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Rising Above the Crowd: Greg Tardy Brings His Deep Spirit to the Artists Quarter |
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Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor
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Tuesday, 15 February 2005 |
Photos by Andrea Canter
 "One word that always fits both Gregory Tardy's playing and his life is passion. A brilliant young tenor saxophonist, Tardy clearly believes in every note he plays." -Gotham Jazz
A gig at the Artists Quarter in downtown St. Paul just isn't complete without an introduction from emcee Davis Wilson. With his obligatto "My Lords and Ladies," Wilson is always "pleased and flipped" to bring the best touring jazz artists to the AQ stage. And last weekend, he was so honored in introducing Greg Tardy, whom he described as "a great deep spirit....and successor to John Coltrane." That's an ominous introduction, but Tardy was up to the challenge.
The son of two opera singers, Greg Tardy started off in the family's classical tradition and became accomplished on flute and clarinet. Everything changed when he encountered John Coltrane's music and switched to saxophone. In the past decade, he's played with Nicholas Payton, Elvin Jones, Ellis Marsalis, Rashid Ali, Marty Ehrlich, and Dave Douglas, among others. While appreciating jazz tradition, Tardy is an inventive improviser and composer who is not at all reluctant to follow his inspiration wherever it may lead. Noted City Pages, Tardy "concentrates on an adventurous, often aggressive brand of hard bop. He revels in juggling odd rhythms and textures, but there's a strong blues undercurrent to his restless jazz."
In his opening set at the Artists Quarter, the native New Orleanian turned his tenor inside out, spiraling if not channeling the spirit of Coltrane well above the noisy crowd, engaging his local rhythm section in a series of inventive and joyful exchanges. He couldn't have asked for more simpatico collaborators in pianist Chris Lomheim, bassist Billy Peterson, and drummer Kenny Horst, all of whom seemed driven to a higher-than-ever level of performance by the young saxophonist. Starting off with a busy, boppish reading of Lucky Thompson's "The Plain and Simple Truth," Tardy was immediately supported by Horst's heaving pushing and Peterson's muscular plucking. He offered two of his own compositions in the first set: "The Search" featured a bubbling sax cadenza that traversed the horn from top to bottom, his improvisation taking the melody in and out on a spiraling ride, echoed with similar intensity by Lomheim, and resolved finally with a dramatic closing cadenza from Tardy. The other original tune, "Changing Seasons," was in contrast a slow and lyrical journey, featuring the often-poetic Lomheim whispering the ghost of Bill Evans, Horst's lush brushwork, and a sublime bass solo from Peterson that mirrored the piano's melancholy beauty.
One of the bolder selections of the set was Elvin Jones' "Three Card Molly," with Tardy quickly deconstructing the melody with a series of percussive licks. Unlike the honks and squeals that characterize much of the current generation of tenorists, Tardy manages to make each note clear and distinct, melodic even when teetering on the outside edge. On this uptempo piece, the typically lyrical Lomheim went into rambunctious mode, running up and down the keyboard, lines twisting over chords, and all the while Horst and Peterson kept the pace in overdrive. Not as intense but equally interesting was the group's treatment of Donald Brown's "The Children's Playground," Tardy staying inside here but nevertheless churning up the melody with his upper register runs and flutters. And on Coltrane's "Giant Steps," Tardy convincingly proved that he was worthy of Davis Wilson's introduction.
One of the advantages of live sets versus most recordings is the opportunity for the musicians to really stretch out. Without the usual 5 to 6-minute limitation imposed by record producers, Tardy and company were able to build (and deconstruct) each piece, with each musician having ample opportunity to have his say, each throwing out ideas that had time to incubate and hatch. This was the very first run for the group as unit; Tardy had never played with Peterson and perhaps only once before with Lomheim and Horst. Nevertheless, they quickly assimilated a pace and rhythm that belied their brief partnership.
The only blemish on the evening was the noisy indifference of many of the AQ patrons. A no-frills, no food bar that is merely a backdrop for staging high-class jazz for serious listeners, the AQ is not generally regarded as the place to go to be seen (and heard) for drinks after dinner, where music is relegated to aural wallpaper. Maybe the more trendy meeting places were overflowing Friday night? Whatever, there was a steady din of chatter punctuated by occasional and ill-timed loud laughter and a thicker than usual layer of smoke, noticeably annoying the musicians as well as the handful of tables of jazz fans. I wish I had been able to return Saturday night—I heard that the audience was attentive and treated to some blistering, out-on-a-limb music. When is St. Paul joining its twin sister city to ban smoking? With musicians like Greg Tardy coming to town, there's more than enough smoke and heat already!
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 Monday, 13 October 2008
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