When
former RochesterianJoe Locke plays
at Kilbourn Hall it’s always an event. I still
vividly remember a long-haired Locke as a punky teenager, already brilliant on
the vibes, playing little clubs on Alexander Street. And look at him now,
arguably the best jazz vibraphonist in the world. The hometown fans couldn’t be
more proud and he’s happy to be surrounded by them.
He
was especially happy Monday night because he was playing the compositions from
his new album “Love Is a Pendulum” which he called the best work he’s ever
done. I agree. I love the album and he played it wonderfully live.
Hearing
Locke is only half the experience. Seeing him completes it. Part of it is his
mallet ballet. He uses the dazzling four-mallet technique and they dance over
the bars frenetically, finding just the right ones to strike in milliseconds.
Locke is also dancing from side to side, forward and back, with grand
flourishes.
“Love
Is a Pendulum” is based on a great poem by Barbara Sfraga,
dealing metaphorically with every facet of love. Locke recited each short but
profound verse to the audience before interpreting each in music.
For
instance “Love Is a Tide” featured Locke’s vibes riding over waves of rhythm
supplied by his band. In “Love Is a Planchette” he
evoked the floating quality of a planchette moving
across a Ouija board. In several of the movements
(this work is as classical as it is jazz) pianist Robert Rodriguez took the
spotlight for some excellent solos. Terreon Gully
(drums) and Ricky Rodriguez (bass) were also superb throughout.
Because
his concert was based on a poem Locke began the evening by discussing the role
his youth in Rochester has played in his career and in his love of words. He
talked about his father working as a professor at the University of Rochester
and his early childhood memories of running around and hiding in the stacks of
the Rush Rhees Library.
He
ended with another salute to Rochester. Toward the end of his encore, a song
titled “Embrace,” based on George Gershwin’s “Embraceable You,” he slipped in a
quote: the main theme of Chuck Mangione’s great tune,
“Land of Make Believe.”
I
know abstract expressionist painting pretty well. Tonight, after hearing Eivind Opsvik Overseas at
the Lutheran church, I think I know abstract expressionist music. In painting
all of the elements are there — colors, brushstrokes, composition — but without
depicting anything. In bassist Eivind Opsvik’s music all of the elements were there — notes,
chords, rhythm — but they didn’t add up to melodies in any traditional way.
The
saxophonist would sometimes get a pattern going, the guitarist would strum
electronic effects and the pianist would verge on lyrical but not quite get
there. For the most part, the entire set was like a musical Frankenstein
monster lumbering about. And that wasn’t a bad thing.
Trio
Red, over
at Christ Church, was more traditional but tougher to get a handle on. In their
second set, most of the tunes were so halting, they felt like they were not
quite finished with their gestation. This was especially strange because the
group’s leader, drummer Tom Bancroft, spoke between tunes in the manner of a
brash comedian. His songs had absurd titles but only one, the last one, “The
Mole Of History Takes A Bow (And Trips),” was lively
and fully formed.
I’ll
start Tuesday night at Kilbourn Hall with
one of the top pianists in jazz, Fred Hersch. Then,
I’ll head over to the Lutheran Church to hear another piano player who walks on
the avant-garde side, Julia Hulsmann, and her trio.
This article appears in Jun 17-23, 2015.
