Concert Review by: Edward Kane
Venue: Catalina Bar & Grill (Hollywood, CA)
10/12/05 - The Marsalis family deserves its notoriety as a jazz dynasty. The four sons of the fine New Orleans pianist Ellis Marsalis represent a great generation of jazz musicians. But while they may have a fair claim as the first family of jazz, they aren't the music's first great family. Long before Wynton & Branford Marsalis made their mark as outstanding musicians, the brotherhoods of Percy, Jimmy and Albert ("Tootie") Heath and also Hank, Thad and Elvin Jones were already well entrenched as jazz royalty. In a nice twist of fate, Elvin Jones had a chance to mentor trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis as a member of the drummer's Jazz Machine. Now, a year and a half after the drummer's death, Delfeayo and a quintet including younger brother Jason on drums and alto saxophonist Donald Harrison are touring with a program dedicated as A Tribute to Elvin Jones. The group landed in Hollywood for a five-night engagement at Catalina Bar & Grill.
Just looking at the well-dressed players as they walked across the bar onto the stage, Donald Harrison blowing a Coltrane riff through his axe seemingly to himself, you could sense that you were about to experience an evening of classic jazz. Mulgrew Miller was advertised as the group's pianist, but was still on the east coast for the first two nights in Los Angeles. In another city the substitution of another player into that chair might have been cause for consternation, but with local hero Billy Childs able to fill in on the gig, there was nothing to worry about. Childs stepped into the working unit with its mostly original repertoire and was consistently flawless in his playing; if you didn't know this wasn't his regular band, you couldn't have guessed it. And when they played standards like "You Don't Know What Love Is" and Duke Ellington's "It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)," he was nothing less than masterful.
Delfeayo Marsalis was engaging both as a trombonist and in the role of master of ceremonies. He prefaced each song with pithy remarks, recounting the genesis of tunes such as "Pontius Pilate's Decision"--written with Jason in response to David Duke's nearly successful bid for governor of Louisiana--and commenting on the state of his home town post-Katrina. He spoke his mind, sometimes quite pointedly, yet always with a sly sense of humor either on display or tacitly understood. Most importantly, he had a lot to say with his horn. The set list on opening covered a fair amount of musical ground, and Delfeayo's trombone met the different challenges of each tune. He played with admirable brawn on "The Lone Warrior," a piece written during his tenure with Elvin Jones with the heft of Olé-era Coltrane, and evinced a surprising lyricism for his instrument on "You Don't Know What Love is."
Jason Marsalis is a very different player than Elvin Jones, his playing less overwhelming yet just as effective and intense in its own way. Donald Harrison, like Defeayo a former Jazz Messenger, thrived on the meaty hard-bop numbers that dominated the set while occasionally flashing a taste for exploratory playing. Really, all the musicians in the concert were outstanding; the band itself was as much the star as the individual players. An album is forthcoming from this group; the date was initially booked to coincide with the CD release, but this event has been delayed in part due to Katrina. While this may hardly rank among the true tragedies in the hurricane's aftermath, the music I heard at Catalina's has definitely whetted my appetite for the upcoming recording.
Click here for printer-friendly version of review.
Send this page to a friend.
JazzReview.com
