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By Tom Ineck

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Versatile pianist Monty Alexander has long taken sly pride in the fact that he can—and frequently does—shift stylistic gears without a moment’s notice, leaving the listener dazzled and breathless in his wake.

He did it again May 10 in concert with his trio at the beautiful Folly Theater in Kansas City. Accompanied by longtime bassist Hassan Shakur and drummer George Fludas, Alexander ranged from the island rhythms of calypso, ska and reggae to the more traditionally American song forms of Broadway, blues, pop music, Ellington and the Great American Songbook.

Alexander positions the piano so that he can easily communicate visually with the others, and the three exhibit a telepathic degree musical interplay, signaling with a mere shrug or nod the difficult metric changes and the mind-boggling segues from tune to tune.

The pianist began with an unnamed calypso melody, quoted from Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm,” then shifted to “Young at Heart,” a tune associated with Frank Sinatra. He moved through a series of Broadway melodies with a whimsical wantonness, gliding from a stride piano style to blues funk before settling on “Fly Me to the Moon.”

“Sweet Georgia Brown” was taken at a breakneck pace that set the stage for a dazzling drum solo by Fludas. The trio exhibited a true talent for jazz improvisation on another piece, which began as a bluesy gospel number. Fludas laid down a New Orleans-style drum roll, then into a straight blues shuffle. As they continued into the next tune, Shakur bowed the bass and Fludas switched to mallets for a moody introduction. But, not to be taken too seriously, Fludas played a funky bass solo and quoted “These Boots are Made for Walkin’,” perhaps another sly Sinatra reference.  

In the second half of the concert, Alexander took up the hand-held melodica to begin “The Banana Boat Song,” the Harry Belafonte hit. He soon switched to piano to segue into the Johnny Mandel ballad “Close Enough for Love.” Alexander’s own “Trust” began as a ballad, moved into a funky mid-tempo and segued into “Take the ‘A’ Train.”

“Good Life,” which Alexander recently recorded in a tribute to Tony Bennett, was taken at a breezy, swinging mid-tempo, just the way Bennett would have wanted it. From there, the pianist paid tribute to his own home country with Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry” and “Running Away,” on which he sang the opening title phrase before turning to the keys.

Finishing the second half of the show with an uptempo blues, Alexander and company were immediately greeted with a standing ovation that brought them back for an extended encore, a medley of tunes associated with the American West or, as Alexander joked, “a tribute to Roy Rogers and Gene Autry.” Beginning with “Happy Trails,” the pianist even whinnied in equine delight, eventually playing familiar passages from “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” “I’m an Old Cowhand” and “Home on the Range.”

The trio’s performance, which drew a large and enthusiastic crowd, was the last concert of the Folly’s year. The 2008-2009 season begins next fall and is sure to showcase another stellar lineup.

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Concert Review

Stefon Harris nonet achieves rare balance

By Tom Ineck

LINCOLN, Neb.—In its synthesis of jazz and classical styles, the Stefon Harris nonet achieves a rare balance of technique, soul and improvisational skill.

That perfect music fusion was on display April 19 at the Lied Center for Performing Arts, as the vibraphonist and his eight colleagues performed a repertoire largely consisting of Duke Ellington compositions. Though first recorded and performed by the Ellington orchestra more than 40 years ago, the pieces sounded as fresh and timely as your morning newspaper.

In addition to Harris, pianist Xavier Davis, bassist Earl Travis, drummer Terreon Gully and trombonist Roland Barber, the ensemble included cello, viola, clarinet and flute, a foursome that is frequently used for its orchestral harmonic effect but is also capable off solo improvisation.

The opener, “Thanks for the Beautiful Land on the Delta,” was drawn from Ellington’s “New Orleans Suite.” Harris immediately revealed his virtuosity on combined vibraphone and marimba, sweeping across both instruments with ease and imagination. Barber contributed a soulful solo.

From “The Queen’s Suite,” Harris chose the beautiful “Sunset and the Mockingbird,” which was given a funky twist by Gully and Harris. The 21-year-old Travis delivered a very mature, imaginative and lyrical bass solo. Vibes, drums, bass and piano took up the tune and set up a solo for the clarinetist, who had a wonderful tone.

Rather than come to halt, the tune segued neatly into the Harris ballad “Memoirs of a Frozen Summer,” a haunting piece inspired by the vibraphonist’s early struggle between a career as a classical pianist and his desire to take up the vibraphone and emulate the heroic jazz trailblazer Charlie Parker.

“African Tarantella,” the original title track from Harris’ most recent release, was a rhythmically swinging, upbeat and thoroughly danceable tune with Harris creating some bluesy lines on the vibes after a stunning piano solo by Davis. At times, Harris did, indeed, sound like the Charlie Parker of his instrument.

Gully performed an incredible drum interlude entitled “The Other Side of Silence,” leading into two more selections drawn from the “New Orleans Suite,” the rhapsodic “Bourbon Street Jingling Jollies,” and the intensely bluesy “Portrait of Wellman Braud,” which featured a plunger-muted trombone solo that moaned and growled. Harris played a marimba solo against a walking bass line with a hesitation phrasing that heightened the blues effect.

For an encore, the band returned to the stage sans strings for a rousing rendition of “Caravan.”

The only disappointment of the 90-minute performance was the fact that only 400 people were in attendance, an embarrassingly poor turnout for such a major artist.

