By: Rudy Lu
Imagine yourself in NYC at one of the many nightclubs that populated 52nd street during the 50s. Most of us were not there, but saxophonist Greg Abate brought us there with the help of Chuck Lamb and his trio.
The virtuosic aggressive yet tender playing of Greg Abate mesmerized the audience as he played mostly originals, mixing some old catalog with yet to be released recorded compositions.
1st set
Opening with an appropriately titled new composition, “Into Somewhere”, Greg wasted no time warming up, firing off a blazing lead melody, followed by equally ferocious playing by Chuck Lamb. A bass solo grounded in melody was played by Jay Anderson before the chorus ended the tune.
The tempo was changed to a samba with music dedicated and named after Greg’s wife Carrie. This was first performed live at Small’s with a different ensemble in January of this year. Harvey Sorgen excelled in his brushwork for this one.
Chuck Lamb’s “Pumpkineater”dedicated to his late brother Peter has been performed by his trio quite a few times and is part of his repetoire, From this music, Peter was obviously full of life and joy. The vibe of this tune reminded of the Spirogyra tune “Morning Dance” but carries the feelings further and deeper.
“Conflict” is Greg’s composition from the 90’s. It is as intense as it sounds. Harvey Sorgen soloed twice. An intense lead was played by Greg followed by a Chuck Lamb solo.
The set wrapped up with “Variation.
2nd set
Abate opened the second set with a composition dedicated to his family again. “2 sons” was written in the 90s. His sons are now in the their 30s with children of their own.
The impending arrival of spring inspired performance of Chuck’s composition “Up Jump Spring” (Not the Freddie Hubbard Tune).
“Realization”is an example of a Abate composition inspired during a Dr’s office visit.
“In the Moment” pairs visual beauty and the art of Jazz. Being Providence based, ocean sunsets are frequent yet each one is unique. Similar to a Jazz performance. Each has a similar pattern, yet is unique at each occurrence.
That digitalization of our world that universality of 0s and 1s inspired the set and show closer “All or Nothing”.
What made this concert different than those in the 50s, were the detailed explanations of the compositions and their inspirations. Greg more than welcomed the discussion and not in a pedantic fashion. All was conversational in tone and told with great humor. He frequently had everybody in the house laughing.
An enjoyable evening, thanks to the Sarah Craig, Joe Deuel, Joanne Brown, Resse Fulmer and all the volunteers for enhancing the experience.
The next jazz concerts for the remainder of March are Gypsy jazz guitarist Stephene Wremble (sold out) & a 2 evening residency 4 performance by traditional jazz singer Catherine Russell.
April’s schedule will be especially jazz centric as the country celebrates Jazz Appreciation Month. Follow Caffe Lena on social media for details.
