Blue Note concert shares all that jazz.Byline: Peter Landsdowne COLUMN: Music review WORCESTER - If you're a jazz fan, chances are you have at least one album on the Blue Note label in your music collection. Founded in 1939 by German immigrants Alfred Lion Alfred Lion (1909-1987) was a German-born American record executive who co-founded Blue Note Records in 1939. Blue Note recorded many of the biggest names in jazz throughout the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. and Francis Wolff Francis Wolff (born 1907 or 1908 in Berlin, Germany-died March 8, 1971 in New York City, United States of America) was a record company executive, photographer and record producer. , the label quickly became the gold standard for jazz recordings and is still going strong today. Wednesday night at Mechanics Hall Mechanics Hall (and variants Mechanic's Hall and Mechanics' Hall) may refer to:
The septet (pianist and music director Bill Charlap William Morrison Charlap is a jazz pianist born October 15, 1966 in New York City. He comes from a musical background: his mother, Sandy Stewart, is a singer and his father was Broadway composer Mark "Moose" Charlap. He has recorded and accompanied with his mother. , trumpeter Nicholas Payton, alto saxophonist Steve Wilson Steve Wilson can refer to:
tenorist saxist, saxophonist - a musician who plays the saxophone Ravi Coltrane, guitarist Peter Bernstein, bassist Peter Washington, and drummer Lewis Nash) played a solid 90-minute set with no intermission, giving the musicians a chance to stretch out on seven classic compositions, all of them penned by jazz musicians associated with Blue Note. Most of the arrangements were written by the members of the septet or by pianist Renee Rosnes, Charlap's wife. Charlap's arrangement of pianist Horace Silver's "The Outlaw" alternated a Latin groove with a straight-ahead swinging section. Alto saxophonist Wilson brought to mind Blue Note bopper Jackie McLean during his acerbic solo, while trumpeter Payton's fluid improvisation evoked memories of Blue Note trumpeters This article lists notable musicians who have played the trumpet, cornet or flugelhorn. Classical players
Trumpeter Payton arranged tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson's "Inner Urge" as a brooding piece that gave the soloists a chance for some contemplative improvising. Bassist Washington introduced the tune with a throbbing throb intr.v. throbbed, throb·bing, throbs 1. To beat rapidly or violently, as the heart; pound. 2. To vibrate, pulsate, or sound with a steady pronounced rhythm: bass solo that eventually turned into a vamp that introduced the melody. Guitarist Bernstein's improvisation moved from single-note runs to crisp and clean block chords, while Payton's trumpet solo featured quotes from pianist Herbie Hancock's "Dolphin Dance" and "One Finger Snap." Speaking of "Dolphin Dance," the Blue Note 7 performed the Hancock composition in its entirety later on during the concert. The composition came from "Maiden Voyage," Hancock's groundbreaking 1965 Blue Note album. Renee Rosnes' unique arrangement of the tune used tempo changes with good results. Rosnes also arranged tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter's deceptively simple "United." Tenor saxophonist Ravi Coltrane used an oblique approach in his solo and gradually incorporated longer and longer musical lines. By the way, Ravi Coltrane is the son of tenor saxophone icon John Coltrane, whose 1957 Blue Note album "Blue Train" is a must-have. The Coltrane connection was reinforced by the septet on Rosnes' arrangement of pianist McCoy Tyner's "Search for Peace." When he wasn't holding down the piano chair in John Coltrane's famed quartet, Tyner was recording albums under his own name for Blue Note. The septet's version of Tyner's "Search for Peace" had a yearning feeling to it. Alto saxophonist Wilson switched to flute for a plaintive plain·tive adj. Expressing sorrow; mournful or melancholy. [Middle English plaintif, from Old French, aggrieved, lamenting, from plaint, complaint; see plaint. solo, while Charlap's lyrical piano improvisation was fervent and heartfelt. Drummer Nash kicked things up a notch on his own arrangement of pianist Cedar Walton's fast and furious "Mosaic." Alto saxophonist Wilson contributed an edgy solo, while trumpeter Payton countered with some brassy forays into his horn's upper register. Tenor saxophonist Ravi Coltrane built on short bursts of succinct musical phrases, while pianist Charlap took the opposite approach with a solo full of cascading arpeggios. Nash's explosive drum solo drew some sustained applause from an appreciative crowd that rewarded this set-ending tune with a standing ovation. The encore was a groovy groov·y adj. groov·i·er, groov·i·est Slang Very pleasing; wonderful. groov  i·ness n. romp on guitarist Bernstein's
arrangement of trumpeter Lee Morgan's funky "Party Time."
Bernstein uncorked a bluesy guitar solo, saxophonists Wilson and
Coltrane kept the groove going during their improvisations, and pianist
Charlap turned in a remarkably understated keyboard solo. Trumpeter
Payton gave a nod to Morgan's style by incorporating some of the
late trumpeter's piquant phrasing into his improvisation. Bassist
Washington plucked out a booming solo before drummer Nash took the tune
out with some unexpected scat singing Noun 1. scat singing - singing jazz; the singer substitutes nonsense syllables for the words of the song and tries to sound like a musical instrumentscat singing, vocalizing - the act of singing vocal music that augmented his powerful drumming. If you missed Wednesday's concert, check out "Mosaic: A Celebration of Blue Note Records." The two-CD set features most of the tunes the Blue Note 7 played at the Mechanics Hall concert plus a few others. If you're going to be in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. in the middle of this month, the Blue Note 7 winds up its tour with a stint at Birdland from April 14 through April 19. For more information on the Blue Note label itself, go to www.bluenote.com. |
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