Home » Jazz Articles » Live Review » Elvin Jones

118

Elvin Jones

Live at Vicar Street
September 2000

Headlining the third ESB Dublin Jazz Week, a sprightly-looking Elvin Jones led his young band in an eclectic, challenging set comprising just four lengthy songs.
Garbed in a natty pair of multi-coloured trousers, the 73-year-old drummer chose to strongly feature new material rather than to rely on the past glories of his years in the classic John Coltrane quartet. Opener “It’s Monk”, by pianist Eric Lewis, grabbed the attention with a theme that was discordant yet catchy, recalling the music of Thelonious Monk without aping it. A brilliant showcase for Jones’s menacing, and just plain loud, drumming, the number’s adventurous feel was tempered by a well-judged, blue-tinged, straight-ahead solo from trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis. The understated theme of the next cut, Marsalis’s Jazz Messengers-ish “The Lone Warrior”, was beautifully played in unison by the trombonist and saxophonist Stefano di Batista, who also contributed a serpentine solo on alto.
The centre-piece of the gig was the 45-minute, multi-part reading of a Japanese folk tune, “The Doll of the Bride”. More of a suite than a single number, it never outstayed its welcome, despite the extended soloing from every member of the band. Lewis’s haunting intro was truly eerie and contrasted well with his frenzied, crowd-pleasing solo later in the piece. Steve Kirby’s solo was another high point; at various moments the bassist coaxed something very like the sound of a cello and even that of the Classical guitar from his instrument. The number’s disparate elements were effectively bound together by the stately, recurring funeral dirge of a theme.
The band encored with a spirited, witty version of Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing ...”. Lewis’s playing nodded to stomp, stride and ragtime, while Jones’ elemental drumming spurred an already tight band to greater heights, as it did at various points throughout the evening. A capacity Vicar Street crowd gave the Elvin Jones Jazz Machine a well-deserved standing ovation.

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.

More

Jazz article: Downtown Tacoma Blues And Jazz Festival 2025
Jazz article: Bark Culture At Solar Myth
Jazz article: Hingetown Jazz Festival 2025

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.