Okay, so I’m paraphrasing here, but my “what for,” “why is,”
and “when by” of jazz was serendipitously solved by guitarist John Abercrombie. During his 10 p.m. slot to a packed and lively crowd
at the Montage Music Hall, he said, “I don’t like to know where I’m going.
That’s why I play jazz.”

But clearly Abercrombie, his organist, and his drummer knew
exactly where they were going even when they opted to send the soundman to get
some music from their dressing room after their first Irving Berlin number.
Abercrombie’s playing was big and sweet with its notes not so much fat as they
were chubby and slick. But honestly, it was overshadowed by the organ in spots.
‘Twas pure and beautiful all at the same.

As I proclaimed in the hallowed pages of City last week: The
Majestics are back, Jack. The band celebrated its history with a bouncy set
of serious reggae in a packed Little Theatre. It was hard to get up and dance when
the size of the place served up the sardine treatment. Consequently it was a
laid back, chill affair. Just when you thought the set couldn’t possibly get
any better, The Majestics invited up a few Prime Time horns for some seasoned
and salacious sass and brass. What a solid show; I can’t wait to see them
again.

After the Majestics and right before Abercrombie’s gracious
set, I set foot in the Fusion Tent to catch Madeleine McQueen and the Breeze.
I remembered liking her CD and her voice in particular: it’s bright and sweet
and reminiscent of Mikaela Davis. The problem was her guitar player, or more
specifically, how he was mixed. It was big and shrill like a dentist drill as
it overshadowed McQueen. I liked what he was playing, just not its
molar-cracking treble and volume.

And all the way back at the beginning, I started the evening
at Max for drummer Charles Ruggiero’s 6:15 p.m. set. He
described the jazz approach of taking a brief, succinct, and recognizable
melody as fodder for improve once it’s been identified like, say, the theme to
“Law and Order.” It was a homecoming of sorts for the brash beater who gave the
people what they knew before taking it out of bounds.

But the true inspiration that prompted me to write this
review backwards was from Abercrombie’s reason for jazz. I truly didn’t know
where I was going with this until I sat down to bang it out. And you know what?
I still don’t know.

Check back Tuesday
morning to hear what I thought about the Monday sets with Gwyneth Herbert (at
Christ Church) and Judith Hill (at Anthology).

This article appears in Jun 22-28, 2016.