The Summit 2V1 Basecamp

Yellowjackets @ Kuumbwa Jazz Center

Contributed by pber on Tuesday, June 07, 2005

What a fantastic concert. We got there right at 6 and had seats about mid-way back, off to the left side so I could see the piano, and Devin (my son) had a good view of the drummer.

Haslip was hanging out in the club until about 6:40 – just talking with people, bass in hand. Russell Ferrante came out as well and chatted with a few people. Russell’s parents where there – I chatted with them a bit. (Very proud parents) (continued…)

The concert started right at 7 minutes after the hour – it was killer right from the start.

They opened with two tunes from “Mint Jam” – Les is Mo and Mofongo, then right into Suite 15 (altered state)

Through the night they played Sea Folk (time squared), Prayer for Peace (Blue Hat), March Majestic (altered state), Claire’s Song (live wires)

They finished the set with some incredibly high-energy “irish-jig”-like tune where Russell and Bob Mintzer were locked in unison playing these screaming lines.

As an encore they did Revelation from Shades. The audience was pumped.

This is the first time I’ve heard their “new” drummer – Marcus Baylor. He smoked. Ouch. Talk about the ability to swing, he has it.

I’m not sure that was Jimmy Haslip playing – his hair was constantly all over his face, so it was hard to see WHO it was actually!

The sound was excellent at the club – it’s remarkable how quiet they actually play.

Overall, an excellent venue and excellent concert.

pber

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Review of “The Jazz Piano Book” by Mark Levine, Sher Music Co.

I bought this book from Mr. Levine after taking one of his jazz theory classes at the Stanford Jazz Workshop a few years ago. Even though I am now a sax player, I started out on keyboards and I felt that it was important for me to know more about what the piano player was doing within the context of a jazz group. Besides the stuff specific to the piano, most of the information covered transfers nicely to any instrumentalist wanting to play jazz.

The whole experience of attending the Stanford Jazz Workshop and continuing to study The Jazz Piano Book has done nothing short of change my musical life! I feel that I have a much deeper understanding of what is going on in jazz harmonies. (continued)

The book starts with a good review of intervals, major modes, and the II-V-I, then launches into voicings. Then, there is a large section on Scale Theory that does an excellent job of unraveling the mysteries of how melodies and chords arise from scales. We see how the major scale provides a solid foundation, while the melodic minor (or jazz minor) and diminished scales are the key to many of the colorful harmonies of modern jazz. Many other scales are also covered.

After that, there is even more about voicings, a section on Latin Jazz, Comping, and a huge discography of recommended listening material.

Throughout the book are tons of notated examples – many from specifically sighted jazz recordings, so you have something solid to relate to.

As is generally the case with books from Sher Music Co., this one is of the highest quality and I highly recommend it.

The Jazz Piano Book

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