Pianist, arranger and composer Chris Dundas brought his quintet to a newer venue, the Blue Whale, located in Japan Town (near San Pedro and 2nd streets), L.A., on November 28th. His ensemble presents jazz in a thoroughly interesting way, combining several forms of music and leaning towards avant-garde jazz. His band members are all strong players with extensive and diversely notable musical credits. Marty Krystall (tenor sax), Ken Rosser (guitar), Steuart Liebig (electric bass), Alex Cline (drums) and Chris Dundas (piano) made up this ensemble. Blue Whale is a unique jazz bar, decorated nicely inside and out, and has a somewhat unusual way of seating patrons, in that their seats are different sizes, but still comfortable. They have a reasonably good food menu offered for patrons, too.
When I arrived, the group was playing “Horizons,” a tune performed by the rock group Genesis, featuring Rosser on guitar, making a show of what his instrument can do. They finished the first set with a Peter Erskine composition, “Bulgaria,” with an interesting array of solos from this exploratory number. Dundas has an inexhaustible supply of interesting piano chords and right-hand combinations that were a joy to listen to.
The second set from Dundas’ group began with a Thelonious Monk composition, “Reflections.” They played it as a duo only, Dundas on piano and Krystall on tenor sax. The number came out very well. Continuing, they played a very good rendition of Charlie Parker’s “Donna Lee” as a trio. Bassist Liebig gave the fans a fine solo on his electric bass – a Fodera that sounded full and had definitely a good sound for lower notes. Drummer Cline and bassist Liebig traded eight- and four-bar breaks. “Simpatico,” an original by Dundas, showed the group’s instrumental abilities. Other tunes were the 50’s standard, “Too Young To Go Steady,” Joanne Brackeen’s “Haiti-B,” and the closer, “Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1, Prelude 22 in B flat minor” by J.S. Bach, all interesting as jazz music.
See Chris Dundas’ website: www.chrisdundas.com. The Blue Whale Jazz Bar just celebrated its first-year anniversary on December 11th, having an all-day long jazz show of many jazz artists. Visit also: www.bluewhalemusic.com .
Reprinted with permission from L.A. Jazz Scene, January, 2011 issue.
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