energy, but also he captures the chamber music feeling of bossa nova. A masterwork like this makes me rethink my approach to piano playing. Maybe I'll have to go for another lesson next time I'm in New York.

One Night at Smalls

Since I'm heading back to Winnipeg on Friday to teach at a Jazz Camp, I'm trying to soak up as much of the Big Apple( New York City, duh) as I can in the next two nights. I was fortunate to be reunited with tenor saxophonist Greg Tardy for a gig last week at the Iridium, and we did it again last night at Smalls. I haven't played with Greg in at least 10 years, and it's been fun to try to remember some of the music we played back in our salad days. (During the rehearsal for the Iridium concert, Greg brought out a tune entitled " Dust Groove." "Have I played this before?" I demanded aloud. Greg had a Mp3 of what we had played 10 years ago. "This is you playing piano on the recording!" Greg insisted.  Eventually the music came back to me.)

Greg has been using virtuoso Sean Conly on Bass and the remarkable Jameo Brown on drums for all those years, so they know exactly how to play Greg's music. It took me a minute to get into the groove, but once I did, it felt like we had all been on the road together for 10 years straight! We even threw in one of my tunes called "Nebulosity", which we had recorded 10 years prior on a CD called "Abundance". Even  without a rehearsal or sheet music, it sizzled.  The night also featured special guest alto saxophonist Logan Richardson, with whom I had never played before, but am hoping I will play with again soon. Richardson reminds me of alto players like Myron Waldon or Jon Gordon, except he was perhaps more careful with his note choices.


Actually, Greg took a 3 and a half year hiatus from playing the saxophone to minister at a mega-church in Times Square, so this is kind of a comeback for him. He also went through a spell of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, but I believe it is better now. Considering all of that,  I thought he sounded better than ever! Before the concert, Greg submitted to an interview for this baby blog, so I will post that as soon as I can transcribe it.


Also last night, I caught snippets of two other performances: Peter Bernstein was playing solo guitar at Smalls for the early set (which was wonderful), and on our intermission, I ran over to the 55 Bar to hear about 10 minutes of Kevin Hayes on Fender Rhodes, Sean Smith on Bass, and Bill Stewart on drums (which was also wonderful but intimidating). When you realize how much great jazz music you can check out on any given night in the vicinity of 7th avenue and Christopher Street, then you see why New York City is, even in these difficult times, still the Jazz Capital of the World. In fact, I heard a tiny portion of the late night set at Smalls as we were heading out the door, and I was remarking that the late night  band was really good; so good that in any other town they would be the featured act, and yet here they are pulling up the rear, so to speak, in the least desirable time slot of 1 AM. Such is the level of the competition in New York.  

Jazz And The Abstract Truth: Greetings, Salutations, and So on......

Welcome to a new blog regarding jazz music and many related subjects. I decided to start this blog for two main reasons: to have an open forum which  celebrates jazz and helps to keep it alive, and also to give an alternative perspective from the many jazz sites and forums that are already out there. This blog is a way to get across the perspectives of both the musicians and those who truly love the music - from a rational, fair perspective.

Don't get me wrong, there are already some great jazz and music writers out there. However, I think that what is underrepresented are the honest views of the musicians and the folks out "in the trenches" , who are really paying attention to the scene. I find a lot of the information out there is so industry driven: the labels buy advertising which insures that the artists signed to those labels get great reviews, or those who do a publicity campaign get attention, while a lot of great music goes completely unnoticed because it gets "lost in the pile" of the hundreds of CDs that get sent to the major magazines every month. I want to find a way so that we can really get to the truth of who and what is really happening, not just keep promoting the top of the industry, so to speak. I welcome any other writers, musicians, and fans to contribute. And I want to be critical but fair. I mean, let's face it: I get the feeling that some writers are writing to feature their own skillful prose, or they balance their favorable reviews with unfavorable because it  looks bad if they give good reviews to everyone. I want the things here to be devoid of that. I would rather have something maybe not as poetic but still informative and honest.

Now those of you that know me know I enjoy a good rant as much as the next guy. Well, we might have some of that here, but I will try to keep things as positive as possible. I welcome civilized discourse, but let's try to keep the "haters" and the hating-on at a minimum.

