All That Jazz...

 

If you said, "From the musical, Chicago; a semi-autobiographical fantasy based on the life of Bob Fosse," you get 15 bonus points.  If you said, "You decided to move on from rock 'n roll, Jim?" you lose those bonus points.

Another concert at MIM last night: the Kurt Rosenwinkel Jazz Quartet.  Jazz is not my thing, but we thought we'd see some fine musicianship... we were not disappointed.  Kurt Rosenwinkel is a noted jazz guitarist.  The man is a true virtuoso of the fretboard.  The three other members of the band, a stand-up bass player, drummer, and tenor saxophonist were equally talented.  I was mesmerized by each of the players... it was like watching a 4-ring circus, seeing each of these musicians do their thing.

I've told the joke before: What's the difference between a jazz guitar player and a rock guitar player?  The rock guy plays three chords for a thousand people and the jazz guy plays a thousand chords for 3 people.  This show wasn't sold out, but there were plenty of jazz enthusiasts there.  Rosenwinkel lived up to that "thousand chord" expectation.  Afterwards, while visiting with Mark and Cindy, I said, "That guy played more chords in an hour and 45 minutes than I've played in 59 years of playing guitar."  I think all 4 of us appreciated the musicianship... the "show" was more typical of what I expect from jazz players: very little talking to the audience between songs.  Joan said she missed hearing vocals - this was strictly instrumental.  Then added, "At times it seemed like each of them was playing their own song, then it came together again."

I was expecting improvisational playing, but this was all very carefully rehearsed.  The drummer changed timing repeatedly on each song - I found myself thinking, "Where is he going with that beat?" and then it would all come together and make sense.  The bass player was all over the neck of that stand-up bass, even playing 3 note chords occasionally.  The sax player was in perfect sync with the guitar.  The bass player and the saxophonist both used sheet music; all memorized for the guitarist and the drummer.

It was an entertaining evening (yes, another "date night").  Glad to have been there, but I still prefer my good ol' rock 'n roll.