Live at the Dakota

I like nothing better than a live recording that allows you to sit back and enjoy as if right there in the jazz club. When I also know that the applause I hear on record includes my own—even better! In June 2005, the Terell Stafford Quintet recorded over three nights at the Dakota Jazz Club in downtown Minneapolis, and I had the good fortune to be there through several sets. Now the best of those sessions has been cleanly engineered by MaxJazz for release as Taking Chances: Live at the Dakota. His second outing for MaxJazz finds Stafford in the very live company of his working band, tenor/soprano saxman Tim Warfield, pianist Bruce Barth, bassist Derrick Hodge, and drummer Dana Hall.

Terell Stafford © Andrea Canter

Miami native Terell Stafford grew up in a musical family, mostly living in Chicago and suburban Washington, DC. He was a relatively late bloomer on trumpet, initially studying classical music until awed by a recording of “Cherokee” by Clifford Brown. Following advice from Wynton Marsalis, Stafford pursued a Master’s in music performance at Rutgers University. Tapped by Bobby Watson to join Horizon, Stafford held that trumpet chair for five years, then joined McCoy Tyner's Latin All-Star Band.

Currently a member of Matt Wilson’s Arts and Crafts and the Village Vanguard Jazz Orchestra as well as an Associate Professor of Jazz Studies at Temple University, Stafford’s previous releases have included Time to Let Go (Candid, 1995), Centripedal Force (Candid, 1997), Fields of Gold (Nagel-Heyer, 2000) and New Beginnings (MaxJazz, 2003).

Terell Stafford Quintet © Andrea Canter

It’s a diverse set in many respects. Stafford arranged all eight tracks; five are original compositions, two from Stafford and one each from Warfield, Barth and Hall; the rest of the set is filled by two popular standards (“Taking a Chance on Love,” “Old Folks”) and an unusual jazz treatment of the traditional “Jesus Loves Me.” A thunderous clap of percussion launches the opening track, Stafford’s “A Nick Off the Mark.” The trumpeter provides a swinging and bright beginning, leading into Warfield’s bouncing soprano solo, matched rhythmically by bassist Derrick Hodge. Dana Hall splatters crashing accents while maintaining a furious pulse, Barth’s solo continuing in the same spirit. The pace slows for Barth’s “Pegasus,” the horns singing in tandem, melodic without a distinctive melody line. Stafford and Barth play musical storytellers with many moods.

Tim Warfield © Andrea Canter

I have a vague recollection that Stafford announced that his “Blues for JT” was written in honor of his father, and it is one of the standout compositions/performances on the recording. Starting with a bouncing bass intro, this funky blues features a call and response segment between trumpet and piano, soon joined by soprano sax. One of the best if not best-known bassists of his generation, Hodge plays hefty lines throughout, while the stops and starts from Hall add to the funky groove, as do the strong left-hand chords from Barth. Following Stafford’s solo, Warfield revs up the soprano, takes aim at the rafters and sets it all afire. The drum solo starts methodically with heavy hits on the bass drum, evolving with increasingly heavy syncopation and crash. With Hodge dancing up and down the box, Stafford revives the theme with a little squeal and growl, closing it with a final brassy blast.

Dana Hall © Andera Canter

The set ends with arguably its most engaging tune, Tim Warfield’s “Shake It for Me,” an extended (11+ minutes) funky groove piece introduced by Stafford’s squealing horn. Warfield engages in Olympian gymnastics on soprano; Stafford’s sharp edges are coated in a buttery glaze that eventually melts away through a series of curling growls and extended trills. Barth’s solo begins gently but accelerates, a clinic in the art of building improvisation to a fever pitch. Hodge shapes a repeating phrase into a masterful solo, but the king of the groove here is Dana Hall. For the final verse, each soloist has a final word, with a thundering crash from Hall resolving the theme and the set.

Taking Chances meets the expectations of a live recording and then some—the intimacy and excitement that pervades life performance well captured, the extended soloing and collaboration that typically distinguishes live from studio recording, the feel that little was planned in advance. This quintet has been performing together for several years now and their comfort in spontaneous conversation is clear from the first horn note to the final cymbal crash. Terell Stafford is not as well known as his talent deserves, and the same can be said for his partners. Maybe Taking Chances will be the turning point.

More information and tour dates available at www.terellstafford.com