John Edwin Mason: Documentary, Motorsports, Photo History

John D'earth & the Dave Matthews Band Horns at Miller's

The Dave Matthews Band is in town for a couple of shows, and it was no surprise when the band's sax and trumpet players showed up at Miller's on Thursday night to jam with John D'earth's fine band.

No surprise for a bunch of reasons...  John's gig at Miller's is truly legendary.  He's been there every Thursday night for at least 25 years and probably more.  (Nobody, including John, is exactly sure when it started.)  In any case, he was already on the bandstand when Dave Matthews spent time tending bar at Miller's.  That fact has made the bar a Mecca for fans.  And it means that the place was packed to the rafters last Thursday.  Rashawn Ross, the DMB's trumpet player, and Jeff Coffin the sax player, knew that they'd get the rock star treatment when they showed up.

John D'earth gets things going, 13 December 2012.  That's Pete Spaar, on bass, and Devonne Harris, drums.  [All photos copyright John Edwin Mason, 2012.  Click on any image to see a larger version.]

I didn't get any photos of Rashawn Ross.  I could have squeezed through the crowd and worked my way into a good shooting position, but it would have meant making a lot of enemies.  On the other hand, I met some wonderful people while I was just hanging out.  (Here's hoping that my new friends from Vancouver, B.C., see this post.)

Things cleared out a bit after the first set, and I spotted some folks that I know sitting at a table up front.  They invited me to join them for the second set.  (Thanks, guys.  And thanks to the happy couple from Nebraska, too.)  By that time, however, Ross had disappeared.

Jeff Coffin, of the Dave Matthews Band, tearing things up on sax.  Victor Haskins is on the left.

Both Ross and Jeff Coffin, playing tenor sax, brought an arena-rock vibe to the jam.  It perfectly suited the occasion, when most people in the audience weren't jazz-savvy.  They both brought down the house with their solos.

Victor Haskins, trumpet.  Pete Spaar in the background.

Victor Haskins plays with a grace and maturity that's far beyond his years.  He regularly gigs throughout Richmond, Virginia/Washington, DC area.

J.C. Kuhl, center, Coffin and D'earth on the sides.

J.C. Kuhl, John's regular sax player at Miller's, is a monster musician.  He's got all the technique in the world, but, more impressively, he's always got something to say when he solos.  Thursday, he was absolutely on fire.

Can't remember this guy's name.  He's a regular at Miller's jams.

It's embarrassing to admit that I can't remember this trumpet player's name.  (If you do, please let me know.)  I've heard him several times at Miller's and other places.  He's good.

D'earth, Coffin, and Haskins.

One of the wonderful things about jazz is that all good musicians know the standards.  That allows them to make seriously good music -- with strangers and without any sort of rehearsal -- anytime they get together.  Thursday was an example.  Stunning music-making from beginning to end.

* * *

I made these photos with a Panasonic GX1 with a 20/1.7 lens.  It's a great little combination, rapidly becoming my favorite, unless I need a long lens or fast frame-rate.  And it fits in a coat pocket.

Funky Friday: Warren Wolf, "One for Lenny."

Warren Wolf, a tremendously talented young vibes player, is in town to play a concert with the University of Virginia Jazz Ensemble, on Saturday night, and to lead a masterclass, on Saturday afternoon.

This is great news.  I was lucky enough to hear Wolf and the jazz ensemble rehearse last night, and I can tell you that it's going to be a terrific concert.

 

Warren Wolf, rehearsing with members of the University of Virginia Jazz Ensemble, 26 April 2012.  [Photos copyright John Edwin Mason, 2012.  Click on the images to see larger versions.]

Wolf released his first album last year.  (You can hear a track in the video below.)  He says that he's "trying to bring forth what most cats did back in the day, coming out right at you swinging, nice and hard, not a lot of hard melodies or weird time signatures.  I like to play really hard, fast and kind of flashy. I like to take it to a whole other level."

Also on the album are bassist Christian McBride (who co-produced the recording), pianist Peter Martin, drummer Greg Hutchinson, alto and soprano saxophonist Tim Green, and, on two tracks, trumpeter Jeremy Pelt.

