by Sean Contris
On Friday night, I reached a major milestone in New York Tourism: I went to my first live jazz show in the city. After a day of wandering Manhattan in search of bookstores and record stores, I was all prepared for a night in. Maybe finally I would get some of this damn writing done. Thankfully I was rescued from my duties and responsibilities when I saw the lovely Alison Cuthbertson report that there was a jazz show happening at that very moment. Adulthood? Responsibilities? Thought I, to hell with that! I want to see some good old fashioned New York jazz.
The good old fashioned jazz in question was a remarkably talented young quartet led by 25 year old drummer, Charles Goold. In the dimly lit bar of Dizzy’s Coca Cola Club the four young men stood before a massive window that overlooked the majority of Manhattan and proceeded to play some of the most jubilant and energetic jazz I have ever heard in concert. Goold’s quartet was made up of a pianist, a saxophonist and a bass player, with a singer accompanying them for a few songs. If there was any one standout musician it was the leader himself. Goold is an absolute wonder on the drums, and his utterly relaxed stage presence reveals just how comfortable he is with his own talents. The most prime example of Goold’s dexterity as a musician came, not from his remarkable drum solo in which he included the audience, but in his ease of leading his fellow musicians in constantly shifting time signatures and at times hopping entire genres. The hour long set was primarily based around classic jazz, with nods to Louis Armstrong and Mamie Smith. With that said it felt like the quartet was not satisfied paying tribute to only one kind of jazz or blues, and during jams and solos would switch from bop, to cool jazz, to hard bop and would even throw in bossa nova for the sake of it. In terms of influence the pianist brought to mind a young Dave Brubeck whereas Goold showed flashes of Art Blakey. If there is one complaint it’s not with the original members of the quartet but rather the guest singer, who though charming lacked a truly memorable voice or presence and as a result fell behind the rest of Goold’s colorful cast of characters.
No comments:
Post a Comment