Any festival is about making choices. There are more acts to see than time to see them, and musical triage is the order of the day. With that in mind, it’s tempting to do the easy thing and cross artists off the list if you’ve seen them before. I’ve seen Karrin Allyson a half dozen times, so I did the sensible thing … and lined up an hour and a half early to see her again. She’s that good.
Allyson’s new album is called Footprints. It features a number of tunes not normally associated with singers, decked out with new lyrics by Rochester native Chris Caswell. The program offered a mix of tunes from the new record — “Lazy Bird,” “Never Say Yes,” “Con Alma” — with some old friends from previous albums. Allyson was joined by a top-flight band: Bruce Barth on piano, Vicente Archer on bass, and Todd Strait on drums.
“Con Alma” was a grabber. They played it slow. The kind of slow that makes you lean forward in your chair to try to get closer to the sound. The kind of slow that the band holds together by an act of collective will. Exquisite.
As at any Karrin Allyson gig, there was a beautiful bossa nova number, sung in Allyson’s gorgeous Portuguese. During the latin numbers, Karrin played what appeared to be two egg shakers. In her hands, the egg shakers had a sensuality that they seem to lack when wielded by, say, a class of kindergartners.
Karrin also played piano on several tunes, including Jimmy Webb’s 70’s ballad “The Moon Is Harsh Mistress.” Bruce Barth added a second keyboard instrument — the Fender Rhodes — for Oscar Brown Jr.’s uplifting “As Long As You’re Living,” Hank Mobley’s “Turnaround,” and Blossom Dearie’s “Bye Bye Country Boy.”
The encore was once through the haunting “Say It (Over And Over Again)” from her Ballads album. When it ended, you could have heard a jaw drop. From start to end, a perfect set of music.
From the Not-An-Early-Enough-Bird Department: Apparently, Brazilian sensation Baji Assad is not just big in Brazil. A line four across and about thirty deep was waiting to get into the sold-out show in the big tent, so this review will be rather short. In fact, it’s over right now.
The late set at Milestones featured guitarist Joel Harrison playing the music of George Harrison. For those in the crowd expecting BeatleJazz, it was probably a shock to hear the searing explorations of Harrison and saxophonist Dave Binney, bassist Dave Ambrosio and drummer Dan Weiss. Harrison’s inventive and exciting arrangements used George’s music as a springboard, rather than an anchor. Binney was the perfect foil for Harrison, adding his sharp-edged tone and intelligent but accessible improvisations to Harrison’s fluid and free-ranging chord structures. The band played George Harrison’s “Within You Without You,” “Beware of Darkness,” “Isn’t It A Pity,” and “My Sweet Lord,” along with Joel Harrison’s own compositions “My Father’s House” and “You Bring The Rain.”
Binney lifted “Beware Of Darkness” higher and higher with each phrase, wiping his left hand on his jeans between each line like a safecracker sandpapering his fingers before the next turn of the dial. Binney wasn’t afraid to explore one repeated pitch, mining it of every ounce of meaning before moving on to the next note.
This show was a left turn from most of the fare at the festival, and it was a welcome exploration of less-charted territory.
For complete information, including audio files, concert photos and more, visit rochesterjazz.com.
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