Charlie Porter led his posse of three across the richly verdant mainstream of jazz on a smoking ride that generated a plume of goodwill and positive diplomatic fallout far more engaging and piquantly fragrant than any manoeuvre Washington could ever accomplish.
Indubitably the initiative came from the State Department in DC, but, as has been repeatedly proven by many before, Dizzy Gillespie, Ellington, Brubeck et al, and even as compellingly argued by Terrence Ripmaster in his superlative biography of the VOA Jazz host the late Willis Conover, the ‘freedom principle’ inherent in the music so inadequately termed “jazz”, has reached hearts far more effectively than a thousand speeches on the White House lawn.
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| Charlie Porter Quartet. Pic by Frank Stewart |
This tour is somewhat disarmingly entitled “Rhythm Road” and is under the aegis of Jazz @ Lincoln Centre, NY, and with the leader Charlie Porter playing trumpet, were Adam Birnbaum –electric piano, Scott Richie –bass, and Jon Wikan –drums. Two nights successively in the humid tropical zone of the “Breeze Bar” at Cinnamon Grand on Saturday and Sunday, aficionados were treated to a straight-ahead and genuine performance in the context of the rich diversity that has come to be de rigueur as far as this African-American epoch has encompassed in the past century.
Porter was at pains to explain in his introduction to his original, the opening “Initiation Song”, that it was based on a fragment of melody that came from a source as far removed from his own backyard as Down Under among the Aboriginal people, and, like his predecessors in the realm, he too has absorbed and developed upon the subtleties and influences of disparate cultures to create his own sphere of reference. It worked winsomely. The song had a charming 9/8 feel to it, and a pedal bass in the initial statement, with lots of rhythmic subtleties from Jon Wikan. But come the improvised choruses, Porter’s Quartet gave evidence of an emotional centre that seemed to rest on a Hard-Bop edge, and, by and large that energy seemed to prevail over most of the four sets played over the two evenings.
Considering that this group’s average age is in the early 30’s, and given that the Hard-Bop phenomenon appeared in the middle 1950’s, fostered by the likes of drummer li’l Buhaina (a.k.a. Art Blakey) and his cohort, it is quite impressive that Charlie Porter and his men have been able to capture it in their hearts and minds and yet deliver it as part of their own oeuvre. In the too few original works that were played, one was able to note the signal elements that led to this conclusion; witness the “Messenger”, which, not at all surprisingly was dedicated to the memory of Buhaina, who for more than 40 years led his “Jazz Messengers” as a trail-blazer and as a nurturer of some of the most outstanding talent to have come out of this music, including the renowned and equally ubiquitous Marsalis brothers!
On a ballad, “Janine”, Porter again demonstrated his skill as a worthy composer.
Poignant arching lines that recalled the melodic approaches in Benny Golson’s [another Blakey alumnus] “I Remember Clifford”. Oh! That Birnbaum had an actual acoustic piano (or at least the sound of one on his electric keyboard) to take us through his ramifications on that theme!! Sadly, the electric piano was a poor substitute on this tune, although one appreciates the limitations placed upon an itinerant musician.
The spontaneity and compass of these musicians came to the fore in two outstanding selections; one was derived from a phrase tootled by a young man in the audience, when the trumpeter invited someone to suggest a tune that they could “jam” on. Porter picked out this boppish phrase, transferred it to his horn and from it created a telling tour de force I could do no better than name “Cinnamon Jam”, performed without any previous rehearsal, complete with harmonized parts also spontaneously improvised and fitted beautifully by the other players! It spoke volumes for the kind of adaptability and that same ‘freedom principle’ alluded to above. A veritable prescription for sustainable democracy –no bullets and no irksome ballot either!
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| The quartet performing at Cinnamon Grand |
The other was a transparently fun version of “Lovay Samaa” [long associated with Gypsies’ Sunil and his friends], which this group projected toward a completely different plane with a superlative bounce and verve that would garner the envy of those cats at “Preservation Hall” on St.Peter Street in New Orleans!!
Charlie Porter has a tone and phrasing that lies somewhere between the ebullience of Woody Shaw and that of the deft Lee Morgan; in their version of some of the well known tunes like Gillespie’s “A Night in Tunisia” [adjusted to “Colombo” instead of Tunisia!] this somewhat insistent and almost percussive Shaw-like playing became evident, while in the ballad, as well as on Davis’ “Milestones” it was closer to the Morgan mark.
I was most impressed by the diminutive Jon Wikan for his role as a listening drummer, artfully and artistically responsive to all that takes place musically, but possessed of a fire and controlled power with it.
The same goes for bassist Richie who plays an instrument that is quite unusual visually – it appears to be sawn off, leaving just the top two-thirds of a double bass! Such are the innovations that itinerant musicians benefit from as they travel across the spaces with their basses on planes and buses! |
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