Javon Jackson at the Firefly

BY LARS BJORN AND PIOTR MICHALOWSKI

Tenor saxophonist Javon Jackson played the Firefly Club in Ann Arbor with his quartet on December 3rd. By the time we arrived for the last set, the band was well warmed up and in full throttle. They were truly smoking when they reached "Walkin'"as their encore, and even though it was time to call it a night, the audience clearly would have stayed for more hard bop classics. Some of the smoke came from the exhilarating trumpet playing of Derrick Gardner, who sat in on this number.

Jackson's mellow tenor sax was backed expertly by Benny Green's powerful chording and Jimmy Cobb's pulsating drums. We have usually heard Green in a trio setting, but it was interesting to hear him in a different context that tempered Green's tendency towards eclecticism. On "All the Things You Are" he delivered a jumping solo that Wynton Kelly would have been proud of, and his more lyrical side was heard on "You Don't Know What Love Is." It also turns out that Green is a powerful accompanist who knows when to lay out, when to come in, and when to push the soloist at just the right moment. Cobb is still one of the masters of the ride cymbal at 75 years of age. He was an unreserved joy to hear and worked wonderfully in tandem with the solid Cincinnati bassist Jim Anderson. When he soloed, you could almost hear the changes to the tune go by!

All in all, it was a wonderful mainstream session at the Firefly.

Standing from left: Javon Jackson, Firefly owner Susan Chastain, Jim Anderson, Jimmy Cobb. Kneeling: Benny Green.

photograph by Lars Bjorn

I N - T H I S - I S S U E :
1. ALMA SMITH AWARDED ---2. JAVON JACKSON
3. RECORD REVIEW ---4. AROUND TOWN
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