I'm going to start the proceedings with two performances that I was involved with this week. The first was in Wiggin Park in Camden, New Jersey, which is a nice area of waterfront which has a great view of downtown Philadelphia. I played piano with the Buster Williams Quartet. In case you didn't know, Buster has enjoyed a great career as a sideman since the 1960's. I believe he got his start with Gene Ammons and went on to play with a plethora of the greats, from Sarah Vaughn to Nancy Wilson to Miles Davis to Herbie Hancock, just to name a few. Buster has one of the more distinctive sounds on his instrument: It's amplified and has a lot of sustain, but that thick sound doesn't ever bog down the rhythm. For medium swing tempos, there's nobody better. Also, Buster is a wonderful composer. He has a great sense of harmony and form, and always creates great vehicles for improvisation. He has many CDs as a leader: "Something More" was my favorite in the 90's.

Since 2002, Buster's band has consisted of yours truly on piano, Lenny White on drums, and Steve Wilson on alto and soprano saxophones. On this performance, filling in for the drum chair and saxophone chair respectively, we had E.J. Strickland and Mark Gross. E.J. is very in demand these days as a drummer, and you might know Mark Gross from the Dave Holland Big Band. These formidable musicians didn't sound like "subs": they played the tunes as if they had been playing them on tour for six weeks!

It can be difficult to play music that you have played with the same people for years because when you have a real band, the music becomes much more than what is on the music paper; especially in jazz because you try to play different things every night, and you end up have so many extra musical ideas that you forget how you played it the first time! Be that as it may, this performance felt different, but also refreshingly new. Buster, who last year had been in the hospital due to a lung infection, shows no signs of slowing down, and seemed to play with a renewed vigor. E.J. locks in to Buster's groove very well, and is driving without being overbearing or cluttering up the overall sound.

Mark Gross has one of the biggest alto sounds you will ever hear, and he put that to good use on tunes like " Native Dancer" and "Epistrophy". I was pleasantly surprised to hear his soprano playing on the beautiful ballad "Christina" and also "The Triumphant Dance of The Butterfly." In this case, he played the soprano in a more muscular fashion than Steve Wilson, but it was still effectively emotional.

 Buster actually grew up in Camden, so it was sort of a homecoming for him. The Camden audience was extremely enthusiastic: Shouts of "WE LOVE YOU, BUSTER" could be heard throughout the performance. Buster usually does not perform encores, however, it seemed as though the crowd would have gone ballistic if an extra number had not been performed. I must admit, I have played high level jazz in many situations where the performance was treated with indifference by the so-called listeners. In the case of the Camden crowd, I would rather see on-the-sleeve emotion rather than quiet apathy. 

The next night, I got a chance to play at the Iridium with a good friend of mine named Andrew Rathbun. Andrew hails from Toronto, Ontario, but has been in New York since the late 90's. The first time I played with him was at the Montreal Bistro in Toronto back in 1997, and we've been friends ever since. Andrew is a fine tenor and soprano saxophonist and an equally fine composer. I've played on a number of Andrew's CDs, including a  CD called "Renderings: The Art of The Duo" which features Rathbun's music combined with reworkings of music by Ravel and Mompou.

The Iridium featured the Andrew Rathbun Orchestra, which in American Classical Music terminology implies Big Band with 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, 5 woodwinds, rhythm section including guitar. In this case, a vocalist was included, the wonderful Julie Hardy. But if you are thinking Doris Day with Bob Crosby, think again. Most of the time, the vocals doubled the melody sans lyrics, which gives an kind of ghostly, ethereal quality to the music. And when there were lyrics, it was settings of the poetry of Canadian writer Margaret Atwood.

Rathbun has formidable skills as an orchestrator: Some of the brass chorales and ensemble writing had a huge impact. And Rathbun also has the ability to think big in terms of form. Many of the pieces, whether they were suites or just one through-composed work, were lengthy, but never seemed long because they had so many different moods. Yet Rathbun's music always has a theme and structure.

I thought it would have been nice if Andrew had played his tenor or soprano, but he was more concerned with the conducting. We did have some outstanding soloists: Rich Perry on tenor, John O' Gallagher on soprano, and  Pete McCann on guitar were among those who surely navigated the seas of Rathbun's harmonic invention. The rhythm section of Dave Ambrosio on bass and Owen Howard on drums provided contemporary support in that they were very interactive, which is to be expected with a modern orchestra such as Rathbun's.

I'd say it was one of the tightest big bands I have played with, due to the technical professionalism of the entire orchestra( except for me, my reading is pretty poor). In fact, we ended up sight reading one piece called " Life as Crystals". It seemed pretty flawless to me. I hope Andrew can get more gigs, but these days it's hard to afford a trio, much less 18 musicians.

So I hope I'm off to a good start. Stay tuned and hopefully this blog will be entertaining, enlightening, informative, and inspiring. I've often said that describing music with words is impossible: However, perhaps some of the words here will persuade you to check out some music that might be under the radar.