May 30, 2009: Running out of space (and time)

SFJAZZ events that are presented in Grace Cathedral are offered under the general title of Sacred Space.  While this clearly applies to the ecclesiastical nature of the setting, it also connotes that the space itself is of the highest priority, perhaps even higher than the performers.  The introduction of trumpeter Roy Hargrove and saxophonist James Carter last night stressed that the event was not taking place in a concert hall.  These instrumentalists would thus shape their improvisations around the sounds of the space itself, going for sounds that might not be appreciated (or perhaps even heard) in settings more conducive to musical performance.  Put another way, taking your horn into Grace Cathedral can not be anything other than a grand experiment;  and the thing about experiments is that they do not always turn out as expected.

Of these two particular soloists, Carter seemed to be the one more comfortable with the idea of experiment.  He was not afraid to put out solid bursts of sound that would provide their own accompaniment through reverberation.  His rapid playing was less for the sorts of melodic intricacies of a George Frideric Handel (so easily chewed up and spit out by the Grace acoustics) and more for the realization of the harmonic progressions one encounters in the arpeggiated preludes of Johann Sebastian Bach.  There are also particular approaches to blowing a reed that can bring out upper harmonics, making individual notes sound like chords, and Carter seems to have invested considerable effort in mastering this particular blowing technique.  Finally, as if all those opportunities for sound production were not enough, Carter also used some of his larger key pads as percussion.  He thus had no problem with filling this "sacred space" with sounds that had every right to be worshiped for being just as sacred.

Hargrove's sounds were more limited.  Furthermore, his preference for a cornet over a trumpet for most of his solos let to a softer sound that lacked the sharp attacks through which individual sounds could be articulated.  Similarly, Hargrove's own attacks, on both cornet and trumpet, tended toward the sloppy side, which severely marred the cleanliness of his sustained tones.  There was also a strong impression that Hargrove was thinking of his solos in terms of notes, while Carter grasped the "rules of the game" in this space by thinking of his solos as organized progressions of sounds.

Nevertheless, whether you approach a space like this through notes or sounds, the limitations imposed by the space impose limitations on what you can do in it.  Had the concert ended at the break, after both Hargrove and Carter had performed a series of solos and then come together for a lively and effective rendering of "Caravan," the concert would have been a full and satisfying evening.  The second half of the evening had too much of a feeling of more of the same, as if both soloists had performed their intended experiments and were now just marking time.  Just because the space is sacred should not mean that the sermons should be too long for their own good!