Remembering Chris Anderson

We throw around terms like “musician’s musician” all the time, but it really did apply to Chris Anderson. The inventive pianist, best known as an early teacher of Herbie Hancock, will be remembered at a memorial in St. Peter’s Monday night at 7:00.

St. Peter’s was the sight for a rather amazing performance by Anderson some years ago. It was a benefit concert for the ailing Billy Higgins, whom Anderson had played with on one of his all too rare recording dates. Anderson was blind and suffered from brittle bone disease, which limited his touring. Getting to hear him take flight was a treat that night, so his colleagues let him keep playing, throwing their schedule out the window.

Given the scarcity of his recordings, I never understood why Inverted Image on Riverside’s Jazzland label has yet to be reissued. With Philly Joe Jones and Walter Perkins sharing the drum chair and Bill Lee (father of Spike) on bass, it is a beautiful trio session that would probably sell well, at least among his many musician admirers.

Those friends include Barry Harris, Richard Wyands, Larry Willis, Harold Mabern, and George Coleman, who will celebrate Anderson’s life and music tomorrow night. There are some Anderson recordings available, which are definitely recommended. However, he was best heard live, so those who heard him that night at St. Peter’s and sometime later at the Jazz Gallery were indeed fortunate.

Presidential Salute

Every year St. Peter’s remembers Lester Young, "the Prez.," around the anniversary of his death with the To Prez. with Love concert. This year was a great opportunity to hear headliners like Jimmy Heath and Lee Konitz for only $15.

Lester Young’s influence on jazz is well documented. His cool tone on the tenor saxophone contrasted with the muscular sound of his predecessor in the Fletcher Henderson band, Coleman Hawkins. It took a while to catch on, but his sound would be tremendously influential, as is well documented with artists like Stan Getz, but less acknowledged in the case of Charlie Parker.

Young would also have an enormous impact on language. If you’ve ever talked about being “cool” or had “eyes” for someone, you’re talking Lester’s lingo. Cultural images of Young persist years after his death. Dexter Gordon’s character of Dale Turner in Bertrand Tavernier’s ‘Round Midnight, was largely a composite of Bud Powell and Young. Indeed, Gordon’s scenes with Lonette McKee’s Billie Holiday inspired character have more truth to them than the entire Holiday biopic Lady Sings the Blues.

Plenty of talented musicians came out to pay tribute. Jimmy Heath played an entertaining two tune set, with the very talented Aaron Diehl on piano. Heath opened with “Polka Dots and Moonbeams,” which he said was known in Young’s lexicon as “Poker Chips.” Lee Konitz first played with his longtime colleague Dick Katz, and later returned with a young group led by Alan Ferber. Diehl also played an appealing duet with Dominick Faricnacci, of Cleveland (not Italy as WBGO’s Brian Delp first erroneously stated in his intro—close enough.)

Young died on the Ides of March, so the To Prez concert is typically the Sunday before. This year, we were not helped by the new D.S.T. and that lost hour of sleep—I took off by 9:30 before the festivities moved out of the sanctuary. Is this really saving energy, compared to time spent downloading patches and the like?

Pianists Flock to St. Peter’s

The jazz community came together again in St. Peter’s last night, rallying for one of their own. On this occasion some of the finest pianists in New York played an original Fazioli piano, courtesy of Klavierhaus, to benefit Larry Willis, whose house recently burned down (PR here). Willis is known as a fine jazz pianist in his own right, as well as from prominent sideman gigs with Hugh Masekela, and as a member of Blood Sweat & Tears. He also played on Eddie Gale’s A Minute for Miles (a great CD I constantly recommend).

It was an ambitious schedule of one solo pianist every ten minutes. I had to laugh when I first saw it in my e-mail. The evening did indeed start with a great performance from Mamiko Watanabe as planned, but from there the schedule was out the window. So be it. Those in attendance heard from jazz greats like Don Friedman, Geri Allen, and Mulgrew Miller. Some impressive classical performances from Ran Jia and Sachiko Kato mixed up the program nicely. Also breaking format, were performances from Willis himself, accompanying Jimmy Owens on flugelhorn. The evening ended with beautiful performances by Deanna Witkowski and Helen Sung. Actually, that’s just when it ended for me, as there were in fact two pianists left.

It was a night of great music. There was a nice audience on hand throughout, with late arrivals constantly replacing those leaving earlier, so hopefully it was successful as a fundraiser as well as artistically.

Anat Fort in Concert

When Anat Fort’s new CD A Long Story releases on March 6 you can expect it to be reviewed widely because there is a good story behind it. Fort, with the help of some mutual associates, was able to convince drummer Paul Motian to play on the CD. Motian was so pleased with the results, he recommended it to ECM’s Manfred Eicher, and suddenly Fort found herself on the roster of one of the premiere jazz labels in the world.

As good as the story might be the music is what matters in the long run. Last night in St. Peter’s, Fort and her quartet played their final American concert before setting off on a European tour (where the CD is already available). Hearing them is convincing—her music definitely backs up the story. With Perry Robinson on clarinet, Ed Schuller on bass, and Roland Schneider on drums, Fort played a set of striking originals.

She varied the program nicely with quartet, trio, duo, and solo performances, mostly, but not entirely, drawn from the forthcoming Long Story. Fort’s original “Just Now” was heard in two very different versions, as a solo variation and as a vehicle for the entire quartet. “Morning: Good” is a particularly beautiful composition, and could well be the favored radio track of Long Story.

There was a high degree of musical empathy evident amongst the quartet. Replacing Motian is a daunting task, but Schneider’s percussion gave a rich texture to the proceedings. Schuller contributed some high caliber pizzicato solos and supported Fort admirably. Hearing a distinctive musician like Robinson is always a cool thing. Well before Don Byron and Chris Speed, he was one of the few artists bringing the clarinet into more adventurous contexts. He was also heard on ocarina for one particularly effective performance.

Fort has sparkling touch on the keys and a strong compositional sense. She identifies Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett as influences, and that comes through in her playing. In addition to that introspectiveness, there is also sometimes a playful slightly off-kilter quality, most pronounced last night in the trio performances.

It’s great to hear about a musician having success after years of paying dues, and it was rewarding to hear original music from Fort’s quartet.