Eric Person and Meta Four West live at the Anthenaeum in La Jolla!!
by jazzcat on Feb.10, 2007, under News
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
