Three masters performing they way jazz was meant to be played, in front of an audience. Three completely different styles, yet unified by the connection with the audience
In what is sure to be the first in a series of archival releases, Blue Note brings out a collection of Wayne Shorter’s classic quartet of John Patitucci/b, Danilo Perez/p and Brian Blade/dr. As Perez jokes in an video describing the experience about when to rehearse this music, Shorter replied “You don’t rehearse the unknown”.
Yes, there are multiple versions of “Zero Gravity to the 15th Dimension”, but that should not dissuade you, as the interplay, soloing and various rabbit trails take away any sense of musical déjà vu. Shorter is lovely and inquisitive with Perez during “Edge of the World”, while “Orbits” goes off into worlds unknown as the band communicates in a language that may very well need a translator. Blade locks in and then out with Patitucci with Shorter directing traffic on the tenor as if it were a musical Fellini film on “Smilin’ Thro ugh” while dark and unknown sections of the galaxy are explored on “She Moves Through The Fair”. The level of attentive listening between the foursome borders on ESP.
Meanwhile, the founder of jazz, Louis Armstrong, was still in glory when recorded live at the BBC in July of 1968, just a couple of weeks after “What A Wonderful World” became a #1 hit in England. Still in excellent vocal form, and even impressive on the horn, Armstrong shows he still has chops as on “Ole Miss” and “(Back Home Again) In Indiana, with a swinging team of Tyree Glenn/tb, Joe Muranyi/cl, Marty Napoleon/p, Buddy Catlett/b and Danny Barcelona/dr. Sure, he sings the hits such as “Hello, Dolly”, “Mame” and “What a Wonderful World”, but also keep in mind when hearing Armstrong sing “Mack The Knife” that he was the FIRST one to sing it as a jazz piece, about 30 years earlier! He still croons well, as on the romantic “A Kiss To Build A Dream On” and is a hoot on “Rockin’ Chair”. Armstrong has aged amazingly well over the years.
Somewhere between unexplored intuition and traditional, we find the piano of Bill Charlap with his long time trio of Peter Washington/b and Kenny Washington/dr, captured at The Village Vanguard. One of the great lyricists on the ivories (neck and neck with Kenny Barron), Charlap is exquisitely tasteful throughout, from easy swingers such as “Sometimes I’m Happy” , to dark noir alley shadows on “’Round Midnight”. As with all the masters, the ballads are what bring you back, and “Darn That Dream” is a knockout, while gentle pieces such as “In Your Own Sweet Way” and “All The Things You Are” have a sense of logic and inevitability, yet without predictability. A high wire act indeed these days. As timeless as Bass Weejuns. With tassles.