Jazz Stories

The Christian McBride Quartet raised the roof at the Village Vanguard with a fiery set. McBride shared that the group had only played together for one night so far, and then announced they would “hack” their way through Coltrane’s “Moment’s Notice.” Hack? Blaze! I’ve seen Mike Stern (guitar) many times and he was in the finest form I can remember. Tivon Pennicott had marked intensity and sax. And although we could not easily see him from where we sat, Marcus Gilmore was strong. ...

I met Rufus Reid while in a jazz summer camp circa 1980. Starting with that time at Ramapo College, I’ve been a fan of his music. He also served for two decades as William Paterson University’s Director of Jazz Studies in my hometown of Wayne, New Jersey. Kirk and I caught a smoking show at Blues Alley, featuring Steve Allee, piano, Tim Horner, drums, and Antonio Hart, saxes. Antonio brought particular fire to his solos. One standout moment was the close of Chelsea Bridge, with Rufus and Antonio playing the melody together and Rufus bowing the bass. Beautiful! ...

On a night with a wintery bite, the Bill Frisell Trio brought the perfect cozy warmth to Blues Alley. Cousin David kindly arrived first and landed a third row table; we had an hour to catch up. The house quickly filled with the sold out crowd, anticipating an artist who could easily fill an auditorium 5x this size. The trio began with the Monk tune “Misterioso,” which set the mood for the evening playful, reflective, intimate yet taking musical risks. The melody alternates high and low eighth notes an octave apart. Guitarist Frisell and bassist Thomas Morgan deconstructed the tune so that each took alternating notes. This set the stage for the lyrical intertwining of bass and guitar through much of the show. When drummer Rudy Royston took a first solo, he let the club know he was here: the intensity jumped upwards, and while his solo was melodic, he was not afraid to let everyone know he was here to play the drums. ...

“Indiscipline” brought the crowd to its feet at the close of the second set of Beat–a revival of 1980s King Crimson. The virtuoso band included Tony Levin, Andrian Belew, Steve Vai and Danny Carry. The lyrics for Indiscipline like this: I do remember one thing It took hours and hours By the time I was done with it I was so involved, I didn’t know what to think I carried it around with me for days and days Playing little games Like not looking at it for a whole day And then, looking at it to see if I still liked it I did! ...

While in Kansas City for a conference, I explored the 18th & Vine “jazz district” with two colleagues. We travelled seven minutes away from the conference hotel, yet this area was a world away from the downtown conference in authenticity. We had arrived in the real Kansas City. Once in the right district, we decided to walk two blocks to a local joint, Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque. Quoting from their site: “Arthur Bryant, the legendary King of Ribs, is the most renowned ‘barbequer’ in history. He created a unique sauce and style that has attracted the likes of former Presidents Harry Truman, Jimmy Carter, and Barack Obama to his restaurant.” ...