Abraham Burton (tenor sax); Dezron Douglas (double bass); Eric McPherson (drums)
Another session from Small's. It's seven nights a week down in Greenwich Village and when you throw in one or two sets from partner venue Mezzrow's you've got your work cut out keeping up with what's going down. This Tuesday evening session featured long-time member of the Mingus Big Band, tenor saxophonist Abraham Burton.
Two extended, seamless compositions - Dezron Douglas' Flower and Burton's Curious - comprised the first half of an hour long set. Burton (see photo) wasn't in any mood to take prisoners, hard-blowing post-Trane, veering into free-ish territory kept bassist Douglas and drummer Eric McPherson on their toes.
In the wake of Ralph Peterson's untimely death, Burton spoke at length about his friend, his 'brother'. Portrait of Jennie came as something of a surprise given Burton's earlier workouts. Our trio leader thanked the hardy few for braving NYC's freezing temperatures as the online audience sat at home with a coffee or perhaps something a little stronger.
Francisco Mela's MPT Trio w William Parker (Mar. 3)
Hery Paz (tenor sax); Juanma Trujillo (guitar); William Parker (double bass); Francisco Mela (drums)
A South American trio - two Cubans and one Venezuelan - residing in the Big Apple teamed up with free jazz legend, bassist William Parker to play an hour of free jazz to bop to Latin. Band leader Francisco Mela couldn't believe his luck that William Parker was making his bow at Small's, augmenting his long-standing trio to play the engagement as a quartet.
Twenty minutes of free-ish playing (Parker had heard and played it all before), a bop-ish section and a Latin feature to close (Mela leading a Portuguese/Spanish chant) with guitarist Juanma Trujillo and tenor saxophonist Hery Paz taking solos in a conventional head-solo-head format didn't uproot any musical trees, nevertheless it was an interesting hour or so from down in the Village (Greenwich Village).
Russell
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