Az.Jazz

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We are delighted to report that jazz is alive and well in Phoenix and its environs. While we were parked up in Parker, Arizona (a dusty desert crossroads by a big river) and deciding if we were going to drive all the way to Phoenix in the one day or break up the trip midway (even though midway was even more barren and desert than the road from Joshua Tree to Parker, we googled Jazz Arizona and found out that a potentially very exciting trio was playing at the Mesa Arts Center which is about 15 miles east of Phoenix, so we trundled off to Mesa at a steady 55 miles per hour in Rudy V.

The trio was called ACS and consisted of Geri Allen on piano, Terri Lynne Carrington on drums and symbols, and Experanza Spalding on bass. They played mostly Wayne Shorter covers in honour of his 80^th year on the jazz planet. The music was edgy and experimental, yet flowing. Geri Allen is usually described as in the tradition of Bill Evans but in this group playing this music she has discovered her inner-Monk! I have heard Esperanza Spalding a few times, both as a leader of her own band and as a member of Joe Lovano’s band, and I enjoy her playing much better when she is part of a high-level and challenging ensemble. She is at the same time freer and more controlled when part of a group as opposed to being its leader; she seems to push herself more (and enjoy her own playing more) with the challenge of these top quality musicians. I was hearing Terri Lyne Carrington for the first time and was impressed by the driving intensity of her playing. All three of these extraordinary female jazz musicians were pushing the music to its limits and then beyond and were clearly enjoying playing for a very appreciative audience in the concert hall of the Mesa Arts Center with its wonderful acoustics. This was one of the best piano-bass-drums trio gigs that I have attended in a very long time! I hope that they record and release this music as I am eager to hear it again.

At the Mesa Arts Center I met a teacher of a part-time jazz history course who informed me that the local jazz musicians play at the Nash jazz club in Phoenix, we went there the next night. The Nash is named after Lewis Nash, native son of Phoenix, and a jazz drummer of great accomplishment. The club had just celebrated its first anniversary with a gig by Lewis Nash and some of his New York-based jazz friends. The Nash is a very comfortable and warm space to hear live music. It seats around 100 people. The sound is very good and the sightlines generally good (although they could be improved if the performance area were on a slightly raised stage).

We heard local trumpet/flugelhorn player Fred Fornay in a quintet that featured Brice Winston (Terence Blanchard’s first call tenor man and an Arizona native) along with Don Moio on drums and cymbols, Nick Manson on piano and Chris Finet on bass. They played two sets of high octane originals and standards, mostly energetic hard-bop, and a couple beautiful ballads. The standard was very high.

A couple nights later we returned to The Nash to hear Greek pianist Ioanis Gouldalis in a piano trio format. He was a former student of Arizona State University in Phoenix so this gig was a homecoming of sorts. His music was very energetic and consisted of latin-tinged originals as well as Ellingtonian swing on other songs. The originals are very catchy, almost too catchy. His day job in Los Angeles seems to be as a composer of music for television. The bassist Zirque Bonner had a deep and rich sound and the composition of his that they played was simply beautiful.

Both bands driven by the drums of the ever-smiling Don Moio, (a local John Wadham, a great Dublin jazz drummer). Every town has a few local guys who are very experienced. I hope we get to hear many more of them as we trundle east and in Rudy V! Our next stop is Tucson and we would welcome any jazz suggestions! Greg and Joan 'On the Road'

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