Donald Walden and Rick Roe at the Firefly
BY LARS BJÖRN AND PIOTR
MICHALOWSKI
A
new constellation of musicians played the recently opened Firefly Club
in Ann Arbor on Saturday, August 5. Pianist Rick Roe is one of
the regulars at the club on Tuesdays and Thursdays, alone and with a
quartet. For this weekend gig Roe put together an interesting quartet
with Detroit tenor master Donald Walden, accompanied by bassist
Dan Kolton and 
drummer
Tom Brown. The latter two appear regularly with Ursula Walker and Buddy
Budson, and have developed a great rapport. Walden and Roe play together
often in Detroit, but have not had an opportunity to work in Ann Arbor
together for a long time.
The quartet was in wonderful
form when we dropped in for their second night at the club. As one would
expect, the players seemed very comfortable with each other and the
group brought out the best in each player. By the time they played "I
Hear a Rhapsody" during the second set, the quartet had really
jelled. Kolton soloed first with his customary muscular tone and melodic
invention. Roe followed with a nicely developed solo, going from exciting
right hand runs to powerful chords. The group really started cooking
as Walden entered with his elegant and flowing tenor lines. Kolton's
steady, yet flexible, bass worked wonders in tandem with Brown's driving
ride cymbal. The Kolton-Brown team's subtle polyrhythms allowed Walden
to explore a mellower side of his persona than when we heard him paired
with the powerful tenor of Teddy Edwards earlier this spring.
Another highlight of the evening
was Billy Strayhorn's, "My Little Brown Book." Walden gave
a loving treatment of this seldom heard but memorable ballad (best known
from the Coltrane—Ellington rendition), and Roe came up with some unusual
turnarounds at the piano. Both Walden and Roe have spent a lot of time
with the music of Thelonious Monk so it was no surprise that "Round
Midnight" and "Evidence" were given personalized treatments.
As was to be expected, Roe sprinkled many of his solos with nicely placed
Monkisms throughout the evening.
All in all, it was a delightful
evening of music with four musicians who obviously felt conformable
together. They should gather again soon in Ann Arbor, and if they do,
we strongly recommend you come too.
photograph by Lars Björn
I N - T H I S - I S S U E :
1. WORKMAN/CRISPELL/CLEAVER---2.
DONALD WALDEN / RICK ROE
3. LETTER FROM NEW YORK---4.
PAT FLOWERS
5. GONZALO RUBALCABA---6.
JIMMY SCOTT
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