The past, present and future of jazz was delivered at the VPAC Gala Event Saturday night.
In opposition to today’s political scene, conductor and director Matt Harris pointed to positive days ahead as he lead the CSUN “A” Band through a swinging opening set with tomorrow’s stars. A deft “Just in Time” and cleverly arranged “Hello and Goodbye” showed excellent work by the reed section as well as a nice bari solo by Jeff Brown, while “Neil” included some impressive piano work by Adam Hersh. A closing swing blues had JALC trombonist Elliot Mason come on stage and join in with trombonists “AJ Asano, Chris Middleton, Carl Engstrom and Ryan Ruder for an exciting five way traffic jam. Who needs a Berklee degree?!?
For the second half, Wynton Marsalis and the JALCO opened with the famed leader delivering a gorgeous duet with drummer Ali Jackson to get the band and crowd in a loose and relaxed mood. After that, Marsalis gave a tip of the hat to 3 of the Fathers of Jazz, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Thelonious Monk. Combining the first two giants, a take of Ellington’s gorgeous “Portrait of Louis Armstrong” highlighted Marsalis’ rich ability to express so much with so few notes. On the other hand, The Duke’s “Chinoserie” mixed exotic piano, rich orchestral harmonies and wild rumbling rhythms which swirled around tenor saxist Walter Blanding’s earthy and wailing solo.
Presenting a piece from alto saxophonist Ted Nash’s recent album Presidential Suite, Marsalis picked up a washboard and the band created a Street Festival mood with a jovial groove as trombonist Chris Grenshaw both played and delivered text from a Nelson Mandela speech about “The Time For Healing of Wounds Has Come.” Not a bad theme in these trying times!
After that, Nash’s dad, the 92 year old famed trombonist Dick Nash came on stage for a swinging solo on the bouncy and hip read of “ Take The ‘A’ Train.” It appeared like the senior member was supposed to only stay for one tune, as someone came to help him off stage, but he insisted on staying on, producing a swinging solo along with his son’s cool and sighing alto on a relaxed and deft “C Jam Blues” that included Marsalis using a plunger mute to conversational affect.
The evening ended with a nimble and bouncy read of Monk’s quirky “Rhythm A Ning,” as Victor Goines contributed a smoky tenor solo and Mason once again delivered an arm wrestling match, this time with Crenshaw while pianist Dan Nimmer provided glassy affectations.
There are few things that unite people as music does, and as Marsalis and company demonstrated, it can produce messages of healing and hope.
Upcoming shows at VPAC include Jose’ James Nov 3, Leslie Odom Jr Nov 17 and The Hot Sardines Holiday Stomp Dec 17
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