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BY LARS BJÖRN
The
selections from her suite were framed by standards, like "Mr. Sandman"
and "Zec," and some originals, like Paul Keller's "Rumpled Tux." If these
were warm-up numbers they were superfluous for the quintet, which was
smoking from the first note of the second set. Bassist Paul Keller and
drummer Pete Siers are a wonderful complement to Bonnier's piano playing
and the temper of her music is also theirs. Paul Finkbeiner is a more
recent addition to the Bonnier group and he was a delight on both trumpet
and flugelhorn. Cary Kocher played his vibes with great drive and enthusiasm
and he set the mood for the night with the lead off solos on the first
two numbers. On "Orex," an interesting Shorty Rogers number, Bonnier followed
the hot vibes with the kind of laid-back and elegant solo that is her
trademark.
The selections from the Shakespeare suite were the high point of the evening. Judie Cochill sang "It Was a Lover And His Lass" and "Spring." Deanna Relyea made her debut as a jazz singer on "Winter." The contrasting approaches of the two singers added new dimensions to the suite. On "Macbeth" Cochill, Relyea, and Bonnier donned witches' hats and gave us the dramatic highlight of the evening as their shrieks were followed by Finkbeiner's powerful brass.
The choice ballad from "Suite William" is the "18th Sonnet" (Shall I Compare Thee to A Summer's Day), which Paul Finkbeiner sang in a way that must have had most listeners thinking of Chet Baker (or maybe Ann Arbor's own Paul Vornhagen). On this piece Bonnier also delighted her audience with some beautiful piano playing. With "Suite William" Bess Bonnier has created a piece of music that expresses her gifts as a pianist and composer better than anything I have ever heard her do. It deserves a wide hearing, so why not take it to Stratford?
