To the Town Hall
in Cheltenham for what should have been the high point of this year’s
Cheltenham Jazz Festival. The man is a legend and a grunt free shoe-in to
inherit Keith Jarrett’s crown. His trio included long-time associate, Rossy,
and, a new name to me, Felix Moseholm. Five minutes into the set and the crowd
was mesmerised by the length of Moseholm’s fingers and asking if he had been bred
in a lab just to play stand up jazz bass. If that were the case it had worked!
One of our
pre-concert concerns was derived from Mehldau’s recent fondness for the classical
canon, shown by his albums of works by Bach and Faure. Thankfully, we were
served a menu of jazz instead.
They opened with
the coolly swinging August Ending
with Rosssy’s frantic brush work and spare bass punctuation from Moseholm. It
took off after Rossy reached for the sticks. Mehldau seems to caress or gently
stroke the keys creating a lot with little energy. The trad infused Monk-ish Blue Impulse followed with an angular
solo of Monk-ish chords and single note runs. A Walk in the Park opened with spare minimalist piano, more busy
brush work and the bassist’s singing merry lines behind.
Brad seems to
twist himself round as he plays, as if he’s trying to stop the big boys looking
over his shoulder and copying what he’s doing. This contortionism is emphasised
by the fact that he is sat with his back to the audience when he is playing.
(He turns round occasionally to talk us). Embers,
one of the highlights of the set follows. It’s a noir-ish waltz, melancholic
with lots of space. Rossy is busy again at the drums. Mehldau constructs a solo
from short phrases, leading into a longer extended, swinging section.
After the
Evans-ish Boomer with its loping
rhythm comes a John Coltrane tune, Satellites.
It’s open and pastoral, like American classical music; a dance of partners
calling and responding it even includes a brief snatch of a square dance.
Rossy’s solo is built of rockets and explosions, marches and pistol shots,
whilst Mehldau builds a solo of carnival-esque moments and short runs.
The pace drops for
a lightly stepping Secret Love which
combines a lazy romance with a lush optimism. Mehldau’s playing combines the
tune’s title amongst various excursions, hinting at it moving away, mentioning
it again in passing. A master craftsman at work. Encore, the ghostly House on the Hill, is again open and
pastoral, reflective and elegant over Rossy’s ticking cymbal.
1 comment :
Sounds like a great gig. I was lucky enough to hear Felix Moseholm in Birmingham a couple of weeks ago working with the great Samara Joy. An excellent bass player.
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