Thunderous show despite delay

Good things do come to those who wait ““ at least at jazz
shows they do. Sunday night at Royce Hall, the Michael Brecker
Quintet and the Roy Hargrove Quintet overcame a forty-minute delay
and a few minor sound problems to successfully stage two very
different and satisfying sets of innovative jazz music.

A spokesperson explained the delay as resulting from a
misunderstanding in which the Roy Hargrove Quintet mistakenly
believed the show started at 8 p.m., instead of the scheduled 7
p.m. However, neither Hargrove nor Brecker had much trouble winning
over the initially restless crowd.

To kick off proceedings, trumpeter Roy Hargrove and pianist
Ronnie Mathews of the Roy Hargrove Quintet performed an arresting
interpretation of Thelonious Monk’s “Ruby, My
Dear.” Despite the somberness of the piece, the assertive
approach Hargrove is known for ““ and which came to dominate
his set ““ was noticeable from the get-go. Over half an hour
late and with the audience’s interest beginning to wane,
Hargrove coolly and purposefully strolled on stage and began
playing without batting an eye.

The sharply dressed Roy Hargrove Quintet ““ featuring
Hargrove on the trumpet, with Ronnie Mathews (piano), Justin
Robinson (alto sax), Dwayne Burno (bass), and Willie Jones III
(drums) ““ continued with the blistering pace of Jones’
“Blues for Dat Taz,” during which Jones understandably
stole the spotlight, showcasing his talents in a fiery series of
drum solos. The rest of the show varied in content, but rarely in
attitude, and the middle of the set dragged slightly as a result of
the somewhat repetitive nature of such a sustained aggression.

It was, nevertheless, on the whole an impressive performance by
one of hard bop’s great young talents, and hardly
uninspired.

In contrast, the Michael Brecker Quintet ““ composed of
Michael Brecker (saxophone), Clarence Penn (drums), Adam Rogers
(guitar), Chris Mihn Dokey (bass), and the newly added Joey
Calderazzo on piano (all in more casual dress) ““ played with
a looseness and savvy that revealed their experience, proving
themselves to be the real gem of the show. Brecker, the nine-time
Grammy winner and arguably the most influential tenor sax of his
generation, cracked jokes with the audience and never seemed to
stop enjoying himself.

The evening’s highlight was the performance of
Brecker’s own “Half Past Late” (the title of
which, Brecker joked, “kind of applies to tonight.”) At
the end of the piece, the quintet stripped its sound down to the
bare essentials, maintaining to stunning effect, such a low level
of volume that it almost seemed as if play had stopped
completely.

The addition of Calderazzo on piano ““ so recent that his
name didn’t even show up on the program ““ added an
appreciated flair to the set. He performed like a man possessed,
and not a single part of his body appeared to stay still for more
than a few moments.

Brecker also fully displayed his seemingly effortless technical
precision in a solo interpretation of “Monk’s
Mood” ““ which, along with Hargrove’s
interpretations of “Rhythm-A-Ning” and the
aforementioned “Ruby, My Dear,” was one of three
Thelonious Monk pieces performed on Sunday.

After a thunderous standing ovation and the inevitable chants of
“More!” the Michael Brecker Quintet performed a short
encore to close the show, and an audience that had been sitting for
an hour longer than originally expected, was left still not wanting
it to end.