Ron Carter's Great Big Band / Jazz Standard / New York City /September 4, 2011
Reviewed by Michael Barbara, Jazz Editor
You
just
know that you are in for a
special night of music when you are standing behind Chick Corea, waiting to be
seated at New York’s Jazz Standard!!
Ron Carter’s Great Big Band,
had been filling the house with two sets every night for the entire week, and
there was a clear buzz in the air, as this engagement neared the end of its run.
In keeping with Carter’s penchant for proper dress and punctuality and
with fifteen minutes until show time, many of the band members were already in
their seats. They were all nattily attired in dark suits and ties, but none,
however, sported the leader’s omnipresent pocket square.
Carter has always professed that to dress or act otherwise is
disrespectful to the audience, and it was clear that this level of
professionalism was appreciated by the entire audience as they waited for the
maestro to take to the stage.
Like clockwork, Carter quietly emerged
from backstage, arranged his music, surveyed the audience, and picked up his
bass. [It was
exactly 7:30!!]
Immediately, the crowd grew quiet and attentive, as Carter counted off the intro
to “Caravan,” with a distinctive rhythmic twist on the Ellington classic,
morphing into a long piano solo from Mulgrew Miller.
Teaming with Carter and Miller in the
Great Big Band is guitarist Russell
Malone, reprising The Striker Trio,
which Carter had formed for a recording session in 2002.
On this date, Willie Jones III filled out the rhythm section, offering a
solid, tasteful performance on drums.
In typical Carter fashion, there was little space or chatter between
numbers, with the leader’s approach to constructed segues bridging the charts.
He took a minute to thank the audience for coming out in the middle of
the Labor Day weekend before he launched the entire band into a long series of
unison riffs and solos.
While the 17-piece big band was
overflowing the Jazz Standard’s ample stage, Carter took great care in
controlling the group’s dynamics, and the clarity of the sound and volume levels
made for a most enjoyable listening experience.
The frequent use of mutes by the trumpet section evoked the spirit of
Miles Davis, with whom Carter had a long and productive collaboration, and also
served to help control the sound in the room.
“Ethereal Triangle,” a cut from the band’s CD to be released later this
month, served to keep the groove going, and allowed the saxes, trombones, and
trumpets to cut loose. Carter’s
focused and always melodic bass lines were beautifully communicated through the
house’s sound system and formed the foundation of the groove, with Malone’s
guitar filling out the midrange of the musical canvas.
Miller, Malone and Carter joined on the
favorite “My Funny Valentine,” with Carter’s extended bass solo clearly evoking
the emotion of the tune, while demonstrating his complete mastery of the
instrument. His extensive use of
his signature glissandos, coupled with natural harmonics found on every section
of the fingerboard left no doubt to Carter’s stature as one of the great
bassists in the history of jazz.
Closing the set was the Ray Brown/Art
Blakey composition “Buhaina Buhaina,” which again set the horns and brass off in
a fiery exhibition of power and dynamics.
Carter sincerely thanked the audience once again, and briskly counted off
a final chorus to close the set.
The lines for the 9:30 set wound up the
staircase, and into 27th Street, but the buzz in the room made it
difficult to make the changeover.
Of course, with Ron Carter (the self-professed “retired schoolteacher”)
graciously and patiently greeting his fans (as well as Chick Corea in the same
room), and having Mulgrew Miller and Russell Malone mingling at the bar, it was
clear just how appreciative the audience was for the opportunity to see and hear
these jazz masters, and many were just not ready to call it a night!!
Ron Carter’s Great Big Band CD is scheduled for
release on Sunnyside Records on September 13, 2011, and those looking for
wonderful insights to the long and storied history of Mr. Carter should consider
Dan Ouellette’s Ron Carter: Finding the
Right Notes.
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