Winnipeg jazz guitarist and composer Keith Price brought his trio to Kelowna last night to play at the Streaming Cafe. As is so often the case with talented musicians, “play” becomes the operative and appropriate word. The Trio’s first set was a selection of covers, but rather than doing the jazz standards thing, this adventurous group instead offered their interpretations of more “popular” fare like Neil Young, Nirvana, and Pink Floyd. (You have to love anyone who opens a jazz gig with a beautiful interpretation of a Neil Young ballad.) The substitutions and voicings used, along with tempo and dynamic decisions, allowed each song’s melody to always be right there in the middle of your awareness, while allowing for all sorts of fun excursions by each player as they took their solos.The second set began with the playing of the Gaia/Goya suite from Price’s latest CD of the same name. The movements flowed well, with transitions that worked beautifully and allowed the work to breathe very naturally. It must be mentioned that there is a high level of both composition at play here along with a faithfulness to those compositions. The performance of each section never felt like it was departing from the spirit of the recorded version or descending into being just a vehicle for solos. For relatively young players, in jazz terms, there was a high level of musical maturity on display. At no point did anything feel rushed and the solos always worked musically with the pieces they occurred in.Price himself is steeped in the work of many of the jazz greats who have gone before him. There are hints of Metheny and Scofield and other jazz giants. But there is also a uniqueness that shows through. While I never heard any direct influences by Kenny Burrell, I found myself thinking that, much like listening to Burrell, with Price I was left with the sense that there is so much left being unplayed, that there are chops just waiting for the right moment to explode into a performance but enough sureness of who he is as an artist and what this given gig was about to happily leave them unused for the moment.Upright bassist Julian Bradford played superbly underneath Price, and soloed exquisitely when called open to do so. Note selection was uncomplicated and very much related to the song, and each note was played emotively and with soul. Drummer Curtis Nowosad clearly understands the concept of supporting the soloist and providing tempo and groove. His setup of section changes was right in that place where it’s not in your face but as the night goes on you realize just how nicely he is filling that role. Very nice work on the brushes as well.This was a refreshing jazz gig in that the overall vibe was one of playing collaboratively rather than competitively, and honouring the original compositions by capturing their essences and playing from both mind and heart. A tremendously accessible jazz performance with plenty there for purists who want to see players show their stuff.
|