Last night violinist Jenny Scheinman brought her quartet to International House in Philly, for a showcase sponsored by the wonderful Ars Nova Workshop. The group was to have featured guitarist Nels Cline, master avant-gardist from LA, now better known as a member of Wilco. The turnout was enormous, but sadly, Cline was not there — having toughed out two sets the previous night at Joe’s Pub in New York, he simply could not make the road trip with a 103-degree fever.
So the remarkable David Tronzo filled in. Scheinman told me that Tronzo had come out to hear the band on August 5 in New Hampshire, where he lives. Little did he know he’d get a call from Scheinman at 2pm on August 7. He hightailed it to Boston, caught the only flight to Philly of the day, and made it in time to play the gig, cold, with no preparation.
Tronzo, a virtuoso of the slide guitar, has practically created a new instrument, and it suited Scheinman’s rough-edged, lyrical, rock-inflected music perfectly. Bassist Todd Sickafoose and drummer Jim Black took to Tronzo quite naturally, mixing it up through the odd meters and tight transitions. It was Black, however, who stole the show.
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