Perhaps it was his comedic timing and wit, or maybe it was his genuine
charm. Or maybe it was his crisp blue suit. But wait…could it have been the
bluegrass? Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers put on a
simply amazing show full of humor and instrumental dexterity. And both the
laughs and musical prowess helped to give the sold-out Kodak Hall crowd at the
band’s Wednesday matinee a crash course in bluegrass.
Now, purists may balk, and I’m inclined to agree somewhat, but Martin and
the band (“They’re not my band, I’m their celebrity,” Martin explained) played
music beyond bluegrass. I credit Martin’s compositions, as he interjected a
little more melody than the genre typically offers. That was tied together with
the smoothly (and sometimes savagely) bowed strokes of fiddle player Nicky
Sanders sawing away amidst the rest of the band’s
percussive plunk and twank. In addition, the band’s
use of minor keys gave it all a melancholy luster and appeal.
Martin’s between-song banter was hilarious and, frankly, I didn’t want the
show to end. I know, I know; a little bit of bluegrass goes a long way. Yet I —
Mr. Give-me-an-old-Gibson-through-a-Deluxe-Reverb-turned-up-to-10-any-day —
didn’t want this to end.
But it did, so I popped in to check Eastman gradShiranthaBeddage’s Quintet at Max of Eastman Place
where his tone got me thinking. If you’re not around when a note is first
struck, strummed, tapped, blown, or sung, you may not be able to tell its
instrument of origin. If they had been played without their breathy, tell-tale
launch, the notes coming from Beddage’s baritone sax
had hints of bowed notes and traces of a human voice. I don’t know, maybe I’m
explaining it wrong.
A lot of this esoteric pondering happens in the presence of more exploratory
ensembles likeFfear, which played
Wednesday at the Lutheran Church, where the group shifted gears between time
signatures at least half a dozen times…in the first tune. By the time you
latched onto the piece’s progression and intention, Ffear
was onto its next rhythmic boondoggle. Even so, the band was fun and very
listenable.
I finished the night rocked in the conventional arms of Yvette
Landry‘s sturdy honky-tonkin’ country at Abilene.
And man, what a smile. The lady and her band rocked steady with frequent blasts
of slip-slidin’ twang from her amazing steel player.
Steel guitar is like catsup; it’s good on everything.
On Thursday night I’m looking forward to watching Colin Stetson get
buck-weird with the bass sax, along with other jazzy, jivey
delights. What are you planning to see?
Looking for more of City’s Jazz Fest coverage? Click
here for City’s 2012 Jazz Fest Guide, click here for
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This article appears in Jun 27 – Jul 3, 2012.
