A quick call to friend & colleague Jason Patterson, who runs Snug, and I was on my way over to hoist a glass of red with Jason and his lovely wife Sylvia, joined at the bar by the tireless New Orleans scenester/writer Geraldine Wycoff. Not only was Jason Moran playing Snug that evening, but he was doing so in the esteemed company of New Orleans finest drummer, Herlin Riley! Soon fellow radio heads Scott Bourne and T.R. Johnson of WWOZ showed up and it was clear Snug was the place to be.
This proved to be a classic evening of spontaneous invention/mutual admiration between two very distinctive and original artists. No matter how freely and furiously they improvised and with Jason Moran things can get knotty with a quickness they always found home, either through some finely-wrought melody, blues theme or irresistible rhythm seemingly plucked out of thin air by either or both. The ever-inventive and intuitive Riley employed hands-on-heads, brushes, and myriad permutations of those tight New Orleans rolls hes patented.
Moran, an ancient-futurist to be sure, and noted old soul despite his boyish appearance, came equipped with one of the many ancient samples he employs as improvisational launching pads; this time it was a historic Bert Williams recording that he used as a springboard to advanced improvisation, bringing along Riley treading confidently and comfortably into the unknown, steeped in New Orleans antiquity himself.
They played a beautiful Thelonious" which they de-assembled down to the bare Monk essence. Later they seamlessly morphed Moran's improvisation on Planet Rock" to Moon River"! Invention was on full display for this excellent evening at Snug!