John Edwin Mason: Documentary, Motorsports, Photo History

Nikon Packs It In, iPhone Bails Me Out: Shooting a Sound Check with the Free Bridge Quintet and Hod O'Brien

No excuses.

When somebody gives you an assignment, you come back with photos.  No excuses.

So, yesterday evening, I'm shooting the sound check for the Free Bridge Quintet's concert "A Celebration of Dizzy Gillespie," and my Nikon D7000 decides that it doesn't want to autofocus with the Nikon 35/2 that I was using or with the Nikon 85/1.8 that I had in my bag.  Each and every image was off -- some by a lot, some by a little, but all unusable.  The only other lens that I brought to the gig was a Nikon 70-200/2.8, a lovely piece of glass, but not exactly the horse for the course.  Manual-focusing?  In dim light with the D7000's small viewfinder, that was simply not going to work.

But I had my iPhone with me.  Thank God.

 

Robert Jospe.  Sound check.  University of Virginia, 21 October 2011.  [All photos copyright John Edwin Mason, 2011.  Click on any image to see a much larger version.]

I've sung the praises of the iPhone more than once.  Using the wonderful QuickPix app, I've even used it to shoot professional drag racing.  Seriously, check it out.

So, I had an idea that the iPhone might come to the rescue, but I also knew that it likes good light, the brighter and more even the better.  Bright and even doesn't come close to describing the light on the stage of the University of Virginia's Cabell Hall.

 

Pete Spaar.  Sound check.  University of Virginia, 21 October 2011.

Where the light on the stage is bright, it shines down from directly overhead, and sharp contrast between light and shadow would challenge any sensor or film.

 

Guest artist Hod O'Brien.  Sound check.  University of Virginia, 21 October 2011.

Mostly, however, the stage is darker than you'd want it to be, and faces are often in shadow.  None of this boded well for the iPhone, but I had no other choice -- use it or come back with nothing.  My other cameras were at home, far enough away that going to get them was out of the question.

 

John D'earth.  Sound check.  University of Virginia, 21 October 2011.

Turns out that the iPhone saved my behind.  The photos that you're looking at here have been lightly tweaked in Photoshop, but they didn't require more than an couple of minutes each to make them perfectly presentable.  I'm not going to print any of these at 20x20, but they'd make nice 5x5s.

 

Jeff Decker.  Sound check.  University of Virginia, 21 October 2011.

Yes, I should have had a backup body with me.  My D300 wasn't doing me any good lying around my house.  The D7000, however, is new and had performed well, up until last evening.  The D300, on the other hand, is battered and bruised, having seen a lot of heavy action at race tracks up and down the east coast.  It didn't seem possible that that I'd run into trouble during a simple 60-minute shoot.

It occurs to me that most of the shooting that I've done with the D7000 has been with lenses that have built-in autofocus motors.  I wonder if D7000s, in general, have trouble focusing with older lenses.  I'll be happy to hear from anyone who's had similar (or dissimilar) experiences with D7000s.

* * *

By the way, I stayed for the concert, and it was terrific.  Jeff, John, Robert, and Pete, all regular members of the Free Bridge Quintet, played up to their usual high standards.  Robert brought out the Latin side of Dizzy, Jeff occasionally went off in some gloriously soulful, gut-bucket directions, John was elegant, and the foundation that Pete laid down was as solid as rock.

Hod, who once spent many hours listening to Dizzy perform in New York clubs and who has played with everyone from John Coltrane to Oscar Pettiford to Stan Getz, offered a series of dazzling, rapid-fire solos.  But it was the gentle ballad that he played, accompanied by just bass and drums, that was the thriller of the evening.  Damn near brought tears to my eyes.

 

Celebrating Dizzy: The Free Bridge Quintet & Hod O'Brien, in Concert, 21 October 2011

It's short notice I know, but, folks, you'll want to hear this...  Tomorrow night, the Free Bridge Quintet will welcome guest pianist Hod O'Brien to the stage of the University of Virginia's Cabell Hall for a celebration of the life and music of Dizzy Gillespie.  The gig starts at 8:00, and, trust me, it's going to be terrific.

