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Rashied Ali LIVE (in the other room)

Started by Mark Schlipper, April 25, 2004, 11:08 AM

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Mark Schlipper

So ... The missus and I are out at the local bar flipping through the paper trying to figure out what to do last night, when I see a club listing for The Rashied Ali Trio*.   Well, after the squealing like a school girl for a few minutes we headed to town to go catch the second set.

Somewhat surprisingly the show was sold out.  Not that Ali doesnt deserve it mind you, but I rarely run into folks that know him, and when I do they usually dont like him much :)   So we got on the waiting list.   And waited.   And stopped waiting when they told us "It'll be a miracle if we can fit in everyone we've made reservations for."  But this venue apparently pipes the audio portion of the concerts they have into the bar upstairs.  Very nice I thought.   So I did get a bit of Ali fix.  

(the kind of a review portion of the thread)

The trio consisted of Reggie Workman on bass, and Ravi Coltrane on sax and piano.   Unfortunately, being in the bar and not the venue itself, we had no visual to speak of.  The sound was good, but it was music in a bar.  Meaning you had to listen over the banter of sad men trying to pickup women.   The trio wasnt as out as Ali can often get.  And started the set with a Ravi piece.  Ali reminded those listening what makes him such an innovator, and still managed to swing like nobodies business when needed.  It was especially fun to hear those hard bop ride cymbal grooves flitting around the fierce "chaos" his other three limbs were producing.  

Ravi Coltrane was fine, and I preferred him on piano to sax.  But all in all I found his playing somewhat forgettable.   Not that it was bad, just that it wasnt exciting in the company he was in.   Fans of less out, but still adventerous jazz would probably dig his stuff.  Reggie was in fine form, and still one of the greatest on double bass.  Hes a monster, and Im sorry I didnt get to see him.  But his playing was top notch.  He played like he was fully intent and aware in conversation with Ali.  And his solos were works of art unto them selves.  

All in all it wouldve been well worth the $20 charge, had I known about the show in advance.  And Im sorry I didnt.  But I do recommend yall check 'em out if you can.   Check your paper, check the web.   If he's coming near you, go.   Even if you arent into the outer fringes of jazz, it'll be a good education, like an hour and half of lessons for $20 :)




*[size=-2]For those that dont know, Rashied Ali replaced Elvin Jones in John Coltrane's group, basically created a new approach to drums, and has been active with tons of folks since.[/size]