 

 

Warren Wolf, "One for Lenny."  From the album Warren Wolf.

It doesn't surprise me that the university's music department has a lot of good things to say about Wolf.  In the jazz world, he's making a name for himself.

Warren Wolf is a multi-instrumentalist from Baltimore, Maryland, who has recorded two albums under his own name and performs internationally with jazz greats like Wynton Marsalis, Mulgrew Miller, Christian MacBride, Jeff "Tain" Watts, and Esperanza Spaulding.  His cutting-edge work as a leader has included some of the most forward looking up-and-comers in the genre including Darren Barrett on the trumpet and saxophonist Walter Smith.  [His] a luminous talent... combines mastery of vibraphone/marimba, drums, and piano with a unique compositional style.

 

Warren Wolf talking shop with University of Virginia Jazz Ensemble drummer Kendrick Smith, 26 April 2012.

Tomorrow night's concert will be the first time the Jazz Ensemble has hosted a vibraphonist.  Wolf will be featured on compositions by John Coltrane, Thad Jones, Pat Metheny and Kenny Dorham, among others.  The evening will also include two compositions by the jazz ensemble's director, John D'earth.

But wait, there's more.  Three student vocalists will perform in a variety of styles.  Gracie Terzian will sing her original lyrics to the Wayne Shorter classic, "Iris," from Miles Davis' groundbreaking album, ESP.  Adrianna Foster will revive the Billie Holliday classic "Fine and Mellow."  And Emily Voreas will appear with the band for the third time singing a new D'earth composition entitled "We Shall See. "

* * *

Warren Wolf and the University of Virginia Jazz Ensemble, 8:00 pm, Saturday, 28 April 2012, Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia.  More information, here.

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.

All Night Jazz Jam at Fellini's for the George Melvin Educational Fund

Last Saturday, the Charlottesville Jazz Society and Fellini's #9 (a great restaurant and my neighborhood pub) hosted an all night jazz jam session to benefit the George Melvin Educational Fund.  George, who passed away last year, was a truly beloved figure on Charlottesville's musical scene -- a wonderful teacher and mentor, and one of the great masters of the Hammond B3 organ.  The money raised will help students pay for lessons and instrument repairs, and it will allow the Jazz Society to provide resource packages to local schools.

 

 

John D'earth (trumpet) and Pete Spaar (bass).  23 July 2011.  [All photos copyright John Edwin Mason, 2011.]

I didn't last much past midnight (the jam really did stretch into the wee, small hours of the morning), but I managed to hear some terrific music.

 

 

Devonne Harris.  23 July 2011.

But it wasn't just about the music.  I also ran into a lot of friends at the jam.  It seemed that everyone in Charlottesville who cares about jazz (and who cared about George) turned out to support the fund raiser -- musicians, fans, producers, radio hosts, writers, and at least one photographer.

 

 

Pete Spaar.  23 July 2011.

 

 

Donations were gladly accepted.  23 July 2011.

 

 

Michael Elswick (sax) and Graham Daby (drums).  23 July 2011.

 

 

Tommy Bibb (flugelhorn) and other members of Jazz Collective #9.  23 July 2011.

 

 

Bob Hallahan (left) and Gary Funston (right).  23 July 2011.

WTJU, a local radio station that airs a lot of jazz, was broadcasting from Fellini's during the jam.  Here Gary Funston interviews pianist Bob Hallahan, who performed during the jam.

 

 

Regggie Marshall.  23 July 2011.

Reggie is a booking agent with an impressive list of clients, including Cindy Blackman-Santana and Patricia Barber, both of whom I saw last March at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival.

 

 

Fans.  23 July 2011.

 

 

Jeff Decker (sax) and a band member.  23 July 2011.  [Update:  That's Jim Ryan on bass.  Many thanks to Gary Funston for the ID.]

Jeff opened his set with a brilliant, moving performance of "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime."  It was an unusual choice, but appropriate, on all sorts of levels.

(By the way, you probably noticed that I wasn't able to identify all the musicians by name.  If you can help, please shoot me an email or leave a comment.)