I've been singing the praises of both Hod, a charter member of "the underground of the jazz renowned," and the Free Bridgers for years.  Hod was a major force in New York's jazz loft scene, in the '50s and '60s, and he's still a monster musician.  Over the years, he's performed with the likes of Pepper Adams, Kenny Burrell, Oscar Pettiford, and Stan Getz, to name just a few.  The members of the Free Bridge Quintet are all on the UVA's music faculty and are recording artists in their own right.  (The Quintet's regular pianist, Wells Hanley, is on leave this semester.)  Anyone within hailing distance of Charlottesville, Virginia -- and that includes both Washington, D.C., and Richmond -- will want to hear what these guys do with Dizzy's music.

 

 

For more information about the concert, contact UVA's music department box office at (434) 924-3376 or click here.

I'll leave with with this terrific sample of Hod's music-making.  In this video, he's playing an impromptu duet with the great young pianist Gerald Clayton.

 

 

Hod O'Brien and Gerald Clayton at the Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, New York City, 2011. 

Update, 22 October 2011:  Just a few days ago, WTJU -- Charlottesville's fine listener-supported radio station -- interviewed Hod during one of it's jazz programs.  It's great to hear him talk about Dizzy's music and about all the cats he's played with over the years.  You can listen in, here.

Hod O'Brien Trio: It Don't Mean a Thing

Seeing your photo on the cover of a new CD never gets old.  (On the inside, too.)  I just received my copies of Hod O'Brien's new CD, It Don't Mean a Thing, and really like the design and the way the photos from the recording session were reproduced.

 

 

All photos copyright John Edwin Mason, 2011.  Click on the images to see larger versions.

Hod's a charter member of "the underground of the jazz renowned."  That's another way of saying that he's a musician's musician -- deeply respected by his peers, but less well know to the general public.  Over the years, he's played with people like Art Farmer, Stan Getz, and Donald Byrd, and he was only 21 when he replaced Bill Evans in Oscar Pettiford's quintet.

 

 

 

On this date, he was joined by singer Stephanie Nakasian, bassist Michael Hawkins, and drummer Billy Williams.  Bobby Read was the recording engineer.  Hod couldn't have asked for a finer set of colleagues.  The result is a terrific CD -- heavy on standards, plenty of sharp soloing, lots of fun.

 

 

 

None of the songs from It Don't Mean a Thing are available on the web, but here's a taste of Hod's playing.  It's from a gig at Washington, DC's, Blues Alley.  He's joined by Ray Drummond, on bass, and Kenny Washington, on drums.

Hod O'Brien & Stephanie Nakasian at C'ville Coffee, 23 April 2010

If you're anywhere near Charlottesville, Virginia -- say, in Richmond or Washington, DC -- you owe it to yourself to stop by C'ville Coffee, tonight, to hear jazz greats Hod O'Brien and Stephanie Nakasian.  The gig starts at 8 pm, and I can just about guarantee that the eight bucks that you'll hand over to get in will be the best money you've spent in a long, long time.

 

 

Hod O'Brien, in the recording studio, 13 January 2011.  (All photos copyright John Edwin Mason, 2011.  Click on any of the images to see larger versions.)

Hod's new CD, It Don't Mean a Thing, has just been released on the Japan's Spice of Life label.  I was lucky enough to have been asked to photograph the recording session, and my images appear on the CD's cover and in the booklet.  You'll be able to purchase the CD at the show.  (For the music, not the pics!)

 

 

CD cover photo by John Edwin Mason.

Hod is without a doubt one of the great jazz pianists of our time, but he's only gotten the recognition he deserves within the last decade or so.  Over the years, he's played with people like Art Farmer, Stan Getz, and Donald Byrd, and he was only 21 when he replaced Bill Evans in Oscar Pettiford's quintet.

A couple of years ago, he was a guest on Piano Jazz, the National Public Radio show that's hosted by Marian McPartland.  Hod and Marian clearly enjoyed each other's company and made some absolutely terrific music together.  (You can listen to the program, here.)

 

 

Stephanie Nakasian, in the recording studio, 13 January 2011.

Stephanie Nakasian, who appears on It Don't Mean a Thing, will be joining Hod this evening.  Stephanie has released many CDs of her own, and like Hod, was recently a guest on a National Public Radio show.  In her case, she spoke to Terry Gross, on Fresh Air, about her album of songs associated with Billy Holiday.  (You can listen in, here.)

 

 

Michael Hawkins, in the recording studio, 13 January 2011. 

Unfortunately, the other two musicians who appear on It Don't Mean a Thing can't make it to tonight's gig.  Michael Hawkins, the bassist, was a member of Cyrus Chestnut's trio for 10 years.  He's also played with Duane Eubanks, Montez Coleman, Antonio Hart, Mulgrew Miller, Gary Bartz, Eric Reed, Steve Turre, among many others.

