Slide Show

Wow, a whole library devoted exclusively to art and music! Dan Atkinson and the people here at The Anthenaeum in La Jolla, CA really understand and appreciate the finer side of music and music appreciation. Here amongst the walls of vintage vinyl, the east wing of the library becomes alive with subscribers who intimately pack the square footage with an eager desire, energy and love for provocative artistic expression. Tonight they get their wish because all the way from Brooklyn, New York, Eric Person has traveled to perform with his West Coast version of Meta Four.  The band features John Rangel on piano, Trevor Ware on bass and Donald Barnett on drums.

Eric’s set is loaded with mostly original music which has the audience paying close attention to the music and talent of the musicians rather than relaxing and taking in the same old standards. Eric opens his set with “Perfection” giving everyone a feel for all of the intriguing music that he has in store.  “Beauty”, a more recent composition, is inspired by a friend who possess such.  John Rangel paints his way through chord structures with such energetic romanticism and feeling.  Donald Barnett, the newest addition to the quartet opens the music up with a natural ability to fill space with nuances that span the spectrum from jazz to funk and back to lullabies on precious ballads.  Trevor Ware, always rhythm-a-ning, always so grounded in the earth of the music.  Eric is so fluid; a seamless ride on the wave, against the grain, through the middle, out the back and up to the top before the foaming cascade of alto and soprano caresses.

Music is the best when the cats are smiling and the centrifugal force collectively acts as a beacon whose signal is strong, loud, intoxicating and well received. “The Multitudes” ends with a big drop and is inspired by the New Orleans state of affairs. You know the story, rhetoric of reparation and restitution with no solution for a culture rich in color, food and musical content but no dividends! “Loverman”, one of the few standards, has eyes closed and bodies swaying and this is not due to years of gold or lack of sleep.  It specifically relates to the enchanting melodies, harmonious and artistic choices made in the music that are so captivating.  These sophisticated, cerebral, experienced masses of patrons are people who have lived life, embraced culture, supported the arts and they  certainly prove the value of and how to appreciated ageless beauty.

Say this “I think I hear a shot of the Blues”, and that you did.  You would think that these cats have been playing together for years, but oh contraire.  As tight as they are, this is the first of what will hopefully be many more encounters of this majestic fourplex.  Four units in one building only appreciating in value as the years go by. A sliding scale of power from the peaks of arpeggios diving into the depths of the lower register with perfect entry; 10, a perfect score! The evening was organic magic and the music lifted off of the page like sunshine, water, cool breezes and enriching soil nourishing a field of its flowers.

The energy from this performance inspired Eric to go back to New York, hit the studio, and record some of these same pieces for a brand new disc that will be sure to invoke dark harmonies, luscious melodies and a phat sound that will keep rhythm on its edge!

 

LeRoy Downs