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Both the Dave Holland Quintet and the Branford Marsalis Quartet could have easily sold out the MainStage space at the Toronto Jazz Festival had they each been the headliner act of their own show, so it’s a little strange that they should be shoved together in a double bill on Friday, July 3rd. Nevertheless, it’s hard to complain when you get to see that much talent and good music on display for the affordable price of $40 at the Toronto Jazz Festival, all in one night, even if the acoustics leave something to be desired.

The Dave Holland Quintet – Robin Eubanks on trombone, Steve Nelson on vibraphone, Chris Potter on alto/soprano sax, Nate Smith on drums, and Dave Holland on bass - opened the evening with a wonderful, energetic 75-minute set of original compositions from Holland’s albums. The set list included: “Step to It”, “Last Minute Man”, “Full Circle”, and “Lucky Seven”. The Dave Holland Quintet has a very eclectic sound, and at times, dissonant. Generally, this means there’s a lot going on at once, with Potter and Eubanks each carrying a bit of the melody – at the same time – and Nelson, Smith, and Holland sharing the rhythm sections. This tends to lead to a lot of complexity, and because of all the different instruments, each with what could be a standalone part, all together, gives you a rich variety of things to listen to. You can tune in and tune out of various different instruments, take your pick, and never be bored. Sometimes all this action leads to really rewarding and interesting dissonance and other times it ends up as just too busy. Sometimes I had trouble differentiating between the parts that Potter and Eubanks were playing, sometimes they blended together, and it felt like a bit too much mushiness. But the band really shone when its three stars took the stage with their solos: drummer Nate Smith, saxophonist Chris Potter, and bassist Dave Holland.

Drummer Nate Smith also played with Chris Potter in his “Underground” group at the Pilot on Monday, but it was in this concert with Holland where he really impressed me. Generally, when drummers take solos, they are so excited to finally be allowed to stray from just beat-keeping that they try to hit and bang as many drums and cymbals as possible in the smallest amount of time: this is their chance to make a lot of noise. But this approach lacks musicality; it’s just an unpleasant racket, the kind I usually can’t wait to stop. But Nate Smith, much like drumming greats Jack DeJohnette and Tony Williams, understands that less is more with drum solos. He hits a beat, he finds a rhythm to play with, and he lets the audience in on what he is doing. We can keep up, we can enjoy, and while it’s not “simple” it’s not overdone either: there’s music and clarity here. He also finds different pitches and tones to play with so that when his drum solo comes to an end, we can’t help but want more, or look forward to his next one. Smith is a great drummer and these are very, very few and far between.

When Chris Potter was introduced at the beginning of the concert, the volume of the audience applause just about doubled: this saxophonist has much talent. His solos are inspired, whether playing with his own group like he did on Monday at the Pilot or as part of the Dave Holland Quintet. But when playing with the Dave Holland Quintet there is extra structure and rules imposed on him, which, to some degree, constrain his solos, and leave them just a notch below the level they were at when he was performing with his own group. Don’t get me wrong though, a notch below the Underground Chris Potter solos is still absolutely fabulous, but his solos with the Quintet, in the style of the Quintet, tended to be more dissonant, and maybe a little less accessible, though still good.

The third star of the group I’ve saved for last, as he is, after all, the headliner. Dave Holland plays a mean bass with bass lines that don’t just follow the basic beat but challenge it, play with rhythm, play with harmony, not just forming the backbone of the music, but challenging the ears of the audience and group, at the same time. His bass lines make you want to tap your feet. Even when there are other melodic lines going on at the same time, you can’t help but tune your ears to Holland’s bass, because it’s always doing interesting things with a lot of energy: the mark of a master. Holland’s solos made up some of the best highlights of the concerts. Jack DeJohnette once said of Dave Holland, “Dave is one of a few bassists who can get an audience on their feet during a solo. He learned from Miles to have a point of view in his playing,” and this was certainly true of Holland’s performance on Friday. He was at his best opening a new composition “Veil of Tears” with a solo on his bass, which had me tapping my feet and nodding my head with appreciation.

Though the Dave Holland Quintet as a whole was very good, sometimes I found the dissonance of the sound turned me off: it’s not as easily accessible as the follow-up act, the Branford Marsalis Quartet. Nevertheless, there were some undeniably great moments for everyone to enjoy when Holland, Potter, or Smith took the spotlight and nailed their respective parts.

After a brief intermission, the music got going in full swing once more, this time with the Branford Marsalis Quartet. Their music is much more straightforward and accessible, which is not to say that it is either better or worse, but it will appeal to a greater audience, and the focus is much more clear. Marsalis carries the melody on soprano, alto, or tenor sax, with equal comfort on each, seamlessly changing between the three and still achieving a beautiful sound on each. Joey Calderazzo on piano occasionally helps with the melody or harmony and leads the rhythm section with Eric Revis on bass and Jeff Watts on drums. When the melody is done, Marsalis takes an awe-inspiring solo, and then backs off, upstage, so that the three other band-members can play off one another. They play a sort of combined solo, led by Calderazzo, which seems to have required much more preparation than Marsalis’s solo – Calderazzo was reading his music and notes throughout his solos, while Marsalis played by heart – with less success than Marsalis’s joyous solos. The group was strong together but the individual parts were much less strong on their own, with the exception, of course, of Branford Marsalis. Nevertheless, bassist Eric Revis held his own pretty well in a long and good solo, especially considering he had to follow the great bassist Dave Holland, which almost seems cruel.

The last time Branford Marsalis played Toronto it was to a small, intimate audience at the Top of the Senator on closing night in 2004. I remember that one of the highlights of that show was when Marsalis did a tribute to the great saxophonists: from Sonny Rollins’s signature squeak, to the trademark sounds of Bird and John Coltrane. But this setting, the MainStage at Nathan Phillips Square suits the group, too: the tightly packed audience members there to see some great jazz at a great price bring up the energy and Marsalis makes you want to get up and dance when he plays. He’s self-confident and for good reason: he can play. He may be the lead talent in his group, but his group still works well, and they were a joy from start to finish.

There was an unexpected guest though in both the Marsalis and the Holland set: the bell from the clock tower striking the hour. It was interesting to see how each of the bandleaders handled the interruption. While Dave Holland worked the predictable ringing into his routine, Branford Marsalis set up a call and response solo with the bell: both were great fun to watch. This was real-time, unplanned improvisation with skill, taking a nuisance and turning it into a gift.

Both groups received a well-deserved standing ovation for each of their respective sets. And in the end, the audience was treated to a fabulous encore, perhaps the true highlight of the concert, which certainly pleased, as Chris Potter on sax and Robin Eubanks on trombone returned to the stage to join the Branford Marsalis Quartet. The highlight of this encore piece was watching Potter and Marsalis play together on sax. They traded off the melody and when the time for solos came, they took turns each playing a solo for a few bars and then handing it off to the other. They each built on one another’s solo, each with his own flare, and each then took an extended solo on his own and then together. The spontaneity and sheer energy at work was what made it such a joy to watch a couple of youngish master musicians at work together, just jamming, having a good time, and making some wonderful music, too.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 9th, 2009 at 11:39 pm and is filed under Event Picks, Events, Featured Posts, Review, TOBlender, music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.