SFJAZZ presents Henry Butler, Steven Bernstein & the Hot 9
2014-11-20
Miner Auditorium
SFJAZZ Center, 205 Franklin St, San Francisco, CA
7:30 PM, Thursday, November 20, 2014

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

[7:30 PM lights down, announcements by Barrett Shaver]

1. [7:34 PM] Viper's Drag
2. [7:47 PM] Wolverine Blues
3. [7:59 PM] Dixie Walker
4. [8:11 PM] Buddy Bolden's Blues
5. [8:18 PM] Booker Time
6. [8:27 PM] Gimme a Pigfoot (and a Bottle of Beer)
7. [8:39 PM; -SB, +DW] Will It Go Round in Circles
   [set ends 8:53 PM]
    
   Encore
8. [8:53 PM; +SB] Big Chief
   [show ends 9:03 PM]

• Peter Apfelbaum: soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone;
• Steven Bernstein: trumpet, slide trumpet, alto horn;
• Sheldon Brown: tenor saxophone, B-flat clarinet, Turkish G clarinet;
• Charles Burnham: violin;
• Henry Butler: piano, vox;
• Luques Curtis: contrabass;
• Donald Edwards: drums;
• Curtis Fowlkes: trombone;
• Erik Lawrence: baritone saxophone, soprano saxophone;
• Matt Munisteri: guitar;
• Doug Wieselman: clarinet, E flat clarinet, tenor saxophone.

Another candidate for this year's top 10 list – tonight's gig was a real burner! I might have been feeling under the weather (being midway through a bout with the flu), but the fire and enthusiasm that the band brought to this gig and the material they laid out did much to lift my spirits despite my aches and pains.

Sheldon Brown sat in as a last minute sub for Doug Wieselman, who arrived very late due to flight delays, and he was amazing – if Steven hadn't said anything, I'm sure the audience wouldn't have suspected that Sheldon was a ringer! He got a big round of applause when he swapped out with Doug late in the show, and an even bigger ovation during his star turn on the final tune, when he came back out for a tenor sax solo.

Henry was in ferociously good form, stomping out the beat with one or both feet while unreeling crazy syncopations and amazing runs up, down, and across the keyboard every which way. It's a wonder that the thing held up to the pounding he delivered – I'm certain that a tuning is in order before the next set!

As we were standing at our seats and talking at the end of the show, the woman next to me exclaimed, “that's my boy!” – it turns out that we'd been seated next to Bernstein's proud parents – what a trip!

Thanks to Mark Kraitchman for help getting the setlist right, and for sharing a torrent of the show on DIME.

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