With all of the
national and international jazz luminaries in town, it’s easy to
overlook Rochester’s local jazz greats.
Eastman School
of Music professor Harold Danko played with Chet
Baker, Lee Konitz, Gerry Mulligan and others before he became a
professor. In his Hatch Hall concert he told stories about his
evolution as a pianist-composer and put his tunes in context.
Danko has
written some gems over the years. “Mirth Song” has a beautifully
quirky melody reminiscent of one of Eric Satie’s Gnossiennes with
the addition of some forays under the hood to strum and pluck
strings. His “Blue Swedish Wildflowers” was beautifully
impressionistic from start to finish.
Ever the
professor, Danko had the audience supply a vital D through the parts
of a tune that, as he explained, had an augmented chord and a
diminished chord, both of which needed that D. And he taught us more
than most of us ever knew about the middle pedal on the piano.
But it was his
compositions, and his brilliant technique playing them, that won the
day, especially the one he saved for last. His “Tidal Breeze,”
which was covered by Baker, Konitz, and others, is a lilting and
catchy classic despite its harmonic complexity.
Earlier in the
evening I heard bassist-singer Phaedra Kwant and her
group at Max. Kwant sang several of her tunes in a manner that
recalled late-period Joni Mitchell, but I preferred the instrumentals
where she showed off her bass chops. Especially
strong was the set’s funkiest number, “Action Hero.”
I ended the
night with The Wee Trio at the Little Theatre. The
most striking thing about the group was the simpatico between the
three members. While many groups come across as a collection of
disparate musicians, these guys played as one.
That might be
because of mutual respect; all three are phenomenal players. James
Westfall was the latest in a series of top vibraphone players at this
year’s festival, Dan Loomis took great bass solos, and Jared
Schonig saved his showcase solo till the end. All three provided
excellent compositions, but the band was best on Ray Noble’s
classic, “Cherokee.”
I’ll start
the final night of Jazz Fest at Kilbourn Hall with Newport
Jazz Festival Now 60. Clarinetist-saxophonist Anat Cohen is the
musical director of this crew and that’s enough to get me there
early. Later, I’ll catch up-and-coming pianist Stephanie
Trick at Hatch Hall and Scott Feiner & Pandeiro
Jazz at the Little Theatre.
This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 1, 2014.
I would strongly agree with Ron’s review of The Wee Trio — for me they were simply one of the best acts at the Jazz Festival this year, even though they are just starting out. I was struck not only by their individual talents, but also the originality of their arrangements. They did some highly imaginative stuff, like transposing one standard into a minor key and supplying entirely new rhythm structures to others — all with great success. They did play together very well with one exception — Jared Schonig on drums had a tendency to drown out James Westfall on the vibraphone on occasion. Schonig needs to take his volume down a bit and Westfall definitely needs to bring his up (it may sound loud enough to him, but it doesn’t carry as well as it should to the audience). One really wants to be able to hear Westfall because he is especially good — certainly far better than Jason Marsalis.
This group is probably going to continue to get better and could become a major star in the firmament of American jazz. Those who missed them Friday night can catch them at the Rochester Club on Saturday.