I took my 15 year old son who, like me, plays the bass and
it opened his eyes. The three groups very prominently featured
the bass players. We had never heard such wonderful and
musical extended solos as those by Haden, George Mraz and Christian
McBride (who, it was mentioned, had recently joined the tour,
although it was not clear whether this was his first night
playing).
George Mraz was particulary wonderful. I had only heard him
as a side-man on various albums. Here, in a pianoless sax
trio, he was out front all the time and his solos were
not only impressive to me but drew in the large and
appreciative audience.
But all three bassists played exciting music, not in the sense
of show-off speedy pyrotechnics, but in a way that I felt
instructed my son, and the audience, of how a bass can make
music. Charlie Haden's slow, studied, solos were a marked
contrast to the usual.
I'm in the process of buying a slew of records.
If only there were more opportunities to see a show like that.
Anyway here, from the program is the remaining schedule.
Jan 22 Washington, D.C.
Jan 25 New York
Jan 28 Toronto
Jan 29 Kalamazoo, MI
Jan 30 Ann Arbor, MI (what's this with two shows in MI?)
Jan 31 University Park, IL
Feb 1 Minneapolis, MN
Feb 2 Kansas City, MO
P.S. I am not on staff at Verve, or a stockholder, of Polygram.
I just want to encourage them, and others, to do this again.
--___________________________________________________________ Richard J. Conn Philadelphia