TT 406: Recent NYC gigs (in the club and in the concert hall)

Kurt Rosenwinkel, Jeff Ballard, The Knights, Gabriel Kahane, Pyroclastic Records, Tania León, David Virelles

After being on the road for months, I went out a lot in the last week or so…

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The Kurt Rosenwinkel quartet with Mark Turner, Ben Street, and Jeff Ballard opened at the Village Vanguard on Tuesday, May 14, 2024.

The first set of the run was made up of Kurt classics from the early days:

Zhivago
The Christmas Song
Gesture (Lester)
Alpha Mega
Use of Light
Filters
Writer Blocks

This band helped define the scene in the late ‘90s. Hearing them last week was a powerful reminder of how these four musicians in tandem are the source of so much that has happened since then.

A certain mystique has been acquired by Kurt’s original quartet, partially because there was an abrupt end, and also because the records never truly represented what it was like to experience them live. When “Zhivago” started, copious tears started flowing down my cheeks. (True story.)

The run was sold out, but Billy Hart and I snuck back in for Sunday night. Adam Cruz, Jeff Ballard, and Billy sat together for a moment. Drummer’s corner! (Before long, Johnathan Blake and Obed Calvaire were there as well.) Great to have the mighty Jeff Ballard back in town…

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Congratulations to The Knights for a triumphant conclusion to their season at Zankel Hall. Highlight was Heirloom, an amazing full-blooded piano concerto written by Gabriel Kahane for his father Jeffrey Kahane.

Other soloists included Colin Jacobsen and Karen Ouzounia in a program with Montgomery, Clyne, and Mozart. Eric Jacobsen conducted. Bravo.

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The second concert I attended at Zankel was part of Tania León’s Debs Composer’s Chair residency at Carnegie Hall. The evening was a bit unfocused but of course I approve of the general overarching concept of melding folk rhythm and European structures. León’s piece A la par was a highlight, a classic work I’ve heard before, played by Orion Weiss, piano, and Ian Rosenbaum, percussion. Mysterious works by Henry Threadgill and Val-Inc completed the first half.

David Virelles’s Ọrọ proceeded after the intermission, a substantial endeavor with composition and improvisation working within an avant-garde Cuban aesthetic. I’m a huge Virelles fan and am curious to see how this direction will keep unfolding...

David Virelles, Piano and Synthesizer
Dafnis Prieto, Percussion
Chris Potter, Alto Flute and Tenor Saxophone
Rane Moore, Bass Clarinet
Rashaan Carter, Bass
Dabin Ryu, Synthesizer
Brandon Ross, Acoustic Guitar and Banjo
Curtis MacDonald, Conductor

At the moment captured below, Brandon Ross is playing some serious blues guitar over a complex vamp:

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Four important pianists were in concert last Friday night at The Jazz Gallery, part of the Pyroclastic Records Festival curated by Kris Davis. The first set was Angelica Sanchez and Marilyn Crispell playing detailed Sanchez compositions. The second set was my old pal Benoît Delbecq in full force with his arsenal of preparations: Kris joined Benoît with her own preparations for a delightful final improvisation.

I ran into Sylvie Courvoisier at this gig (she had played the Pyroclastic Festival the previous night) and she told me, “Benoît Delbecq was the first person to show me György Ligeti piano etudés.”

I replied, “Really? Benoît was the first person to show me Ligeti etudés as well!”

So, we blame Benoît… ;-)

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Bonus tracks:

Nate Chinen writes more on Kurt Rosenwinkel and company

Gail Wein reviews The Knights