JAMES CARTER, ADAM ROGERS, JOHN MEDESKI, CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE, and JOEY BARON
@ The Blue Note, May 10, 2009
MAY 11, 2009 -- WEST VILLAGE: Star power is not something that comes up often in the jazz world. As the music's popularity has somewhat waned, and become fuller and fuller of more and more names, even the most successful players can go unnoticed on the street and one man's musical hero can be another man's "whozat?" But this night at the Blue Note defied all that, bringing a true super-group to the stage, each band member a global jazz force with a personal history of playing with monsters and in turn, becoming one.
The five-man team up was formally titled "James Carter and Friends", with Carter being the last to take the stage, the sharpest dressed, and the announcer of tunes and names. He also played the most instruments of the night, and played the most notes. There in lies the issue of the evening. Despite each performer on the stage being a colossus in their own right, there was an unfortunate divide in the band. The set was a demonstration of the line between simply displaying that you have an incredible amount of instrumental ability, and being able to tastefully use that ability to the music's advantage.
The band hit without remorse, swinging fast as Carter ripped a rhythm changes melody on the baritone sax. The cohesion between Baron, McBride and Medeski was exceptional, with each man doing their part to create a swing so strong it shook the seats. Drummer Baron would stick to percussion pattern without any change or embellishment, laying into a rim click like his life depended on it, as McBride walked ferociously and Medeski provided support with colors and occasional runs on the Hammond B3 organ. Despite John Medeski's history of fame in the jam world, Christian McBride's history as having played on over 30 amazing albums a year, and Joey Baron's history as a formal noisemaker behind the likes of John Zorn, their personalities gelled.
Melodic leaders Carter and Rogers fell into a separate category. Although both are two of the best technical instrumentalists on their respective axes,, not a solo was released by either of them that didn't feel too long or too cluttered. It was as if they played on top of the music, rather than inside of it, with the rest of the band. There were two exceptions. Although his initial solo on the opening number was shown up by a tremendous bout by McBride, 2 minutes of solo walking bass that sounded fresher than anything, James Carter regained my brain with an amazing cadenza, running with screeches, squawks, honks and skronks as the band watched in smiley amazement. Rather than coming off as checking off the list in his bag of tricks, in this instance Carter was focused, taking a sound, be it melodic or abrasive, and exploring, really forcing it into your ear. He finished the solo outro with a mind-blowing effort, walking a bass line on his saxophone while simultaneously sustaining a beastly high pitched feedback tone. I've never seen anything like it before, and there's no doubt in my mind that this man has immense talent, but it is a shame to see the potential it has with deliberate direction, and then see it spent almost entirely on drawn out solos.
The band was the freest on the closing number, a funk tune with a recurring rhythmic pattern to end the phrase the band linked up on without fail. The rhythm section tossed and turned the time, and everyone seemed finally warmed up together and united. The stars combined and magic was always being made, but a collective effort was rarely felt in full, and at the end of the night, it felt like something was missing. No matter how strong the individuals are, nothing does it for me more than a band that can really, really play together.
