(Review by Steve T)
Some things are the same everywhere, like the small Jazz Club: brick walls, a couple of dozen die-hards, the empty seats, the Tony Eales type, maybe two, the Ken Drew type lurking around and emerging where you least expect him, maybe three or four, and an artist in residence? The bass player with a hat to keep his Jaco locks at bay and a bass clarinet letting loose with a note or two of its own.
After Miles, Trane and Mingus are my favourite Jazz artists, so Dolphy, important to both, is a big deal to me that we don't hear enough of. I haven't heard it for many years but Far Cry seems to be rated his best after Out to Lunch.
Bass clarinet, flute and alto provided plenty of variety; all the band were on it but for me the pianist stood out, though my companion (I get into bother now for FDT* and N1S** rated the trumpet player too).
The leader gave each of the band members a few moments to talk about the respective musicians they were playing, which was a nice twist and quite interesting. Shner took a solo piece on alto and the set ended with a CD bonus track, every bit as strong as the tracks that made the cut.
A fine start to our Chicago expedition.
Steve T.
* Francis D. Tulip,
** Number 1 Son.
* Francis D. Tulip,
** Number 1 Son.
2 comments :
Interesting post, Steve - sounds like you're having a good time!
Was the audience predominantly (but not exclusively) male, bearded and over 55 too?
Not entirely. Couple of young girls sat on their own (I still notice such things) but seemed to be with band. One of the photographers and the artist were young girls. The organiser was quite young and a bit of a hipster. But yes, predominantly middle aged men though the beard thing doesn't seem so prolific.
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