I love that I live about an hour from the jazz-metropolis that is New York City, but I will drive for hours when the music beckons. It did last Saturday, when brassmen Danny Tobias and Warren Vaché joined with Philip Orr, piano; Joe Plowman, string bass; Pat Mercuri, guitar, for a wonderful afternoon of acoustic improvisations at the lovely 1867 Sanctuary Arts and Culture Centerin Ewing, New Jersey. (101 Scotch Road will stay in my car’s GPS for that reason.) Here’s some evidence — thanks to the very subtle photographer Lynn Redmile — to document the scene:
and the two Swing perpetrators:
It’s an immense compliment to the melodic swinging inventiveness of this ad hoc quintet, that their music requires no explanation. But what is especially touching is the teamwork: when portrayed in films, trumpet players are always trying to outdo each other. Not here: Danny and Warren played and acted like family, and a particularly loving branch. They have very individual voices, but if I said that the approving ghosts up in the rafters were Ruby Braff, Joe Wilder, Kenny Davern, and Tony DiNicola, no one would object. Phil, Joe, and Pat listened, responded, and created with characteristic grace. Thanks to Bob and Helen Kull, the guiding spirits of the 1867 Sanctuary, for making us all so welcome with such fine music.
It was a memorable afternoon, and I wish only that this was a regular occasion, to be documented by CD releases and general acclamation. We can hope.
I have a dozen beauties to share with you. Here are the first four.
Irving Berlin’s ALL BY MYSELF, and someone in the band breaks into song, most effectively:
Another Berlin treasure, CHANGE PARTNERS:
Edgar Sampson’s paean to hope, IF DREAMS COME TRUE:
THIS JUST IN: Danny and George will be back at the 1867 Sanctuary on Saturday, September 22, from 2-4 PM. Mark it down.)
Here are the closing performances — the second set — from a lovely afternoon of rewarding music. Those who missed the first two segments may savor them here.
That picture gives all the needed details, but it can’t convey the genial loving spirit that animated the music: friendly conversations among players who deeply respect and value each other, on and off the bandstand. And you would have to be at the 1867 Sanctuary to hear how fully it welcomes creativity.
A feature for the rhythm section, led by the lyrical Mr. Plowman — from GUYS AND DOLLS:
The great Fifties Basie groove on a composition by Freddie Green:
Danny’s romp on familiar chord changes (test yourself!) which is also the title of his latest CD, COMPLETE ABANDON:
Danny’s feature — THESE FOOLISH THINGS — on his special new / old cornet:
A gorgeous bouquet of sound, scored for two fluegelhorns, EMILY:
And the brief closing selection, IT’S YOU OR NO ONE:
What wonders! I believe that Danny and George have talked of doing another afternoon performance at the unique 1867 Sanctuaryand I hope this comes to fruition soon. All I can tell you is that I left the address in my car’s GPS and I will keep it there. “Worth a trip from anywhere!” as a radio commercial used to tell us. Thank you, Danny, George, Joe, Phil, Pat, Bob and Helen Kull, Caroline Roth, Lynn Redmile, and everyone else who made this possible.
If you haven’t savored the lovely music these five players made in their first four performances, please click here. The occasion was an afternoon concert at the lovely and welcoming 1867 Sanctuary Arts and Culture Center in Ewing, New Jersey, and the artists were Danny Tobias and George Rabbai on trumpets, fluegelhorns, cornet, and a basketful of mutes, with Phil Orr, piano; Pat Mercuri, guitar; Joe Plowman, string bass.
As Joe Venuti used to say, “This must be the place!”
And this was the banner for the occasion:
Here are four more memorable offerings.
What George called “the human condition,” I WANT TO BE HAPPY:
Pat Mercuri’s touching evocation of Eddie Lang, APRIL KISSES:
STARDUST, played as if brand-new:
And the closing number of the first set, Danny’s HOW’S IT GO?:
There’s a whole delightful second set that I will share with you, soon.
It’s lovely to see and hear indebtedness, art, and gratitude all combined into a glowing musical gift. I’m not at all being hyperbolic, as you will understand.
Now you know. But in all fairness to the graphic designer and the copywriter here, that advertisement might have made people who didn’t know Danny, George, Pat, Phil, or Joe leap to incorrect conclusions. “Pops to Bop” might have suggested a-history-of-jazz-trumpet, or an afternoon vacillating between WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD and DIZZY ATMOSPHERE. But these musicians meet on common ground; they love one another, and the music was so warmly played and presented that there was not even a thirty-second note of the formulaic here. It wasn’t a battle of genres: quite the contrary, if you squinted in just the right way through the stained glass windows, you could see Buck, Louis, Sweets, Basie, and Dizzy grinning like mad.
And although the brass instruments displayed and played here are often quite assertive, there was none of that signifying stuff, no “I can play higher, I can play louder,” so the sound was resonant, glowing, and in its own way serene, even at faster tempos.
Introducing the second song, HALF NELSON, Danny talks about how George was and is his inspiration, and even if he hadn’t explained that, we could hear it in the air.
Let me share the first four performances with you.
Danny’s original (in the spirit of the season to come) PASS OVER:
Following that thread, I’M CONFESSIN’:
HALF NELSON, credited (I think) to Miles, but who can tell?
And to close off this segment, George’s lovely reading of BODY AND SOUL:
It was a nearly six-hour round trip by car from my place to Ewing: I’d do it every weekend ti hear this band. Aren’t they wonderful? Savor this quartet of beauties: there are ten more to come.
The PENNSYLVANIA JAZZ SOCIETY will present their annual JAZZFEST with a TRIBUTE TO BENNY GOODMAN on Sunday, July 11, 2010, from noon to 5:30 p.m. at the Plainfield Township Fire Company Hall, 6480 Sullivan Trail, Wind Gap, PA 18091. The two bands featured that day are THE MIDIRI BROTHERS and DAN LEVINSON’S PALOMAR QUARTET.
The Midiri Brothers will play from noon to 2:30 p.m. Their group is Joe Midiri on clarinet, Paul Midiri on vibraphone, drums, and trombone, Dan Tobias on trumpet, Pat Mercuri on guitar, Steve Kramer on piano, Ed Wise on bass, and Jim Lawlor on drums.
Dan Levinson’s Palomar Quartet will play from 3:00 – 5:30 p.m. and will feature Dan on clarinet, Mark Shane on piano, Matt Hoffmann on vibes, Kevin Dorn on drums, and Molly Ryan on vocals. In addition, because Dan believes that “One Good Twin Deserves Another,” he has invited the Anderson twins (Will and Peter Anderson) to be part of his group, playing clarinet and saxophone.Advance Tickets are $ 20.00. (For advance tickets and directions, send SASE to Pennsylvania Jazz Society, P. O. Box 995, Easton, PA 18044.) Tickets at the door are $ 25.00. Student Admission is FREE! For more information, phone 610-625-4640 or go online at pajazzsociety.org
