Jazz Stories

To celebrate MLK with Mom, we went to see the Harlem Gospel Choir. Entering the Sony Music Hall was itself an experience–a seemingly endless descending staircase in a decrepit stairwell. The hall itself is a throwback to music halls of years past; actually it is probably pretty unchanged from years past. The choir was full of energy and talent, but more entertaining than soulful. A powerful rendition of Amazing Grace was the highlight. ...

A funk-filled trance. Or a soul-filled groove. Or a tight jam sailing an indigo sea. Psychedelic jazz. It’s hard to describe Meshell Ndegeocello’s music, but it was a great show. I arrived around 9:30 pm on a wintery night, taking the D train from Herald Square. Already there were a dozen people in line and behind me it grew to over a hundred. All standing in the cold and staring at the Greenwich Village comedy club across the street, which had just sold out the 10 pm show. ...

Kris Davis plays very rhythmic, abstract, modern jazz. In this set at the historic Village Vanguard, she was well-matched to precision drummer Johnathan Blake and bassist Robert Hurst. The musicians seemed challenged by her music, but also exhilarated by it. Most of her tunes were fast and technical, but one titled “Dreamscape” was slow and expansive and featured beautiful bowed bass. As the set progressed, the band loosened up and the music took flight. ...

For New Year’s Eve and our Anniversary Eve as well, Audrey and I took Micah and Victoria to the Kennedy Center to hear vocalist Jazzmeia Horn and her Noble Force. The musical energy started high and stayed high, with Jazzmeia leading a full big band horn section with 5 saxes, 4 trombones and 4 trumpets through a series of her own compositions. “Strive” and “Freedom” were particularly powerful. (Listen to Freedom on Spotify.) ...

The Nate Smith Quartet made our journey to downtown Baltimore on a rainy Friday night worthwhile, with a great set featuring the Christian McBride (bass), Marquis Hill (trumpet), and Geoffrey Keezer (piano and rhodes). The overall vibe of the set was mostly straightahead jazz, and just a little of Smith’s forays into pop and hip hop shining through. Each band member contributed adventuresome solos to most songs, for example, some unusual piano solos by Keezer. As a bass player, I was particularly glad that McBride had space to stretch out and show what he can do. Marquis Hill covered a wide range of moods to perfection. ...