The Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio performing at the Jazz Standard in 2010. Photo Credit: Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
On one of the most bone-chilling winter nights of the year, Dr. Lonnie Smith’s organ spirit reached exhilarating heights in trio with guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg and drummer Jamaire Williams. Though this arrangement lies on the intimate end of Smith’s quintet and nonet spectrum, the band enveloped the Jazz Standard as would a full-sized orchestra. Stirred about by a gently permeating stream of chords off Kreisberg’s guitar, the set began its ascent toward whole-body catharsis with the tune “River Walk”.
The evening eased in with a reflective vibe in the hands of Smith’s bass-like organ hum and Williams’ tenderly rhythmic drums. The mellow piece, featured on Smith’s 1991 release The Turbanator, took an explosive turn a few minutes in, clearing the aural sinuses with an acidic yet soulful flavor. [click to continue…]
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Dr. Lonnie Smith,
Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio,
Jazz Standard
Frank Wess playing with (from left to right): John Lee (bass guitar), Yotam Silberstein (guitar), and Jimmy Heath (sax). Photo credit: Fran Kaufman
The best way to ring in a new year? A party, of course. If Frank Wess’ 90th birthday celebration at Dizzy’s Club is any indication of what’s to come in 2012, this year is bound to be a great one. Roy Hargrove’s crisp trumpet launched the festivities with “Dizzy’s Blues”, echoing the pungent, nuanced touch of Gillespie himself. As conductor of the aptly named Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band, Hargrove ebbed into rich tandem with the collective swell of over nine strings, saxophones, and trombones, and a powerhouse dose of five outspoken horns.
Once Wess graced the stage on “Without You, No Me” (composed by saxist Jimmy Heath, who also performed throughout the evening), the powerful set infused with vivacious complexity. [click to continue…]
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Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band,
Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola,
Frank Wess,
Roberta Gambarini
In a single word, Yotam Silberstein’s recent release Resonance is captivating. But with a dictionary’s worth of words, the descriptions of his poignant artistry are infinite. Over the course of eleven tracks, Silberstein plucks the heartstrings as he does his guitar, crafting a record of alluring charm that resonates in every cranny of the soul.
Silberstein makes no haste in the album opener “Two Bass Hit”, immediately jolting alive with electric wit. Pianist Aaron Goldberg echoes his speedy streams of guitar, propelled by Christian McBride’s rolling bass rhythm. Gregory Hutchinson’s cymbal-drum swoops tie the aural scene with succinct harmony, carrying the piece into swelling union. The air soon unravels, however, expanding into an eclectic sprawl of tinny cymbal variations and swift piano gymnastics, punctuated by an offbeat switch to bowed bass. Silberstein’s elaborate guitar ribbons weave through with cool ease, assuming lightning velocity one second, and delicate sparseness the next. [click to continue…]
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RESONANCE,
Yotam Silberstein
Rez Abbazi. Photo Credit: Jazz Music Archives.
“I’m having a brain…you know,” sighed guitarist Rez Abbasi, out of breath and close to speechless after a full-throttle rendition of “Onus on Us”. After such a wildly evolving piece, a bit of brain freeze is understandable – perhaps even inevitable. Under the band name Invocation, Abbasi’s five-member powerhouse took the Jazz Standard by a storm in a CD release concert for the new album Sonu Sonu, echoing a soul-drenched heartiness truly akin to invocative prayer.
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Dave Barnes. Photo Credit: Rachel Parker.
In a rare New York City appearance, singer-songwriter Dave Barnes stood on the stage of B.B. King’s Blues Club (Oct. 12) with only his guitar as company. His intro for the Christian rock band Jars of Clay was as brief as it was richly poignant, pared down to the acoustic basics that Barnes crafts irresistibly well. Without a word of introduction, his Southern-lilted, rugged crooning took flight in “Grace’s Amazing Hands”, adorned with pungently raw but harmonious plucks of guitar. Selected from Barnes’ early album Brother, Bring the Sun, the track resonated with hearty soul and a curiously appealing quaintness, setting the evening’s brewing, down-to-earth ambience.
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B.B. King's Blues Club,
Dave Barnes
$5 Tickets
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