The James Carter Organ Trio, Monday, September 7
The James Carter Organ Trio hit the ground running at the 2020 version of the Detroit Jazz Festival.
Like most ensembles, James’ group was living in enforced limbo prior to the Detroit Jazz Festival. They’d been separate since November 2019, but after a few minutes they settled into a swinging groove. James always sounds especially energized when playing for a hometown crowd even though on this night he could not see them.
Carter is the only saxophonist (possibly, the only instrumentalist) who can take listeners on a jazz history cruise during a single composition. He was in a celebratory mood, exploring numbers associated with two heroes: Charlie Parker (Bird’s centennial was August 29) and Theodore Walter Rollins, the Sonny-man who has spread so much spirit and love around our damaged orb. He turned ninety years of age the day of Carter’s set. James tossed in some Sonny tunes, including “Tenor Madness.” From one Saxophone Colossus to another.
Carter included two soulful paeans to Charlie Parker, opening the set with a jaunty “Confirmation,” and later bringing home a soulful exploration of “Parker’s Mood.”
Carter, Gerard Gibbs, and drummer Alex White are an elastic ensemble which follows the music every which way James takes it. It was wonderful to hear them live and well.
The tech guys did a superb job bringing this wonderful Festival into our TV’s, computers, and phones. The Hi-Def picture was a treat. The sound was good, too. I noticed only one sound-to-picture syncing issue (during Steve Turre’s set). Given the number of potential problems with live stream performances, this one worked well. Great job, guys.