A week and a bit after I went to hear Paul Motian and Bill Frisell play at the Village Vanguard with saxophonists Tony Malaby and Mark Turner (reported here), I returned for the last night of the next week's run (Sunday, Sept. 5), during which saxophonist Joe Lovano returned to his place at the center of one of the most idiosyncratic, inimitable and consistently satisfying working groups in jazz. Sadly, there was no time to write up that remarkable set; this much later, the statute of limitations has expired for anything purported to be a review. Instead, I offer these three things as penance:
1. An observation: Even though these three musicians are the same ones heard on It Should've Happened a Long Time Ago, recorded for ECM in July 1984, the band's sound could hardly be more different. The most obvious change is in Frisell's playing: back then he favored ethereal washes of sound; now he's more into twangy single-note lines. Motian has become a more singular (and often more fractious) drummer, and Lovano takes greater liberties as well. The mutual trust that makes their playing possible is riveting in itself. I spoke with Frisell and Lovano after the set, and both expressed an amazement at the new forms some of their oldest charts had taken that night.
2. A link to the NPR Music website, which is becoming more vital by the day. Go here to stream a complete set by Motian, Frisell and Lovano at the Village Vanguard in 2008, excellently recorded and hosted by the redoubtable Josh Jackson, host of The Checkout on Newark's WBGO-FM.
3. A set list for the show I caught, since Bill Frisell was kind enough to provide it. A video cameraman who'd been shooting all night long for a forthcoming documentary on the trio also filmed Frisell scribbling into my notebook while I looked on, which suggests that a fanboy-dork cameo might loom in my future.
Setlist:
Abacus
Lover Man (Jimmy Davis, Roger Ramirez & James Sherman)
Once Around the Park
Jack of Clubs
You Took the Words Right Out of My Heart (Ralph Rainger & Leo Robin)
Mumbo Jumbo
It Should've Happened a Long Time Ago
Drum Music
(Compositions by Paul Motian except as noted)
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