After a week of political turmoil and acrimony that included impeachments and tearing up of The State of the Union address, it was refreshing to take in some harmonious sounds and symbiotic musical interplay by bassist Jeff Denson, as his team of guitarist Romain Pilon and all star drummer Brian Blade took us through a gentle impressionistic walk through lovely pastels. Denson played music from his most recent album Between Two Worlds and the difference between the live performance and the difference between the excellent recording and concert was the same as looking at a Monet and walking through the garden of Givenchy. The extra textures and dynamics of the “live” interplay made the music robust and burst with sublime energies.
Denson’s tone and articulation was continually rich and melodic, taking the lead on pieces such as “En Trio Temps” and the sublime “Azur” as Blade’s mix of brushes and sticks gently pushed and coaxed the themes along while Pilon’s pastoral chords and lyrical solos added blue hues and directions, creating a gentle water lily pond. Nimble tunes such as “Sucre” included crisp and kinetic guidance by Blade, while the drummer’s own “Listen Up” opened with a muscular and musical solo that lead into Pilot adding spacey guitar effects as Denson bowed out a bel canto aria before a dramatic and climactic close that was as brightly colored as a Japanese footbridge.
Gentle and romantic guitar strums melded with tender mallets as Denson took the high notes of his bass to plead out a delicate “Nostalgic Farewell” as Pilon’s understated support and Blade’s floating cadence had the three close out the piece in a gentle effect at Argenteuil that faded into a musical mist.
A dash of King Crimson was thrown into the mix with Blade asserting himself and Pilon rocking out on the muscular “Song Of A Solitary Crow” before Denson’s brooding bow teamed with Blade’s digits tapping on the drums during a melancholy “Between Two Worlds”. The team added blue hues to the whimsical “Lost and Found” and galloped to the close of the evening to the easy grand canal currents of “Generation”. The mixing of complex and sophisticated themes with woven spontaneous solos was a gorgeous mix of colors as the three artists used brushes both thin and wide to satisfy the audience with a 90 minute musical walk through a musical Musee d’Orsay
Upcoming shows presented by The Jazz Bakery include Ann Hampton Callaway 02/14, The Cookers 02/21 and Matt Wilson’s Honey & Salt 02/22