Ray Brown Trio at The Bird
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Brown brought his trio to the Bird of Paradise on June 3-5 for his
annual visit to Ann Arbor. I had heard drummer Karriem Riggins before,
since he hails from Detroit, but this was the first time I had a chance
to hear new pianist Geoff Keezer. I attended both sets opening night and
judging by the number of happy faces around me I was not the only one
who found it a great experience. As people milled around after the set
ended, one of the old hands at the Bird said, "This is what a jazz club
is all about!" Yes, it was a night for good music and good company.
Ray Brown should be applauded for constantly
challenging himself by playing with some of the best young pianists and
drummers on the jazz scene. As in all great bands, there is a lot of give
and take between the players and this is true of even a group this small.
Brown has a lot to teach any musician about how to swing and relate to
an audience. He can still swing a medium tempo tune like "Birks' Works"
more than most and on this number Riggins' cymbals seemed actually to
breathe next to Brown's wonderful walking bass. Once Brown had stated
the melody, "Makin' Whoopee" also swung at a laid-back tempo.
Keezer was a very interesting and inspiring
performer. His technique was at times breathtaking, especially when he
worked with complicated patterns in each hand. One feature for his technique
was the fast "Bam-Bam-Bam" (also recorded live in Japan). He can chord
and swing as hard as Benny Green, but I think he has an edge over his
predecessor in originality. He came up with many beautiful melodic and
harmonic turns that seemed totally fresh and his own.
In the second set Brown acknowledged the presence
of Christian McBride in the audience and called him "my youngest child."
Brown is at the zenith of his career and rightfully proud of it. If you
have not yet heard his trio, do so next time he comes around.
photo by Lars Björn
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