Bassist Ben Williams showed Friday night at the Blue Whale that the 2+ years spent with Pat Metheny were a wise investment. Leading a team of seasoned pros in Marcus Strickland/ts-ss, Alex Wintz/g, Victor Gould/key-p and Jamire Williams/dr, Williams demonstrated a quantum leap of maturity in compositional skills and leadership as he presented vibrant and elastic readings from his strong and impressive latest release Coming of Age.
“I don’t have much to say; we’re just going to pl ay some music,” Williams spoke as he greeted the crowd. And play they did, with Williams’ drums slowly rumbling to open up In a solo form before Strickland’s sweet soprano and Gould’s keys slid in to a lyrical yet slightly funk read of N.E.R.D.’s tune fly or die. Williams used his acoustic bass like a sonic baton, leading, guiding, directing and changing directions of the music with the team changing gears as smoothly as a Shelby Cobra. From the album, Williams had Gould a thoughtful piano intro before the rhythm started into a gentle cantor on “Strength and Beauty” while Wintz’s tensile guitar and Strickland’s earthy tenor chimed back and forth, with Williams leading the charge into a gallup before allowing the chiming guitar and yearning tenor to quietly fade away to close the piece.
Williams then switched to electric bass and with Gould at keyboards and the rhythm get into a 70s funky and hip groove on a fluid “Half Steppin’” which slowly percolated until Wintz’s gruitar and Jamire Williams’ drums drove the energy level up to the edge of the cliff before Strickland was able to lasso them and close the tune with a gentle receding of the tide. With pizzicato pickings on acoustic bass and restless drumming, the rhythm team continually stirred the pot on the closing “Forecast” whle Gould and Strickland tip-toed over the hot coals with spry delicacy before the entire team raced to the finish line in a rhumba. The flexibility of this band and the palpable cohesiveness on fiendishly tricky yet sensuously l yrical waters showed that through his latest release and his latest band, Ben Williams is indeed Coming of Age.
Upcoming shows at the Blue Whale include Denise Donatelli May 20, David Torn May 21, Danny Janklow May 22 and John Patitucci May 22-23