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Jerry Bergonzi At The Press Room

Tonight I went to the Press Room in Portsmouth to see a quartet led by saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi. Accompanying him were Phil Grenedier on trumpet, Bruce Gertz on bass and Brooke Sofferman on drums.

The only musician of the four that I had previously seen was Phil Grenedier who was with John Scofield’s band when Scofield last played at the Stone Church. Grenedier’s role was minimal that night so I was eager to see him step out a bit. Besides, being the brother of renowned bassist Larry Grenedier (Brad Mehldau Trio, Pat Metheny Trio) I knew that he must have more talent in one finger than I have in all combined. The instrumentation of the quartet was made for improvisation. The lack of any chord based instrument usually makes for some serious experimentation. My expectations were high.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I was disappointed. All four members of the group were excellent in their own right. Bergonzi, who I am familiar with through three of his recordings, is an inspired player. Grenedier shone in his playing making me believe that there is something to the myth of musical genes. Both Gertz and Sofferman showed that they are masters of their instruments. However, it was not the first time that four talented players got together to produce a less than enthusiastic performance.

To start with, the volume of the bass was too low. In my opinion this led to Sofferman holding back so as not to drown out Gertz. In doing so he never rose to the intensity level that the horn players were reaching for and getting to. All in all, it was quiet. Even at the bands loudest moments, I could clearly hear conversations around me. During the bass solos (usually the quietest part of a song) people whispered in deference to the band. It was a strange sensation to see and hear the horns reaching for the stars while the rhythm section remained firmly on the ground. These guys had the potential to wow the place and all they were missing was volume!

One aspect that may not have mattered had the preceding issue been remedied was that of group tightness. I don’t know what the relationship of the group was but it appeared as though they had never played together before tonight. As an avid Jazz fan I know that this is a common occurrence. Musicians will often play together for the first on a stage in front of a live audience. They can all read music and given enough experience they are able to read other musicians. Tonight, however, these guys seemed a bit timid. The beginning of each tune was tenderly undertaken. Two or three bars into each song I would sigh with relief knowing that they had taken off successfully. Again, I don’t think this would have remained in my memory if the intensity of the music had reached its imagined possibilities.

Going out to see live Jazz can never be called a mistake. I take something from every show that I see. Given tonight’s performance though I would not rush out to see this group as it was put together tonight. I will look to see them all again in different settings knowing that each is a solid purveyor of their chosen trade.

Long live jazz.

Posted by The Webtoad at 12:12 AM | Comments (0)

Back In The Game

I knew that I had been away from writing for sometime but I was absolutely amazed to see that it has been well over a year since my last posting. In my defense, the last entry coincided with my starting a new job. With that job I have had the opportunity to travel around the country and spend a 2 week vacation in Iberia. My co-workers and I have weathered an unprecedented storm of demand for the product that we create and we are currently training a whole new generation of workers to keep up with demand. That being said, I am eager to get back to writing. I shall begin with what is perhaps my favorite subject: Jazz.

Posted by The Webtoad at 11:26 PM | Comments (0)