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Enforcer · May-22nd-2006, 03:47 PM

It was a really nice show. Lovano came out with his quartet for the first of two sets. They played a mix of standards and originals. The group was James Weidman on piano, Esperanza Spalding on bass and Francesco Mela on drums. Weidman was nice enough, but Spalding and Mela were dynamite together. Mela looks about 16 years old behind the kit. He doesn't have conventional bebop chops, his approach is more angular. Not a lot of smooth, rolling phrases, but more syncopated, almost choppy attacks. He reminded me of early Tony. He was the fire in the group for sure.

Spalding, I didn't even know was a part of the band. I thought she was a girlfriend of one of the band members, or maybe a supermodel who stumbled into a jazz venue by accident. She's in her early 20s and is a really impressive bassist. She swings hard and seems to have complete control of the instrument. She could play the hell out of a walking line and has chops minus the ego. She's stunningly beautiful, too, which will help her career out for all the wrong reasons.

The highlight of the first set for me was a rendition of Ornette's Lonely Woman. The melody wouldn't arrive from Lovano's horn until halfway through the tune. It was a long piece, starting with assorted percussion and whistles from Mela and a rubato bass part from Esperanza. It developed in an "out" swell of sound that actually had me thinking it was Psalm by Trane for a while. When Lovano revealed the tune's identity, they were already burning pretty hot. A very free interpretation of the tune and a satisfying one.

The second set featured Lovano with the Wayne State University big band. He accompanied them as a guest soloist and the band sounded inspired. A realy impressive reading of Thad Jones' Three And One (Lovano seemed to be paying tribute to Thad, either because of his own association with him, or because of the Detroit venue, or possibly both). Not an easy piece! But they pulled it off. The thrill the kids were experiencing sharing a stage with a player of Lovano's stature couldn't be concealed. They looked mesmerized by his presence and couldn't stop looking over at him to see if their performance was being met with approval. Joe seemed very supportive and shouted out encouragement throughout the night.

The show was at the Allesee Rehearsal Hall. What a gorgeous place to hear live music. Maple floors and great acoustics. And my scotch was the size of Rhode Island. Very nice, can't wait to go back, which I will.

May-22nd-2006, 03:47 PM	#6
Enforcer Most Loved JC User 2009® Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 39,810	It was a really nice show. Lovano came out with his quartet for the first of two sets. They played a mix of standards and originals. The group was James Weidman on piano, Esperanza Spalding on bass and Francesco Mela on drums. Weidman was nice enough, but Spalding and Mela were dynamite together. Mela looks about 16 years old behind the kit. He doesn't have conventional bebop chops, his approach is more angular. Not a lot of smooth, rolling phrases, but more syncopated, almost choppy attacks. He reminded me of early Tony. He was the fire in the group for sure. Spalding, I didn't even know was a part of the band. I thought she was a girlfriend of one of the band members, or maybe a supermodel who stumbled into a jazz venue by accident. She's in her early 20s and is a really impressive bassist. She swings hard and seems to have complete control of the instrument. She could play the hell out of a walking line and has chops minus the ego. She's stunningly beautiful, too, which will help her career out for all the wrong reasons. The highlight of the first set for me was a rendition of Ornette's Lonely Woman. The melody wouldn't arrive from Lovano's horn until halfway through the tune. It was a long piece, starting with assorted percussion and whistles from Mela and a rubato bass part from Esperanza. It developed in an "out" swell of sound that actually had me thinking it was Psalm by Trane for a while. When Lovano revealed the tune's identity, they were already burning pretty hot. A very free interpretation of the tune and a satisfying one. The second set featured Lovano with the Wayne State University big band. He accompanied them as a guest soloist and the band sounded inspired. A realy impressive reading of Thad Jones' Three And One (Lovano seemed to be paying tribute to Thad, either because of his own association with him, or because of the Detroit venue, or possibly both). Not an easy piece! But they pulled it off. The thrill the kids were experiencing sharing a stage with a player of Lovano's stature couldn't be concealed. They looked mesmerized by his presence and couldn't stop looking over at him to see if their performance was being met with approval. Joe seemed very supportive and shouted out encouragement throughout the night. The show was at the Allesee Rehearsal Hall. What a gorgeous place to hear live music. Maple floors and great acoustics. And my scotch was the size of Rhode Island. Very nice, can't wait to go back, which I will.