The Jazz.com Blog
September 10, 2009 · 0 comments
Jon Faddis, Wallace Roney, and Sean Jones A Triumph of Trumpets at Tanglewood
Hosted by Jon Faddis, the concert saluted Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis, and began, naturally, with Pops. Setting the mood with Sleepytime Down South, Faddis let out a hearty Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen in Satchmos unmistakable voice. After a note-for-note transcription of the cadenza of the West End Blues, Faddis gave the spotlight to Sean Jones, whose fat, lazy period solo showed how thoroughly he understands early jazz history.
Jones has a warm, mature voice; his sharp lines on Struttin with Some Barbecue, and lyrical, directed solo on Easy Living were musically logical and well-structured. Add to this a rich, rounded tone and an adventurousness that makes for intriguing listening.
Wallace Roney bore an uncanny resemblance to Miles Davis, in whose honor he played Round Midnight. Roney, who has previously chafed under critics description of his musical resemblance to Miles, seemed to assume the same posture, trademark sunglasses, behavior, and, above all, phrasing of this influential jazz giant, although Roney has far cleaner articulation, better chops and more refined tone than Miles. He also seemed curiously aloof not only to the audience, but his bandmates, standing to the side of the stage when not playing, as Miles would often do.
Faddis played Gillespie-like runs on Con Alma, and evoked Cat Anderson with his signature high-register lines on Body and Soul while his rhythmDavid Hazeltine on piano, Dion Parson on drums, and Kioshi Kitagawagave the trumpeters dynamic accents and a nice momentum.
This blog entry posted by Roanna Forman. For links to the rest of Formans coverage of the festival, click here.
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