By David A. Orthmann
July 23, 2012
Nyack Library Carnegie Room
Nyack, NY
The spate of live performances that expressly pay tribute to various figures from bygone eras of jazz raises a number of complex questions about the music and the business which surrounds it. Do concerts and club dates in honor of musicians ranging from Duke Ellington to Louis Prima represent a marketing ploy to attract listeners who are reluctant to venture out to hear performers with unfamiliar names? Are these events exercises in recreating the music’s storied past? Or, are they a tacit admission that jazz is dead? Conversely, if jazz is indeed alive and in a constant state of transformation, where does this leave artists who have tied themselves to the name recognition of the greats? It is possible for these occasions to serve as a point of departure for players who deliver something more than familiar, neatly packaged versions of classic material?
In the case of two sets by guitarist Bob DeVos and pianist Don Friedman (joined by bassist Mike McGuirk), who performed songs associated with guitarist Wes Montgomery and pianist Wynton Kelly, all but the last of these questions were rendered moot. From beginning to end the duo made it clear that paying tribute wasn’t synonymous with imitating the honorees’ sound, grammar and syntax. Moreover, in contrast to the original Montgomery and Kelly collaborations, captured on record by Full House (Riverside, 1962) and Smokin’ At The Half Note (Verve, 1965), the drummer-less trio sacrificed precise, tightly knit, unrelenting swing for an ensemble sound that was more flexible, adventurous, and open-ended. In short, despite DeVos’ and Friedman’s obvious respect for the material, the differences outweighed the similarities.