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Woodwind & Brasswind
Review: SF Jazz Collective at Ted Mann Concert Hall, March 20 Print E-mail
Written by Jonathan Casey   
Wednesday, 22 March 2006
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SF Jazz Collective

The SF Jazz Collective has to be one of the greatest things going in jazz today, fostering new compositions from musicians young and old while paying tribute to jazz giants of the past. Unlike Wynton Marsalis' dogmatic approach to musical tradition, the Collective takes their cue from groundbreaking artists who have worked in a variety of styles, such as John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman. The 2006 Collective (identical to the 2005 lineup save for Andre Hayward replacing Isaac Smith on trombone) has included several Herbie Hancock compositions in their repertoire, including the modal classic "Maiden Voyage," the early fusion of "Tell Me A Bedtime Story," and the bluesy "And What If I Don't" from Hancock's second LP, My Point Of View. While there was no way that the Ted Mann auditorium experience could compete with last year's show at the Dakota, I was a bit disappointed by some excessive hall reverberation and an electrical problem with the monitors that nearly disrupted the encore. On the upside, the greater space allowed the Collective to reach a larger audience, including quite a few young people, and there was room for Hutcherson's marimba onstage in addition to his vibraphone.
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Miguel Zenon, Photo by Don Berryman

The first composition of the evening was Andre Hayward's "Serene Intentions," with numerous intricate layers written for the entire group. This set the tone for the evening, in which the Collective seemed to take a more rigidly structured approach than last year. In general, there were fewer long solos, with more explorations of sonic color and unison themes. My guess is that Collective arranger Gil Goldstein is making his voice heard more strongly this go around. Hayward and Nola trumpeter Nicholas Payton each took solos on "Serene Intentions," which were a little rough due to some loose drumming from Eric Harland. I suspect that improvisation proved to be more of a challenge than usual in these through-composed pieces, but during most of the show you would never know it, and for the rest of the evening Harland did nothing but dazzle. He is by far one of the most talented and versatile drummers in the contemporary jazz scene.

A rare opportunity then unfolded, in which a group of immensely talented individuals tackled a canonical piece of modern jazz, Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage." The SF Jazz Collective took it at a slower pace than both the original 1965 studio recording and the 1985 live recording at Town Hall with Bobby Hutcherson (as seen on the One Night With Blue Note DVD). While the arrangement favored some odd stylistic choices, including one abrupt pause, Hutcherson gave the solo of the evening here, stretching the melody through a complex series of triplets with a musical mind that is at once incredibly advanced and entirely accessible.

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Nicholas Payton, Photo by Don Berryman
Nicholas Payton's piece from last year, "Scrambled Eggs," was not one of my favorites. This year he brought us "Sudoku," which takes a similarly choppy, off-kilter approach, but eventually starts to groove and includes a rousing cut-time gospel coda. Everyone got a little time in the spotlight here, which in this case behaved more like a strobe light. Sparkling interplay resulted, especially when the rhythm section dropped out, all but for the bass, which took up a mighty struggle against all four horns. Miguel Zenon and Joshua Redman engaged in an exciting alto vs. tenor battle, and Hayward chimed in with a contrastingly smooth, Hubbardish solo.

Two more Hancock compositions revealed a groovy stylistic thread between his early sessions and his later fusion work. "Tell Me A Bedtime Story," based on his music for the animated "Fat Albert" series, was a colorful piece (with Redman switching from tenor to soprano sax, and Zenon taking up the flute) that had Harland rocking the cymbals like a '70s cop show theme. "And What If I Don't" was more laid-back, invoking a sidewalk strut and a soulful solo from Zenon.

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Joshua Redman, Photo by Don Berryman
In many ways, the centerpiece of the evening was Joshua Redman's "Parallelogram," which included several different sections of such complexity that one might draw a comparison to prog rock (fortunately we were spared the costume changes of said genre). Bassist Matt Penman, who made a stronger impression this year, began with a beefy, snaking solo introduction before Harland added color with shakers and rattles, the rest eventually joining in for a modern variation on Ellington's "Caravan." Redman himself took one of the few extended solos of the evening, building in speed and intensity before rebooting the whole piece with a fascinating coda to rival Payton's. Here, pianist Renee Rosnes and Hutcherson began a catchy, driving vamp, then the drums and bass fell in, Redman fluttered expressively, Zenon joined, and finally Payton belted out a powerful theme while Hayward added a quick-jabbing counterpoint. Really impressive, and a far cry from Redman's fusion-funk work with his Elastic Band.

Hutcherson's "Immanent Treasures" also reminded me of a classic tune, "A Night In Tunisia," with a more abstract quality suggestive of several classic Hutcherson ballads (such as "Visions" from the 1968 Spiral LP). Eric Harland's "Triumph" made for a wonderful climax. Fittingly, "Triumph" began with a stirring horn fanfare and featured a lovely, gentle solo from Payton which brought to mind Guy Barker's work with XTC, combining the emotional immediacy of pop music with the sophisticated complexity of jazz.

A gracious encore of Rosnes' "Mirror Image" allowed us one more demonstration of Hutcherson's hot flyin' mallets before we were turned back out into the cold night. Rarely does education get so neatly (and slyly) wrapped in entertainment like this.

The SF Jazz Collective will continue touring the United States and abroad through mid-April. Discounted pre-orders are now available for their 2006 Tour CD: www.sfjazz.org

 
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