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Live Reviews
John Geggie/Craig Taborn, Ottawa, Canada, October 7, 2006
John Kelman
With the realization that there will always be more music coming at him than he can keep up with, John wonders why anyone would think that jazz is dead or dying.That Taborn and Geggie could start with one composition, dissolve into free improv and find their way to another with so little rehearsal speaks volumes about their abilities— individually and collectively—to listen and respond. A new composition from Geggie called "Cancon" was a jagged piece that found Taborn at his most abstract of the evening, playing around a motif that acted like a fulcrum, balancing the music that shifted constantly around it.
The lyrical classicism of Geggie's "I Want More" featured Geggie's warm arco, and almost Satie-like simplicity from Taborn. But, like so many other points in the evening, it devolved into pure free play, segueing into Taborn's riff-based "Bodies We Came Out Of," before finishing, again, on a skewed but more traditional note.
The only shame about this performance—one that set an early bar high for the entire season, was that it was only about two-thirds full. Like the Berne concert in 2005, all that means is that the opening show in Geggie's new season will be one talked about with regret by those who failed to make it out.
The rest of the shows in Geggie's 2006/07 season are equally intriguing:
November 18, 2006: "Compelling Contemporary Jazz" with Montreal alto saxophonist Christine Jensen and New York pianist Gary Versace;
January 20, 2007: "Quintessential Voices from Ottawa" featuring alto saxophonist Hughie O'Conner, guitarist Roddy Elias and trombonist/pianist Mark Ferguson;
February 24, 2007: "Legendary Jazz Evening" with New York drummer Billy Hart and Toronto pianist Nancy Walker;
March 24, 2007: "New Sounds and New Directions," featuring New York guitarist Ben Monder and Vancouver percussionist Dylan van der Schyff; and
May 12, 2007: "A Creative Fusion from Toronto with tenor saxophonist Quinsin Nachoff, tablaist Ravi Naimpally and vibraphonist Mark Duggan.
Based on Geggie's show with Taborn, it's going to be a good year.
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Related Articles:
"5 Shades of Geggie" Closes with Bill Carrothers and Nick Fraser (Concert Review, 2006)
John Geggie & Mark Dresser at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa (Concert Review, 2005)
John Geggie, Donny McCaslin & Jim Doxas at The Fourth Stage, Ottawa, Canada (Concert Review, 2005)
John Geggie/Sunna Gunnlaugs/Justin Haynes Ottawa, Canada May 22, 2004 (Concert Review, 2004)
John Geggie, 'No Boundaries' Series with Mike Murley and Jim Doxas (Concert Review, 2004)
Photo Credit:
John Kelman
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