Sunday, February 8, 2009
Geri Allen and her quartet of magic and surprise: Reed College 2.7.09
Geri Allen has a touch and phrasing that reminds me of looking closely at a flower. Herbie Hancock has the same gift. When Chick Corea plays like this it sounds kind of baroque. But there is a kind of purity when this style is approached by Herbie or Geri. I get the same kind of chills when I hear Amhad Jamal. You know what I'm talking about if you are familiar with Hancock's tune Dolphin Dance: chords of richness intercepting figures that circle, lunge, and, well, dance.
It seemed a mystery at first why Geri Allen was being billed as the Geri Allen Quartet. The stage of Reed College's lovely old growth timbered Kaul Auditorium, a room that feels more like church sanctuary than concert hall, only seemed equipped for standard jazz trio with Steinway, upright bass, and Gretsch drumkit. The first two numbers were in the trio setting. Allen starting out with a meditative opener, the spiritual, Freedom with a lovely segue into an original from her latest album from a couple years back called Portraits and Dreams.
She then introduced Maurice Chestnut, the fourth member of her group. Not sure what this was about. There didn't seem to be a microphone on stage left. And from where we were it didn't look like there were any percussive props either. After announcing that the next number would be Charlie Parker tune (which turned out to be Ah-Leu-Cha) Mr Chestnut's role became clear, he is tap dancer. But we aren't just talking about time steps here. Chestnut's approach to dance seems similar to that of Bobby McFerrin's approach to jazz vocal--everything is fair game. This man sings with his feet and his body.
What ultimately made the hour and a half with Allen and her group so exciting was that each of the four individuals on stage seemed equally dedicated to both the percussive and instrumental qualities of their instruments. The piano was a vibrant time keeper with their version of McCoy Tyner's Four by Five. The bass player whose name I missed, but who Allen referred to as the veteran of the group played lyric solos and served as rhythmic foil for the other players, especially drummer Kass Overall and the kinetic control of Chestnut. Overall and Chestnut exchanged licks, rhythms from hip hop riffs to statements of almost military precision in the tribute tune to great drummer Philly Joe Jones.
But the most memorable moment of the evening was their version of Lover Man. It sounds strange to those who weren't there, but tap dancer Chestnut managed to take the lead line for most of the tune, using silent spaces between his steps to judicious and dramatic effect. And there was a moment or two of pure delight where Ms Allen and her dancer were inspiring and playing off of each other just as wind or brass would.
posted by well-executed buffet at 9:54 AM
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