First of all, the
sight of these three names together on one bill possesses enough atomic
energy to make any jazz enthusiast explode. How on earth could the
An exciting evening of music to say the least! As many of you know I host a jazz performance over at the LAX Westin every Wednesday night, but tonight I am off, under the stars at the Bowl, enjoying the experience of three of jazz music’s most innovative and form-stretching bands.
First up was Joshua Redman and his trio, with Reuben Rogers and Eric Harland. The surrey with a bit more that just the fringe on top! Pianoless trio music does not lock you into a melody. Like a bird, you are free to soar the skies of imagination and with these three individuals, the sky is not the limit!
Introspection, space and focus allow you to go to the deepest depths of your brain one moment, and lay it on thick the next. Joshua has always been a leader and has taken the music in new and exciting directions throughout his evolution. He gives homage to his peers and to the masters of the evening that he shares the stage with. “Zarafah” is a tune Joshua wrote for his mother and it was played like a soprano serenade with three wise men offering gifts to a queen.
Reuben Rogers and Eric Harland complete the colors in the tapestry. Reuben not only has character, but he always becomes one when he plays. His lyricism always defines itself, and the image of his character--complete with role, plot and purpose--always emerges with the story of the music.
Eric Harland has the touch of a tribe. Not just one individual, but the sounds of the entire village: powerful, sensitive and rich with timbre, textured time. These cats have fun with the music of Monk, Rodgers, Hammerstein and Redman!
As the circle of the Bowl spins, not one magic note is lost as Christian McBride and his band of bad-ass adventurers pick up where Joshua and his trio left off. Every generation has their way of rocking the sound of the day and these brothers are the leaders of the new frontier.
Artistic chair Christian McBride knows all too well how to hold down the musical Fort. These are the cats that have changed from a quartet into a band by including elements from all forms of music while holding down the jazz line. The genius of the Keez, Geoff Keezer kicks ass on the synthesizer and piano, incorporating, combining and inventing electric and classic innovations from past, present and future into a sound light years away.
Christian fires off bass bullets like Neo in the Matrix of Soul! The Philly Phunk is deep and in full effect and in a moment's notice the blues turned a Wednesday night into Sunday mornin’ Chu'ch! Ron Blake brought the dance to the freedom of the jazz and Terreon’s tank rolls full force, laying down a solid foundation with an eclectic barrage of beats and bashes.
If the Christian McBride band was a Saturday morning cartoon, they would be a band of superheroes named Thump de Funk, Electric Groove, Sultry Fire and Thunder Tank. Their mission would be to spread joyous vibrations of good music while possessing powers to fight off the sinister foes of the evil Bad-note Banshees.
Christian, or C McB as some friends commonly refer to him, also gives love, honor and respect to the legends and contemporary counterparts that he shares the stage with tonight as well. He also does not fail to mention that he is following in the footsteps of Dianne Reeves as artistic chair for the Hollywood Bowl and will continue to do her and the position proud by maintaining high integrity while introducing creative and musically provocative quality entertainment.
Christian, like many of us, watched the “Flip Wilson Show" back in the day. If you have to ask, you grew up with a computer and you know how to look it up! He recognized that Flip’s real name was Clerow and he wrote a piece for him called “Clerow’s Flipped” Another tune performed was one from his “Sci-Fi” album called “Lullaby for a Ladybug”, where the bass and bow emulate the pace, encounters and beauty in a day in the life of a ladybug with lovely melodies, warm harmonies and the inquisitive splendor of wonderful possibilities that no lullaby should be without.
If the forecast calls for temperatures in the high 90’s with thunderstorms and an occasional 6.0 earthquake, you know that the band is giving tribute to the forefathers of jazz fusion Weather Report with their version of “Boogie Woogie Waltz”. Watch out, because the sky might be falling!
The grand performance of the evening was the ever-present, cool teenage legend for the past several decades, Mr. Herbie Hancock. From “Future to Future” and back, Herbie sparks the ignition on his spaceship and proceeds to take us on an e-ticket ride through the cavernous galaxies of a Herbie brain-mesmerizing adventure. His spaceship has picked up a cast of diverse musical travelers who have joined his mission in search of the great musical exploration experience of sound possibilities! Each member in his cast of characters is an essential ingredient to the morphing musical compositional puzzle of life that will inspire, provoke and pursue a never-ending search for more. This is not a ship of bandits or misfits but perhaps the one organic entity blending and seeking truth and the answer to the musical question of “Why and Why not”.
Lionel Loueke’s voice
is beautiful as the lilts, lulls, lifts and cries float over
time-warping transitions and the luscious strings of sound on his
guitar. From Benin, West Africa, to
Lily Haden plays notes that range from the deepest depth to the top of the pinnacle with vibrations that emanate sheer beauty when her bow lay upon the strings of her violin. She has just recently lost her mother, a tragedy of emotions that everyone can imagine, and she pays homage in her composition “Unfolding Grace”. There is solitude, insight, introspection and recollection and you visualize as you hear the entire life of a wonderful human being.
Matt Garrison is all over that five string bass. Growing up in such a rich musical environment, there is no way that he could not be blessed with the gift. He and drummer Richie Barshay, although not featured, are an extreme component to the foundation of openness and space in the band.
Herbie calls us
Angelenos his homies and of course we are proud to have that as a
blessing. He asks us if we are ready for the hard stuff after playing
such beautiful ethereal music and we reply with no hesitation. He then
proceeds to pull the gravity plug out as he takes us hunting for heads
with “Actual Proof”. Herbie chartered a divine, but different course
for the trip down memory lane with “Maiden Voyage” to “
LeRoy Downs
