In the November 2010 issue of All About Jazz-New York:
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Facing one another on imposing Steinway grand pianos at the Miller Theatre (Oct. 9), Vijay Iyer and Craig Taborn met for an evening billed as “Radically Unfinished: Works for Solo and Duo Piano.” The encounter flowed logically from their work together in Roscoe Mitchell’s Note Factory (they both appear on Far Side, Mitchell’s latest for ECM). But the fact that Iyer’s latest release, Solo, will soon be followed by Taborn’s solo piano debut for ECM made this summit all the more timely and evocative. The atmosphere of high seriousness was hard to miss: Neither player spoke a single word to the audience, and the program notes, rendered by the artists in quasi-academic prose, explained the “process-driven aesthetic” of the music. Yet through their pianos as well as their unpredictable stagecraft, Iyer and Taborn told an inviting story, in dovetailing languages of harsh dissonance, broad sustaining resonance and decay, looping rhythms and dynamic contrasts. Taborn was the more physical performer, his upper-body movements accruing into a kind of funk-informed ballet. In the midst of the third duo number, Iyer nonchalantly left the stage, allowing Taborn to finish the show’s first half. Reversing this, Iyer began the second half alone, and Taborn entered from the wings during Iyer’s second solo piece. Promptly, Taborn began to change the angles and emphases of Iyer’s work in progress, and one got an odd feeling: that in some sense, he’d been there all along. (David R. Adler)
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It takes confidence for a Boston-based tenor saxophonist to crack wise about the Yankees during a gig at the Kitano Hotel (Oct. 15). But if you’re Jerry Bergonzi, and you’re settling in for two nights with pianist Bruce Barth, bassist Dave Santoro and drummer Devin Drobka, a little swagger is justified. Bergonzi is among a class of modern horn players who tend to escape critical notice despite their prodigious gifts – a fact that seemed all the more salient during the burning midtempo opener, “Mr. MB” (a tribute to the far more celebrated Michael Brecker). “Obama,” another dedication, slowed the tempo a bit, but the tune’s “Afternoon in Paris” chord changes sustained a bright mood. “Casadiche” had a tricky structure, beginning as a ballad but shifting subtly to swing and back again during the solos, in a manner slightly reminiscent of Monk’s “Brilliant Corners.” Bergonzi and Barth took hard-swinging turns on “Awake” (based on “Moment’s Notice” changes), then pared down to a duo for “Crossing the Naeff” — a dark, contemplative piece with echoes of Dave Liebman and Richie Beirach. Then a nice surprise: drummer and friend Adam Nussbaum sat in on the closing “Table Stakes” (a “Stablemates” spinoff), immediately bringing a jam-session vibe to the room. Nussbaum hit hard but tossed in the sly, suggestive asides of a true veteran. Bergonzi, wanting to reciprocate this energy, turned from the audience and played his solo squarely in Nussbaum’s direction. (DA)
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