Jazz at Lincoln Center 2006-03-24
Rose Hall, New York, NY
Set 1
Announcer
Love Me, Or Leave Me
Announcer
Forever Lost
New Adventures
Announcer
Us Three
Announcer
Your Time Has Come
Announcer
Escape
Announcer
In Her Honor
Outro
Love Me, Or Leave Me
Announcer
Forever Lost
New Adventures
Announcer
Us Three
Announcer
Your Time Has Come
Announcer
Escape
Announcer
In Her Honor
Outro
Set 2
Set 3
Comment
The Linc oln Center Jazz Orchestra is one of the steadiest and most prestigious assignments for a working jazz musician. These benefits come with a certain sacrifice: members of the orchestra have no choice but to lean into its gravitational pull, losing themselves to a larger purpose and ideal. On Friday night at the Rose Theater, a concert called "LCJO in Small Doses" gave eight of those musicians a chance to break out of the orbit and make an impression. Intermittently, in flashes, they did.
With the players appearing in pairs, backed by one of two rhythm sections, the evening's standard configuration was a quintet. As a programming decision, this was a model of efficiency; as entertainment, it felt formulaic. (The concert's title, with its medicinal connotation, had an unintentional resonance.)
This was especially true of the first ensemble, which was the least dynamic. Joe Temperley, the orchestra's invaluable baritone saxophonist, and Ryan Kisor, a consistently strong member of its trumpet section, teamed up for a blues, a pair of ballads and a bebop tune. That they failed to spark interest is a mystery partly attributable to the rhythm section; though led by the estimable pianist Marc Cary, it was hindered by Sameer Gupta's mediocre drumming.
Things warmed up a bit with the next frontline pairing, Victor Goines on tenor saxophone and Vincent Gardner on trombone. Both musicians soloed powerfully, and Mr. Goines provided a pair of solid tunes. The first, "Forever Lost," was a solemn Spanish march; with its careful, keening parts for bass clarinet and trombone, it suggested something from the repertory of the Stan Kenton Orchestra. The second, "New Adventures," was an Afro-Cuban number that could easily have found a place in the band book of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers; its 12/8 churn finally kicked Mr. Gupta into gear.
In the second half, the trumpeter Marcus Printup and the tenor saxophonist Walter Blanding brought concentration and concision to their performance, which made it feel like the product of a working band. No one took more than a single chorus of improvisation in their five-song set, which featured two pieces by Mr. Printup and three by Mr. Blanding. Similar discipline was evident in the rhythm section, led by the pianist Mulgrew Miller and featuring Ivan Taylor on bass and Rodney Green on drums.
Mr. Miller and his trio stayed on to support the alto saxophonist Sherman Irby and the trumpeter Sean Jones, who each offered two original compositions. Mr. Irby's conveyed a loose-fitting comfort; Mr. Jones imbued his with bright insistence. The last of these, a post-bop charger called "In Her Honor," accomplished something noteworthy: despite coming at the close of a long and often tedious concert, it felt as if it ended too soon.
With the players appearing in pairs, backed by one of two rhythm sections, the evening's standard configuration was a quintet. As a programming decision, this was a model of efficiency; as entertainment, it felt formulaic. (The concert's title, with its medicinal connotation, had an unintentional resonance.)
This was especially true of the first ensemble, which was the least dynamic. Joe Temperley, the orchestra's invaluable baritone saxophonist, and Ryan Kisor, a consistently strong member of its trumpet section, teamed up for a blues, a pair of ballads and a bebop tune. That they failed to spark interest is a mystery partly attributable to the rhythm section; though led by the estimable pianist Marc Cary, it was hindered by Sameer Gupta's mediocre drumming.
Things warmed up a bit with the next frontline pairing, Victor Goines on tenor saxophone and Vincent Gardner on trombone. Both musicians soloed powerfully, and Mr. Goines provided a pair of solid tunes. The first, "Forever Lost," was a solemn Spanish march; with its careful, keening parts for bass clarinet and trombone, it suggested something from the repertory of the Stan Kenton Orchestra. The second, "New Adventures," was an Afro-Cuban number that could easily have found a place in the band book of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers; its 12/8 churn finally kicked Mr. Gupta into gear.
In the second half, the trumpeter Marcus Printup and the tenor saxophonist Walter Blanding brought concentration and concision to their performance, which made it feel like the product of a working band. No one took more than a single chorus of improvisation in their five-song set, which featured two pieces by Mr. Printup and three by Mr. Blanding. Similar discipline was evident in the rhythm section, led by the pianist Mulgrew Miller and featuring Ivan Taylor on bass and Rodney Green on drums.
Mr. Miller and his trio stayed on to support the alto saxophonist Sherman Irby and the trumpeter Sean Jones, who each offered two original compositions. Mr. Irby's conveyed a loose-fitting comfort; Mr. Jones imbued his with bright insistence. The last of these, a post-bop charger called "In Her Honor," accomplished something noteworthy: despite coming at the close of a long and often tedious concert, it felt as if it ended too soon.
Sources
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Created At
Wed Apr 02 2008 13:27:17 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Updated At
Wed Apr 02 2008 13:27:17 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
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