2010-2011 Concert Season
Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra |
Clarence Acox & Michael Brockman, Artistic Directors
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"Presenting the great works of jazz"
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Seattle Times
Arts & Entertainment
Monday, March 20,
2000
Trumpeter cooly carries Miles reprisal
by Paul de Barros
Seattle Times Jazz Critic
Is
there any value to reprising great works of the jazz
repertory, when recordings by the masters are so easily
available?
It's a nagging question that won't go away. But Saturday night at Benaroya Hall,
in a triumphant rendering of the music of Miles Davis'
"Birth of the Cool" period, the Seattle
Repertory Jazz Orchestra answered it with a resounding -
but, of course, cool - "yes."
The 5-year-old ensemble
also suggested, through its strengths and weaknesses,
some factors that contribute to repertory success.
Putting aside for a
moment all issues of blend, attack, feeling or tempos,
this night, quite simply, belonged to trumpeter Jay
Thomas. From his opening solo on Gerry Mulligan's
"Rocker," on which he gave the last chorus
just the right ride, to his smooth, golden-toned,
Miles-quoting solo on Dave Brubeck's "The
Duke," Thomas played with a breathtaking
combination of lightness and logic, restraint and
momentum that virtually defined "cool jazz."
Baritone saxophonist
Bill Ramsay and tenor saxophonist Dan Greenblatt helped
bring home the point that invigorating, original
soloists - and not slavishly imitative ones - are what
make jazz repertory worth the effort.
That said, the ensemble
as a whole was immaculately prepared. Miles'
"cool" music, arranged in collaboration with
the great Gil Evans for nine-piece chamber group,
requires great delicacy and precision, without which it
sounds incomplete, or downright peculiar.
On "Rocker,"
"Jeru," and "Venus de Milo" the
orchestra captured this balance in spades, playing with
an elan that made the music its own, and not a wooden
recital.
"Moon
Dreams," Evans' lush tone poem (and blueprint for
the muted-brass, film-music style of Henry Mancini and
Quincy Jones), was particularly impressive.
Ramsay and tuba player
Dan Marcus rendered the unusual baritone sax and tuba
lead on "Godchild" with aplomb, though the
ensemble balance was a trifle rugged. Ditto for "Boplicity,"
where the tempo dragged, and some stiffness crept in.
Seattle's jazz
granddaddy, trumpeter Floyd Standifer, who came up in
the cool/hard bop era, didn't have a great night, though
his chuffing tone and sweet turns of phrase on the
beautiful "My Ship" were effective.
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