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Trumpeter Wendholt shines with orchestra

By Tom Ineck

LINCOLN, Neb.—The bright and sunny music of Neal Hefti seemed perfectly apt for a bright and sunny Sunday afternoon concert by the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra. Hefti’s Nebraska roots made it even more appropriate.

But it was special guest soloist Scott Wendholt—like Hefti, a trumpeter—that made the concert so magical. It was his second appearance in Lincoln this year, having visited in February as a member of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra for a performance at the Lied Center for Performing Arts. This time, Wendholt was placed squarely in the spotlight.

The orchestra warmed up with the Hefti original “Splanky.” Like many off the composer’s best-known tunes, it was written for the Count Basie band in a suitably swinging style. The bluesy, but upbeat “Teddy the Toad,” also ritten for Basie, featured the trombone section in the riffing style that was the Count’s trademark.

Wendholt took the stage for the popular standard “Just Friends,” quickly demonstrating his piercing tone, clean articulation and octave leaps at a quick tempo. He took a more straight-forward melodic stance for the ballad “’Round Midnight,” which was contrasted with unusual brass harmonies and an accelerating tempo in an arrangement by Ian McDougall. “A Night in Tunisia” was taken at a fast pace from the get-go and contained some bravura playing by the star trumpeter.

From the Thad Jones songbook came “Three and One,” which Wendholt often performs with the Vanguard band. In its original arrangement, Wendholt’s trumpet was paired with the baritone saxophone of Scott Vicroy for a stirring rendition that also featured a saxophone section soli and some spirited give-and-take between the principals. Slowing things down for a return to the Hefti oeuvre, the orchestra brought out the venerable “Lil’ Darlin’,” a masterpiece of poise and easy-swinging grace that again showcased Wendholt’s brilliance on trumpet.

Pianist Tom Harvill delivered a hard-swinging intro to an uptempo version of the standard “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” and Dave Sharp’s edgy alto solo set the stage for another remarkable Wendholt statement. The closer was Hefti’s bright and bouncy “Sure Thing,” a simple riff with a distinct resemblance to the repetitive blues pattern of “Shake, Rattle and Roll.” Paul Haar on tenor sax and Peter Bouffard on guitar delivered fine solos, followed by Wendholt, weaving dissonant trumpet lines through the brass harmonies and digging ever deeper into the blues.

Haar appeared earlier on the program as director of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Jazz Ensemble I, which performed three tunes before the NJO portion of the show. They began with Sonny Rollins’ “Oleo,” as arranged for the Maynard Ferguson big band. The old standard “Whispering” got a new lease on life with an intricate arrangement by Eric Richards, the new professor of composition at UNL. Finally, the wonderful Victor Lewis tune “Hey, It’s Me You’re Talkin’ To” brought Wendholt to the stage to join the younger players in an arrangement by Dave Sharp.

The ensemble turned in exemplary performances, with plenty of energy, fiery ensemble playing and solo technique. Among the outstanding soloists were saxophonists Brandon Holloman, Gabriella Praetzel and Chris Steinke, trumpeter Paul Krueger, trombonist Tommy Van den Berg and guitarist Luke Polipnick. Their elders in the NJO may have to start practicing to meet the challenge of these young upstarts.

Surprisingly, the mid-afternoon concert drew about 250 people to the Embassy Suites ballroom on a spring-like day that might otherwise have found them laboring in their yards.

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Brecker shows wit at April Fools' Day concert

By Tom Ineck

LINCOLN, Neb.—It was no joke when renowned jazz trumpeter Randy Brecker performed at an April Fools’ Day concert at Lincoln Southeast High School.

Brecker, however, did display a sense of humor in his choice of repertoire and in his good-natured rapport with the much younger players who shared the auditorium stage with this master technician.

The evening began with a three-piece set by the Lincoln Southeast Jazz Ensemble I, under the direction of Bob Krueger. “Skyhawk,” by Fred Sturm, was followed by the Victor Young standard “Beautiful Love,” featuring the director’s son Tommy Krueger on flugelhorn. Brecker made his first appearance fronting the high school band on the clever “Southeast Six Step,” a syncopated piece by Eric Richards that had band members clapping in time. Brecker deftly pinched off the notes in his imaginative trumpet solo.

Next up was the University of Nebraska-Omaha Jazz Ensemble I, directed by Peter Madsen, kicking things off with “A Little Minor Booze,” a bluesy number in a minor key. With 1995’s “The Sleaze Factor,” composer Brecker directed his ire at a former record company. He played the tune with especially funky, nasty verve. The Tim Hagans composition “Boo” paired two trumpets with baritone sax, bass and guitar, and Brecker’s ballad “Incidentally” was a showcase for his wonderful trumpet playing, including a final breath-taking cadenza.

The trumpeter effortlessly played double- and triple-time and hit sustained high notes on the samba “Tijuca.” Brecker soared on his composition “Shanghigh” from his 2003 release “34^th N Lex.” The band finished with a rousing rendition of “Some Skunk Funk,” a classic of the funk fusion genre first recorded by brothers Randy and Michael Brecker in 1975. UNO saxophone professor Darren Pettit took the sax part.

With the death of his younger brother in January 2007, Randy Brecker still carries high the torch of jazz-funk fusion. This stylistic amalgamation will, no doubt, continue to make his music both exciting and relevant for many years to come.

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