Stanford Jazz Workshop presents the Kenny Burrell Quartet
2014-08-04
Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Stanford University, 471 Lagunita Drive, Stanford, CA
8:00 PM, Monday, August 4, 2014

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2014 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2014 event list! ☸ On to the next event!

[8:09 PM lights down, announcements from Jim Nadel, KB out alone]

1. [8:15 PM] ? @
2. [8:20 PM] ? @
3. [8:26 PM] ? “Ellingtonia medley” @
4. [8:34 PM; +FH] In a Sentimental Mood @
5. [8:43 PM; -FH, +trio] ? Speak Low
6. [8:54 PM] Listen to the Dawn
   [set ends 9:03 PM]

[9:30 PM lights down, waiting]

1. [9:25 PM] Tenderly
2. [9:36 PM] Tin Tin Deo
3. [9:49 PM] Lament
4. [9:58 PM] ?
   [set ends 10:04 PM]
    
   Encore
5. [10:06 PM] 'Round Midnight
6. [10:11 PM] (outro theme)
   [show ends 10:14 PM]

• Kenny Burrell: guitar;
• Dena DeRose: piano;
• Peter Erskine: drums;
• Fred Hersch: piano (s1 t04 only);
• David Wong: contrabass.

Fun show tonight, if slightly over-scripted perhaps. Anyways, opening with a solo tunes on acoustic guitar was novel – I'm pretty sure both aspects of that were a first for me as far as seeing Kenny Burrell. When he walked out, I was expecting some soft Brazilian bossas, but instead he played pretty much straight ahead, ending with a medley of Ellington tunes.

It was nice to add Fred Hersch for a duet – first time ever for that pairing! – but like a lot of first meets, it was more than a little tentative, as Fred obviously deferred the driver's chair to Kenny while they meandered their way through In a Sentimental Mood. In retrospect, I would have traded one of the solo tunes for second duet – maybe something more uptempo – but that's certainly somethbing which I have absolutely no ability to affect!

Cramming these disparate elements in.to the start of the set meant there wasn't much time left for the trio to play, and with only two tunes before the set break, it made the whole affair seem shorter than it actually was. Despite that complaint, I enjoyed hearing the trio, particularly Peter Erskine's drumming, which offered a huge variety in tone flavor as he kept the beat.

Lacking any interruptions, the second set was even more satisfying than the first. Although it was a pickup group, they managed to blend well together, and except for a few scattered flubs or missed cues, didn't evince any problems working together – guess that's why they're in the big leagues!

Kenny seemed to get faster and more fluid as the show went on, with the last three tunes of the second set eopping particular hard. 'Round Midnight was a nice choice to close the evening, even if it wasn't quite that late yet, and everyone took a solo turn before the show wrapped up.

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2014 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2014 event list! ☸ On to the next event!