Then there was more agitated picking, an approximation of walking bass to some of McHenry's bebop licks, a tenor solo, some big, fuzz-guitar chords, and some actual blues shredding that could have come right out of Eddie Van Halen, but minus all the crap. Another tune eventually turned into "I Fall in Love Too Easily," despite both men's attempts to resist it. And they ended with a pretty tune that Monder read from a music stand but didn't announce. Barely audible, Monder said, "Okay. That's. It."
At the Regattabar, Konitz and Tepfer played their second set unamplified. Joy! Konitz was voluble and funny. "We're going to play. Something. What are we going to play? Don't tell me." It was the standard "Sweet and Lovely." For the first part of the set, Konitz - who's known for playing variations on standards without ever stating the themes - kept the melody in sight. Rather than comping with chords, Tepfer alternated chords with agitated parallel lines that ran alongside Konitz. But he also knew how to stay out of the master's way when called for. Over the course of the 55-minute set - and especially after a break, while Tepfer improvised on a couple of the Goldberg Variations - Konitz gained steam, his improvisations becoming more elaborate. As he took melodic and harmonic tangents, you never lost confidence in the form - and yet, where were we? Someplace special, that's for sure.
Related:
The doctor is in, Inside out, No connections, More 
- The doctor is in
That Stanley Sagov plays jazz at all is impressive. That he plays it at such a high level is stunning.
- Inside out
Charlie Kohlhase's love affair with jazz began with the avant-garde. As a high-school kid in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, he found that it was Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, and the Art Ensemble of Chicago who rocked his world.
- No connections
There's very little connecting these two shows except that both were jazz and both took place on the same night. So I won't try.
- Esperanza and Kenny
Spalding's chamber music; Werner's elegy
- Brad Mehldau, Fred Hersch, Dan Tepfer, Jason Palmer, and Donny McCaslin front a busy week
Brad Mehldau, Fred Hersch, Dan Tepfer, Jason Palmer, and Donny McCaslin front a busy week
- The Cookers' book
When does a one-off gimmick turn into a "real" band? On the face of it, the Cookers, who come to Scullers next Thursday, June 16, could easily have become a gimmick that outlived its usefulness — a handful of wily veterans egged on by a couple of younger cats as a way to trade on the collective power of their names and score some gigs.
- Old favorites and debuts make the scene
We have to wait for spring to see Charlie Haden's Quartet West and the Joshua Redman/Brad Mehldau duo, but there are still plenty of ways to keep an eye and ear on jazz in the winter months.
- Guitaristic
As guitar heroes go — even jazz guitar heroes — Ben Monder flies under the radar.
- Magos Herrera's cool moves
We like to say that live performance adds another dimension to music.
- Yoko Miwa's life cycles
When she was a 16-year-old piano student in her hometown of Kobe, Japan, Yoko Miwa decided it was time to see if she had what it takes.
- ''Baritone Madness'' at Scullers
Scullers booker Fred Taylor called the “Baritone Madness” show at the club Thursday night “a real put-together.”
- Less
Topics:
Jazz
, fuck, Ben Monder, Ben Monder, More
, fuck, Ben Monder, Ben Monder, Frank Kimbrough, Matt Wilson, Lee Konitz, Dave Liebman, scullers, Noah Preminger, jazz, Less