 

 

Billy Williams, in the recording studio, 13 January 2011.

The drummer, Billy Williams, also has an impressive resume (especially for someone so young), having played with Cyrus Chestnut, Benny Golson, Orrin Evans, and Larry Willis.

* * *

You can find out more about tonight's performance, here.

In the Studio with Hod O'Brien, Stephanie Nakasian, & Friends

When someone asks you if you'd like to photograph a Hod O'Brien recording session, the only reasonable answer is "Yes!"  Hod is one of the finest jazz pianists of his generation, and the session was sure to produce fireworks.  So "Yes" is precisely what I said to Tom Sassa of Spice of Life records (a Japanese label that specializes in jazz) when he hired me to shoot the gig, earlier this week.  Yes, and thank you very much, sir.

 

 

Hod O'Brien, 13 January 2011.  (All photos copyright John Edwin Mason, 2011.)

Jazz critic Scott Yarrow once wrote that Hod is an "unsung hero of jazz... and a master of classic bebop piano."  It's true that he's never received the recognition he deserves (in part because he took a ten-year hiatus from jazz in the '70s and '80s to work as a statistical analyst).  In his early twenties he was already in New York, playing with likes of Art Farmer, Stan Getz, and Donald Byrd.  He was only 21 when he replaced Bill Evans in Oscar Pettiford's quintet.

 

 

Hod O'Brien, 13 January 2011.  (You can click on any of these photos to see larger versions.)

Hod has also shared the bandstand and recording studio with Elvin Jones, Chet Baker, Roswell Rudd, Lee Konitz, Zoot Sims, Charlie Rouse, and many others.  These days, he spends quite a bit of time performing in the US, Europe, and Japan.

A couple of years ago, Hod appeared on the radio program Piano Jazz, with Marian McPartland.  The conversation was wonderful -- almost as good as the music-making!  Click here to listen online.

 

 

Stephanie Nakasian, 13 January 2011.  (Here, I'm shooting into the vocalist's isolation booth, through two layers of sound-proof glass.  Nice effect.)

When he tours, Hod is usually accompanied by his wife, jazz vocalist Stephanie Nakasian.  She's also performed all over the world with musicians such as Pat Metheny, Bobby McFerrin, Clark Terry, Scott Hamilton, Jon Hendricks, Hank Jones, and Annie Ross to name a few.  I'm proud to say that she teaches voice at the University of Virginia, where I teach African history and the history of photography.  Like Hod, she's finally getting her due.  Recently, for instance, she was interviewed by Terry Gross on National Public Radio's program Fresh Air.

 

 

Michael Hawkins, 13 January 2011.

Hod put together a strong band for the session.  Michael Hawkins was on bass.  Besides being a terrific composer, he's also very active on the East Coast jazz scene, playing and recording with the Cyrus Chestnut Trio (he was a member of the group for 10 years), Duane Eubanks, Montez Coleman, Antonio Hart, Mulgrew Miller, Gary Bartz, Eric Reed, Steve Turre, and too many others to mention.

 

 

Michael Hawkins, 13 January 2011.

I was blown away by the quality of the music that was being made in the studio, last Thursday.  Michael, for instance, is both deeply soulful and technically brilliant -- a rare combination.

 

 

Billy Williams, 13 January 2011.

Drummer Billy Williams plays much older than he really is.  That is, he has the taste, chops, and imagination of veteran musician.  Despite his youth, he's performed with Cyrus Chestnut, Benny Golson, and Orrin Evans and has toured Europe with Larry Willis Trio.  That's another way of saying that I'm not the only one who's impressed with this young man's playing.

 

 

Bobby Read, 13 January 2011.

Last and far from least is sound engineer Bobby Read, who owns and operates Small World Audio.  He's built Small World into one of the busiest recording studios in the region, but he's best known to the general public as a sax player.  In fact, he's been a member of Bruce Hornsby's band, for almost two decades, touring and recording extensively.

* * *

Anyone in or near Charlottesville, Virginia, will want to come to Hod's 75th birthday celebration, tonight, January 15th, at C-ville Coffee.  (Don't let the name fool you, C-ville Coffee is a fine venue for live music.)  The fun starts at 8 pm.  Hod and Stephanie will perform, of course, along with their daughter, the singer Veronica Swift, a variety of special guests.