D.D. Jackson Trio with James Spaulding and Billy Bang

[DTMX]

Last Thursday, July 24th, D.D. Jackson brought his trio to Atlanta with two special guests, James Spaulding and Billy Bang as part of the National Black Arts Festival. Apparently the music director of the NBAF had a history of working with Billy Bang and James Spaulding up in Brooklyn back in the day and requested that they be included in the concert. Jackson and his trio opened the concert with "The Welcoming", from his "Sigame" recording. This is a major-key, almost gospel-inflected song that really does sound like a joyful welcoming - at least that's the way the audience took it. Jackson had a very lively and engaging stage manner - he told stories, joked with the musicians, and handled a malfunctioning microphone with good humor. When Jackson plays piano he's all over it like like an eight-armed Art Tatum/Thelonius Monk/Ray Charles/Jerry Lee Lewis octopus. I play guitar and sax and whenever I see a live band I usually think at some point "I hope he doesn't break a string/reed/etc...". This was the first concert where I feared for the piano. Jackson's rhythm section matched the energy of his performance, particularly drummer Dafnis Prieto, the best young drummer I've seen since Adam Cruz came to town with Pharoah Sanders. Jackson was constantly sending out hand signals to the other musicians to direct them throughout the performance; that's what makes the spontaneity of live jazz so great. James Spaulding was in an energetic mood; his tart alto sound has lost none of its bite over the years. He didn't demonstrate any of his famous flute skills but his alto was so bracing that I didn't even notice the flutelessness until after the show. But the MVP of the night was Billy Bang. He was on fire - sawing on his violin so quickly that the bow was a blur (and never broke a hair on it). If Billy Bang comes to town go see him - his performance will be well worth the price. An absolutely amazing concert.

Set List (as near as I can remember):

1. The Welcoming (Trio)
2. Cubano-Funk (Trio + Bang)
3. Moments for the Kiamia (Trio + Bang)
4. For Monk-Sake (Trio + Spaulding)
5. Selections from "Suite for New York" (Trio + Spaulding)
6. Bang's Dream (Trio + Bang & Spaulding)
7. Pleasure and Pain (Trio + Bang & Spaulding)
8. BQE (Trio + Bang & Spaulding)

D.D. Jackson: Piano
Hans Glaswishing: Bass
Dafnis Prieto: Drums
Billy Bang: Violin
James Spaulding: Alto Saxophone