Per Wikipedia-An auteur (/oʊˈtɜːr/; French: [otœʁ], lit. ‘author‘) is an artist with a distinctive approach and all encompassing control of a piece, the phrase is usually used in the world of cinema rather than music. In this case, the phrase is used to describe the trend setters of the music. In this case, bebop. Bebop is an old style, that Weiss et. al. are showing still has many possibilities to explore.
The music played during this set was from the Sextet’s latest recording “Auteur”. There are substitutions for the musicians on Auteur. Adam Birnbaum for David Bryant on piano, Ben Soloman for Nicole Glover on sax and Joe Dyson for EJ Strickland on drums.
The set began with “Rebop” a “take no prisoners”approach with the rhythm section providing a strong start and 3 horn front end stating the theme . Myron Walden was burning like a mad man on his alto sax, with David Weiss and Ben Soloman following close behind. Eric Wheeler’ s bass was understated throughout the set, he always found the right notes.
The more stately “Resilience” was dedicated to octogenerian pianist George Cables. George is a bandmate of David Weiss in the all star band “The Cookers”. George continues to perform inspite of many health challenges. As would be expected pianist David Birnbaum gave a prodigious performance . David Weiss’s trumpet voiced George’s determination/persistence, Myron’s sax voiced his quiet gentle spirit. The entire band voiced the personality of George as a whole.
“The Other Side Of The Mountain” varied in tempo and dynamics. It was a musical description of a life journey with its ups and downs, high spots and low spots.
Myron was the most expressive of his emotions, cheering his bandmates on, closing his eyes to enjoy the music and pantomining the rhythms.
“Mirrors” is a 20 year old composition that was revived with the latest recording.
The set closed with as much power as it ended “One For Bu” plenty of room for soloing and self expression.
A performance where the band gave 100%, in spite of the small audience that is typical for jazz on a weeknight.
Band
David Weiss- Trumpet
Myron Walden- Alto sax
Ben Soloman-Tenor Sax
Adam Birnbaum-Piano
Eric Wheeler-Bass
Joe Dyson- Drums
Setlist
Rebop (Freddie Hubbard transcription)
Resilience (Dedicated to George Cables)
The Other Side of the Mountain
The Mirror
One for Bu ( Slide Hampton)
