Community (American Garage)
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| SUBJECT: | 3 Gigs - Madison, WI Back to Subjects |
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RT Nov 02 2018 at 12:24 AM |
Finally it was Madison’s turn and I’m pleased to honestly say it was the best of the three shows I saw. While not really a jazz town there is a hard core group of devoted jazz fans here and they were the most attentive and enthusiastic from the start. Pat hadn’t played here for quite a while and we were most anxious to see him again. It was only the second time (third?) in my memory that Pat performed at the University of Wisconsin’s on campus theater which seats about 1,200. I saw his first appearance there on May 1,1984 when he was joined by Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins playing the Rejoicing album. I was front row center then. In those informal days I was allowed to take photos with my big Nikon. I managed to tape it too (not allowed!) Fabulous set that was. My seats this time were third row right, just in front of Antonio. At the last minute I decided to take my 96 year old mother who is wheelchair bound. We were able to get two of the last 5 seats available in the disabled section (surprisingly good in front of the balcony.) The rest of the ground floor was full. There were still a few openings in the nosebleed section on the upper balcony. After talking about Pat for nearly 40 years I thought mom should see what all the fuss was about. She’s really limited her musical love to classical and opera. We used to attend symphonies and opera with my dad when I was growing up in San Francisco. He in contrast had very eclectic and varied tastes of his own. I didn’t know that mom really didn’t care for guitar though! Still she enjoyed the show and especially Antonio. I also learned that she has a strong liking for the drums. In fact she saw the jazz drumming legend Gene Krupa in that very theater in the 1940s when in college. I gave my other seats to some friends who’d never seen Pat before but who like his music. They were very pleased and it was fun for me to pass on the experience to someone who’d appreciate it. I do believe the Madison’s crowd intense response motivated the musicians. Gwylim was more energetic than at the other shows I thought.- he has a traditional jazz/bluesy I feel he managed quite well. Antonio was his usual excellent self. I’ve seen him several times before and to me he’s reached a new level of playing. He’s not just excellent but has become one of the greats, surely of this generation. Linda May Han Oh follows the melodic line of the tunes very carefully when soloing. I find Pat’s most endearing quality to be his melodic sensibility so that was fine with me but I think a little more counterpoint would do her well. Needless to say Pat still has his chops. I particularly enjoyed his acoustic solo medley he did as the first encore. Seeing all those great tunes again was a blast. All in all it was a very exhilarating and uplifting weekend. It’d be great to catch a set every night but I thought I did pretty well seeing three in a row like years ago. I only hope I won’t have to wait too long to do it again. Peace Pat People! |
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djangocat Dec 10 2018 at 12:21 AM |
I think it’s pretty cool that you took your mom.
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naut Dec 06 2018 at 6:56 PM |
Excellent reviews both, RT. You did some nice work here that need not go unacknowledged. Well done! / One thing about the Evening Quartet that I haven’t noticed anyone mention is Antonio’s trap set. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen a drummer with two snares to the left of the main kit. Awesome!
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