Harvey Mason - drums; Bennie Maupin - tenor, soprano, bass clarinet; John Beasley - piano; Dave Carpenter - bass.

On their way to a European tour Harvey Mason's new band took advantage of the Westin's relaxed setting for a last-minute tune up--not that they needed one. The band is ready with a solid feel and some wake-up call solos. The tunes, mostly originals by the band, lifted the band and gave them an identity. The swing feel is today and it is never in doubt.

Unlike the many ego-driven drummers Mason leads his band by musical presence and authority. He took a few to-the-point solos, but he contributed more in the ensemble, feeding rhythmic ideas to soloists and keeping the band together. Maupin played under control but with warmth, invention, and swing, never sounding academic. He played a long bass clarinet introduction on a Caribbean tune "Message to Pres" that demonstrated an original approach and a strong technique on that difficult instrument. Pianist John Beasley reminds me of Joe Bonner--a church feel, but with modern energy and swing and with a ringing piano sound similar to Bonner. He is perfectly capable of running all over his instrument when it's called for, but he generally plays an economic style--single-note lines and plenty of space. On "Message to Pres" Beasley took advantage of the piano's percussive qualities to get his own groove going, reaching inside the piano to hold strings down while he struck the keys with his other hand. A band with this much going on is better off with no bass player than with someone who's not up to the music. Not a problem--Dave Carpenter steps up as an equal with a continual stream of ideas, accents, and comments. He approaches his solos not as a bassist but as a composer.

This is the best music I've heard from the Mason/Maupin partnership.

Supersax July 12, 2001.

Med Flory - alto, leader, arrranger; Joe Lopes - alto; Jay Migliori, Ray Reed - tenor; Jack Nimitz - baritone; Carl Saunders - trumpet; Tom Garvin - piano; John Leitham - bass; John Guerin - drums.

Supersax, a saxophone section plus rhythm and a trumpet soloist, hit in the early 70's and created a stir with their first record (Supersax Plays Bird, Capitol). The premise: transcribe Charlie Parker solos and harmonize them for a full section. The fuller sound of a section can dramatize the greatness of a spontaneous solo--it becomes a composition to a listener who ordinarily doesn't hear a solo as a serious musical statement. The band has evolved over the years, playing non-Parker music, occasionally adding voices, and taking improvised solos. I first heard Supersax in the mid-70's at the Famous Ballroom (Baltimore). A joyous event, band members took turns jitterbugging with women in the audience when they weren't soloing. Warne Marsh played some wonderful choruses. Hopefully music from that concert will be released in the "Live at Left Bank" series on Label M.

Back to the performance at hand. The band played many of the arrangements from the 70's, sometimes including Parker solos from different recordings in the same arrangement. Carl Saunders played his usual first-rate solos between written choruses, and occasionally played with the band. It was striking to hear his clean, vibratoless ensemble trumpet sound in contrast to the earthier Dizzy Gillespie or Miles Davis from the original recordings. A couple of new (I hadn't heard them before.) arrangements, "Round Midnight" and Tom Jobim's "Wave" gave some variety to the program. Flory's tune announcements were hilarious as usual, and he took a rough-hewn alto solo on "Star Eyes" (the Walter Bishop arrangement). The rhythm section seemed over busy and tended to push the tempos at times, but Tom Garvin played some stand-out blues on "Now's the Time." "Ko-ko" featured the best ensemble playing and a rollicking tenor duet between Reed and Migliori.

Gordon Brisker Quartet July 18, 2001

Gordon Brisker - tenor, flute; Jon Mayer - piano; Darek Oles - bass; Roy McCurdy - drums.

After six years in Australia, Gordon Brisker is back in the US. His playing is recognizable from before, but he has grown rhythmically and technically. His sound and attack are based on John Coltrane c. 1961. His lines are more "compositional" (less patterned) than Coltrane, and he gets everything said in a few choruses. He's fluent in high harmonics (notes above the normal register of the horn) but doesn't overdo it.

The Mayer trio led off the set with "Little Red Top," a blues dedicated to a bride in the audience. (What better way to introduce her to the reality of her new life!) Mayer borrowed the familiar Dizzy Gillespie "Round Midnight" coda as an intro to "These Foolish Things" and packed thick chords into his rhythmic-based solo. By contrast he took a spare solo on the eight-bar blues "Good Bait" ending with some down-home, Les McCann-inspired rumbling in the lowest register. As an accompanist Mayer comes from the roll up your sleeves and swing school which works with pick-up bands such as Brisker's. Roy McCurdy set the pace on an up-tempo "Night and Day," a roaring Brisker arrangement with a Latin bridge. Brisker stayed on one note for much of a solo that evolved into a furious dialog with McCurdy. McCurdy took his choruses into a number of directions, occasionally referencing Brisker's "Night and Day" rhythmic motif.

Bobby Bradford Motet July 20, 2001

Bobby Bradford - trumpet; Michael Vlatkovich - trombone; Chuck Manning - tenor; Ken Rosser - guitar; Don Preston - piano; Roberto Miranda - bass; William Jeffrey - drums.

A fixture on the local jazz scene Bobby Bradford is best known for his early 70's work with Ornette Coleman (Science Fiction, Columbia). Bradford was never a loquacious player, and he has spent the past few years refining and cutting back his playing even more. Currently he likes to play short, rhythmic passages in the middle register in response to what's going on around him. He melts into the ensemble, preferring to affirm himself more as a composer and bandleader.

Vlatkovich introduced an eerie piece built on fragments from "Lonely Woman" and "Angel Eyes." Preston played a two-note vamp behind him that continued through most of the piece, occasionally expanding into three notes. Vlatkovich concentrated on tonal variation during his solo with straight mute and wa-wa and by moving his hand over the bell. Manning seemed uncomfortable noodling over the backdrop, finally winding up his solo frantically. The piece dissolved over the two-note vamp played by the entire band. An old-time blues allowed Rosser (funky and authentic), Vlatkovich (varying the tempo, mixing inside and outside), Manning (his most convincing playing of the evening), and Miranda (long, well paced) to stretch out.

Final question: How many people in a motet? Answer: The mo' money, the mo' tet.