Steve Smith & Buddy's
Buddies:
Very Live at Ronnie Scott's, Vol. 2
This is the second of two CDs recorded live at
Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London on June 7th
and 8th, 2002. The recordings mark the
triumphant return to the club of two stars of
Buddy's orchestra -- first tenor Steve Marcus
and lead alto Andy Fusco -- now teamed with
pianist Mark Soskin and bassist Baron Browne
under the guiding beat of master drummer Steve
Smith. Smith says, "The CDs follow exactly the
two sets we played at Ronnie's. We developed the
song order over the week and came up with two
balanced sets: we kicked off with one or two
high energy tunes, a tune in 3/4 time, a ballad
in the middle, a piano trio tune and then a high
energy closer. And I made sure there were drum
solos throughout!"
Soskin, who describes
himself as a "Buddy's Buddy by osmosis,"
remarks, "It's such a high energy band that I
think it's really exciting for the audience."
Fusco adds, "It captures the spirit of Buddy's
band -- an orchestrated quintet in the spirit of
a big band. You can make it work by having guys
like Mark - and before him, Lee Musiker, who
wrote out some of those great band charts. It's
an odd instrumentation - alto and tenor - so
we're only missing 14 instruments! At least we
only need a very small bus!"
The second
set opens with a medium swing rendition of
Coltrane's "Moment's Notice." The band
immediately sounds tight, fluent and confident,
with finely judged changes of dynamics and great
solos all-round. You can tell they're having a
ball -- supreme musicians totally in their
element.
Then it's straight into
"Norwegian Wood," another of Buddy's famous
pieces and for my money this Lee Musiker
arrangement is more successful than the Rich
original. Yes, I know that's sacrilege, but this
version is more evocative and true to (composer)
John Lennon's quirky spirit. The interweaving
harmonies of the horns are fabulous on the head
-- who'd have guessed Lennon could write a
melody so suited to a jazz quintet? Soskin takes
us off on a darting solo, followed by Marcus'
soprano, snaking, cajoling, twisting like a
whirlwind. When the tune is restated Smith gets
into the spirit with some furious rolls before
the piano takes us down to a gentle fade.
"New Blues," with its mellow tune and
stylish arrangement, elicited one of Buddy's
most memorably thoughtful recorded performances.
And while you might not expect the small group
to attempt some of the big band's more
boisterous favourites, New Blues lends itself to
the quintet perfectly. Once more Musiker's
arrangement follows the broad path of the big
band's version, cleverly maximizing the
instrumentation so that you really don't feel
anything is lacking. As Fusco says, "'New Blues'
doesn't miss a thing."
The rousing Sonny
Rollins standard "Airegin" follows, opening with
a 6/8 Latin groove leading into flat-out,
straight-ahead swing. Following sweltering tenor
and alto solos, the band drops out leaving Fusco
and Smith locked in a head-to-head duel of
nerve-tingling invention. And we're not even
halfway through the track yet! Marcus' tenor
rejoins Fusco's alto to exchange yet more ideas
with the drums. Finally the piano takes control
and the Latin groove returns. Smith solos over
the piano and bass - throwing in timbale-like
licks and even a taste of his cutting-edge
rhythmic displacement for good measure... Now
there's something you wouldn't have heard from
Buddy.
Time for a ballad and Gershwin's
"Embraceable You" is a vehicle for the lyrical
side of altoist Fusco, which, like "Big Man's
Blues" from the first CD, is arranged by Andy's
good friend and ex-Rich man Walt Weiskopf. While
the saxophonists take a breather, we follow the
pattern of the first set with a highly
resourceful trio piece on another theme, which
became synonymous with Buddy. The familiar
'Cool' from West Side Story is given a witty and
feisty treatment by the trio. Starting out cool
indeed, Soskin gradually builds up to a
phenomenal swing with Smith showing off his
considerable brush chops. As the piece climaxes
we're treated to a terrific bass solo from
Browne who is in great form throughout both CDs.
Now we're reaching the climax of the show
and swing is finally replaced by eighth-note
funk for "No Jive." Smith counts off with a
tasty paradiddle groove which the audience
greets with cheers and whistles. Baron ups the
ante with thumb-slapping bass. The band joins in
one by one, tenor, piano and finally both saxes,
locked in harmony -- Marcus and Fusco, with an
understanding and tightness born of years of
working together, sound as one. There's a brief
passage of tenor and drums with Smith taking the
opportunity to throw in a little double bass
drum work. An outrageously funky bass solo
follows before we reach the anticipated final
drum solo of the night. And it's literally
frightening in its power, speed and virtuosity.
Steve initially nods in Buddy's direction with a
dynamically controlled press roll and then he's
off, careering around the kit in a blur. The
crowd is on its feet and the band are in no
doubt they've made many new fans.
As with
the first CD there are bonus tracks, this time
three alternate takes from the afternoon's sound
check. Rest assured the extra takes of "Love For
Sale," "Big Man's Blues" and "Bopformation" are
as highly charged as the live cuts -- I was
there during the afternoon and the concentration
of the musicians was astounding, always giving
100%-plus, just like Buddy. Smith sums it up,
"It was a pleasure and honor to play Ronnie
Scott's. The UK audience really loves this type
of high energy, swinging jazz." And Fusco
agrees, "It's been a great week. It's so nice to
come over here and get full houses every night.
People have been really nice to us and the band
sounds great, especially with some new
arrangements. I have a good feeling we'll come
back here again."
Geoff Nicholls
-- November 2002
Geoff
Nicholls is a British journalist drummer who has
contributed to numerous music publications
including Rhythm, Modern Drummer, the Melody
Maker and Mojo, as well as newspapers The
Guardian and The Independent. Current books
include The Drum Book: A History of the Rock
Drum Kit, John Bonham, A Thunder of Drums and
Cream: The Legendary Supergroup.
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All
Music
Guide
Rating:
Four
Stars
This CD
denotes
the
second
of two
appearances
at the
famous
London,
England
jazz
spot.
With
this
effort,
master
drummer
Steve
Smith
performs
with
ex-Buddy
Rich
band
members,
saxophonists
Steve
Marcus,
Andy
Fusco
and
other
notables.
Nonetheless,
Smith
drives
this
quintet
thru a
set of
largely,
jazz
standards
such as
Coltrane's
3Moments
Notice,"
and
Sonny
Rollins'
3Airegin."
However,
as
intimated
in the
liner
notes,
the band
does
offer a
small
scale
footprint
of the
Rich big
band's
rapidly
paced
stride
and
acute
use of
dynamics.
In
any
event,
the
musicians
convey a
tight
knit,
upbeat
groove,
regardless
of
tempo.
Everyone
gets an
opportunity
to
stretch
yet one
of the
more
noticeable
aspects
of this
release
pertains
to
Smith's
flawlessly
constructed
rhythms.
Even his
solos
are
somewhat
patterned
after
Rich's
lightning
fast
fills,
cross
sticking
maneuvers
and
sweeping
tom
rolls. A
highly
entertaining
effort,
indeed!
-
Glenn
Astarita,
All
Music
Guide
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