The JENNY SCHEINMAN Trio & The OMAR SOSA Quartet at The Blue Note, Thurs, April 9th
APRIL 9, 2009 -- W. VILLAGE: Departing from her weekly gig at Barbes, Jenny Scheinman stood dutifully on stage in a room full of fans and tourists and waitresses. Her two trustworthy guitarists, Nels Cline and Steve Cardenas stood on either side of Ms. Scheinman, protecting her from the loose percussion equipment and horns that littered the stage, courtesy of the following band in the double bill, the Omar Sosa Quartet.
Though the dress code felt slightly more formal, and the space a bit more sterile than the Park Slope weekly Scheinman presentation, the double guitar assault accompaniment and the quality of the compositions did the deed and did it right, giving the fans what they wanted and the tourists what they deserved. Cline and Cardenas worked together, contrasting their range and percussiveness to create a wide sound for Scheinman to introduce her peaceful melodies over. As the improvisations developed, the composition of the group itself proved to be a serious force, with all three performers every so often locking in to form a sort of super-string instrument, sharing rhythm and dynamics with a clarity that was truly breathtaking. And then, on a dime, a soloist would break away, the remaining two in the trio taking their place as the support. In that way, the equality of each musician was proven throughout the too-short but just-right 40 minute set, with the three independent players reaching common ground through Scheinman's short and gorgeous pieces, and sharing a collective sonic approach and humor. Three songs in, the trio performed a piece by Nels Cline, who has been known from time to time to scream face first into his pickups or go at them with a screwdriver. By those standards, Nels was relaxed, but the piece showcased some great tweaks, loops and delays of guitar melodies that a Blue Note audience often does not get the chance to hear. The set concluded with a dirty waltz, short and sweet, embodying what might be Jenny Scheinman's strongest trait- never giving away too much and always leaving the audience wanting more.
After a short break, Omar Sosa and his percussionist John Santos took the stage. In his flowing white robe and headdress, Sosa commanded all attention, and whether he liked it or not, the audience was fixated on him as he cued a sample from the gadgets resting on the grand piano, bringing throughout the sound system a loop of "Frere Jaques" on a toy piano. The two present band members began honking with kazoos and other unknown instruments, every so often, disrupting the loop, as if to establish immediately that this show would be quite different from the trio that preceded them. The 60 minute was one long song, with bassist Childo Tomas walking to the stage while playing a flute 5 minutes in, and horn extraordinaire Peter Apfelbaum walking down the stairs and on to the stage playing his tenor sax 10 minutes in. Many textures were covered, Sosa often introducing novel ideas such as an audio sample of Langston Hughes, but energy was never sacrificed, embodied by Sosa himself launching from his piano bench, pulling a 180 and ordering the audience to clap along, jolting folks from their meals and beers to oblige. Not everyone can pull that sort of thing off, but there was a fire in the pianist's eyes that dared anyone not to clap, and the rhythm just piled on top of the tremendous percussion work that the remaining three members were all holding down.
This was an expertly paced double bill, starting with the tunes and ending with the party. Sosa finished the night right, guiding the crowd into a trance with worldly rhythms, no doubt gathered from his Cuban childhood, the time he spent in Ecuador, and his many cross-continental tours. Though the music never ceased, Tim Eriksen hopped on with the band to finish the evening, bringing a creative vocal element and new tones with his wooden banjo. It would be impossible to pinpoint to origin of all the sounds that the Omar Sosa Quartet revealed - Apfelbaum alone played over 10 instruments throughout the course of the night - so the sound as a whole, combined with the sounds of the Jenny Scheinman Trio, were confidently combined to create successful whole, a truly enjoyable night of music.
