Home » Jazz Articles » Live Review » Carl Bartlett, Jr. First Set at the Kitano: Jazz At Kitano

17

Carl Bartlett, Jr. First Set at the Kitano: Jazz At Kitano

By

View read count
Carl Bartlett, Jr.
Jazz At Kitano
New York, NY
September 25, 2014

Alto saxophonist Carl Bartlett, Jr.'s musical bloodlines run deep. The son of Carl Bartlett, Sr. and nephew of Charles Bartlett (who formed an R&B show and dance band "The Bartlett Contemporaries"), Carl, Jr. has the pedigree. He also has the chops. Bartlett attended the Manhattan School of Music. In his short career he has graced the stage with Wynton Marsalis, Lonnie Liston Smith, Roy Hargrove and others. Along with the members of his quartet (Yoichi Uzeki on piano, Dylan Shamat on upright bass and drummer Dwayne "Cook" Broadnax), Bartlett performed a stellar set of originals and standards at the intimate Kitano jazz and supper club nestled within New York City's Kitano Hotel.

The crowd was abuzz with anticipation prior to the first of two sold-out sets as they settled into their seats and the musicians milled about stopping to make small talk with friends and family in the audience. At precisely 8 p.m. the band was introduced. Within a few shot seconds after the initial applause died down, Bartlett, who was nattily dressed in dress slacks, a white shirt and conservative tie, thanked the audience for coming and the band settled into the up-tempo swinging groove of Coleman Hawkins' and Thelonious Monk's "I Mean You." The piece featured the young jazzman's clean smooth runs and an extended section of just drums, piano and bass. Toward the end, Bartlett returned to the forefront and led the group through to the end of the tune. At the end, Bartlett again thanked the crowd for coming and the club's booker, Gino, for the opportunity to play the room.

The next tune was the beautiful ballad, "Julie B" which Bartlett named after and on this night dedicated to his mother who was seated on stage right. He said, "Happy birthday, Mom. I hope you enjoy this." The piece definitely straddles both traditional and modern jazz featuring a beautiful soft piano opening, soulful saxophone, a nice clean tasty bass line and muted drums on which Broadnax used brushes for the main sections and occasionally mallets for the flourished on the cymbals. "Pensativa" with its bossa nova beat followed. During Cook's mini drum break, Bartlett could be seen off to the side nodding his head in unison to the syncopated time keeping, bopping to the rhythm and snapping his fingers to the beat. The tune then segued into "U.M.M.G (Upper Manhattan Medical Group)," a fast swing number composed by Billy Strayhorn.

When the medley ended, Bartlett announced that the next tune, an original called "Fidgety Season" was inspired by the children he taught at Martin Luther Middle School. The piece shifted between a waltz-like tempo and 5/4 time. The piece started smoothly and switched to a jittery tempo as the band dove into it and sped into a fever pitch behind Cook's madman drumming and Uzeki's nimble fingers dancing across the Steinway all the while Shamat remained steady supplying the underlying bass. Bartlett again took center stage, brought it down a notch and brought the tune home.

The first set came to a close with Sonny Rollins' "Pent-Up House." Rollins would have been proud had he heard Bartlett's 10 minute take on his classic tune. It was clean, fast and amazing.

On this evening in the intimate jazz club, the musicianship and skill put forth on the small stage was nothing less than stunning. The music had movement, life and vitality. Each of the member of the quartet could be classified as virtuosos. Bartlett's saxophone was powerful, strong and sweet with a tone that only the greats have the ability attain, Cook played with ferocity and skill, Shamat's solid bass was both understated and driving and Uzeki's fingers danced across the ivory keys at a phenomenal speed which had to be seen to be believed. The four men should be regarded as the future of modern jazz.

Photo Credit: Christine Connallon (view more concert photos)
[Additional article contributions by Christine Connallon].

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

Near

New York City Concerts

More

Popular

Read Take Five with Pianist Irving Flores
Read Jazz em Agosto 2025
Read Bob Schlesinger at Dazzle
Read SFJAZZ Spring Concerts
Read Sunday Best: A Netflix Documentary
Read Vivian Buczek at Ladies' Jazz Festival

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.