ON the Beat | Daring Jazz in the Hall

Young All-Star Blue Note Quintet Road Show Hits Multiple Highs at Campbell Hall

By Josef Woodard Fri Feb 16, 2024 | 10:19am

Santa Barbara County boasts some local artists gone global, but also some global gone local stars, a list which certainly must include the eminent French classical pianist Helene Grimaud, who made Santa Ynez one of her homes several years ago. We’ve had the good fortune of hearing this important and personal virtuoso many times now, and the upcoming recital on Thursday, February 22, at the Lobero Theatre, part of CAMA’s Masterseries, is one not to miss.Grimaud’s credentials in the upper echelon of living classical pianists are well in order, along with such accolades as France’s prestigious Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur. But when we soak into her intimate and deep encounters at the piano, especially in recital mode, the music of the moment is the thing, and the world goes away. No doubt, she will bring on that special quality in next Thursday’s program of Beethoven, Brahms, and Bach (arranged by Busoni).

Blue Note Quintet at UCSB’s Campbell Hall | Photo: David Bazemore

Blue Notes, High Notes

Jazz of a worldly quality blew through town last week, when the so-called Blue Note Quintet viscerally and intellectually shivered the rafters of Campbell Hall, as part of the UCSB Arts & Lectures jazz sidebar this season. This was officially a stop on the Blue Note Records 85th Anniversary all-star road show, but anyone expecting a nostalgic tip of the hat to the historical legacy and songbook of Blue Note — unequivocally one of the great American jazz labels — was in for a pleasant, fresh-grown surprise.

What we got instead was proof of evolutionary creative spirit from a gathering of some of the label’s new bright lights. In particular, pianist/music director Gerald Clayton (son of big-band leader John Clayton) has been making deep inroads as a young titan, with more recent contenders Immanuel Wilkins — a fledgling master on alto sax — and the captivating Joel Ross on vibes commanding greater attention and affection on the global jazz spectrum. Drummer and bandleader Kendrick Scott and bassist Matt Penman supplied a firm yet hip-flexible rhythm section foundation.

As Clayton explained at show’s end (no words or between-song explanations were necessary), the task of paying tribute to the grandeur and creative fire of the label required forward motion and extending their own original music vision. Apart from an encore of Thelonious Monk’s “Work” and a bebop classic in medley mode, the material came from the fertile minds and imaginations of the players onstage, with a contemporary post-hard-bop style at once sophisticated and vibrant. Check out these artists’ work, now appearing on Blue Note.

Blue Note Quintet pianist/music director Gerald Clayton in a UCSB Arts & Lectures show on February 8 | Photo: David Bazemore

Although few live words were spoken in the show, the tapestry of original material by all involved were inter-threaded with archival recordings of past Blue Note artists reflecting on the label and the art form, including Sonny Rollins, Chick Corea, and the recently belated jazz Prometheus and cosmic explorer Wayne Shorter, who got in the last word: “Every moment is a micro-DNA of eternity…. Jazz means ‘I dare you.'”

We need more such daring musical propositions in these parts. I can report that a large contingent of jazzheads in the house were nursing a collective mantra: Jazz and Santa Barbara really must go on meeting like this, on a more regular basis.

TO-DOINGS:

Seasoned country-blues-plus-much-more soul man Taj Mahal pays one of his regular visits to the 805 on February 22 at Campbell Hall. This time around, Mahal ventures in the direction of African roots, combining his own quintet with griot kora sensation Sona Jobarteh, from Gambia.

Check out the Santa Barbara Symphony’s February program, Saturday and Sunday, February 17 and 18 at the Lobero Theatre (switched from the Granada due to that theater’s flooding problem). Dubbed Serenade for Romance: Valentine’s Week!, the program features lovey and lovely romantic fare by Beethoven, Elgar, and Dvořák, featuring violinist Sirena Huang as soloist.