Spring Break
Rose's jazz arrives at coda
by Alex Pagan
Staff Writer
Arts | 3/10/09
Posted online at 12:11 AM EST on 3/10/09
The third song was reportedly realized during a long car ride and last month reached its 20th "birthday." The piece began soporifically, with Hofbauer playing harplike chords and Kohlhase sustaining high-register saxophone lines over the somnolent sonic foundation. Kohlhase's alto saxophone solo in this piece was absolutely transcendent, utilizing modern intervals in a way that was both unique-sounding and tonal. Following Kohlhase's solo, Hofbauer and Connors began dual solos, Hofbauer playing at his avant-garde best, and Connors pulling everything out of his repertoire as sticks were abandoned in favor of bare-handed percussion and handclaps.
The next song was another excerpt from Kohlhase's Superhero Series and featured Hofbauer playing with his Altoid-tin slide and various realizations of the complex main melody on mallet percussion, bass and Kohlhase's saxophone. The music, as in the first Superhero piece, was extremely free during improvisatory segment, yet impeccably structured.
After the second installment of the Superhero Series, Kohlhase played a tune written by his contemporary John Tchicai. This song was characterized by a rhythmic funkiness that lapsed into reflection and then back into funkiness. When funky, the song was not far off from electric Miles Davis, with Hofbauer offering jagged stabs on electric guitar and Connors driving the band insistently. In the latter portion of the song, Kohlhase sustained a melodic ostinato and Hofbauer broke free from the rest of the group and offered a burning, distinctive solo.
The following two songs were incongrously conventional. The former was a ballad, dubbed "The Greatest Song of all Time" by Kohlhase, and was characterized by Hofbauer's chord melodies and the surprising appropriateness of Kohlhase's baritone sax in a traditional context. The latter song was, according to Kohlhase, also in the running for "Greatest Song of all Time," and he deemed it too good to be written by himself. Because of this, the saxophonist insisted that he was a plagiarist, and dubbed the song "My Latest Plagiarism." The song was burning hard bop and, as promised, was one of the most compelling songs of the evening.
The set ended with another segment of the "Superhero Suite" and the audience was left with a healthy mix of discordance and consonance in their collective aural memories as the final installment of Jazz at the Rose came to a close.
The next song was another excerpt from Kohlhase's Superhero Series and featured Hofbauer playing with his Altoid-tin slide and various realizations of the complex main melody on mallet percussion, bass and Kohlhase's saxophone. The music, as in the first Superhero piece, was extremely free during improvisatory segment, yet impeccably structured.
After the second installment of the Superhero Series, Kohlhase played a tune written by his contemporary John Tchicai. This song was characterized by a rhythmic funkiness that lapsed into reflection and then back into funkiness. When funky, the song was not far off from electric Miles Davis, with Hofbauer offering jagged stabs on electric guitar and Connors driving the band insistently. In the latter portion of the song, Kohlhase sustained a melodic ostinato and Hofbauer broke free from the rest of the group and offered a burning, distinctive solo.
The following two songs were incongrously conventional. The former was a ballad, dubbed "The Greatest Song of all Time" by Kohlhase, and was characterized by Hofbauer's chord melodies and the surprising appropriateness of Kohlhase's baritone sax in a traditional context. The latter song was, according to Kohlhase, also in the running for "Greatest Song of all Time," and he deemed it too good to be written by himself. Because of this, the saxophonist insisted that he was a plagiarist, and dubbed the song "My Latest Plagiarism." The song was burning hard bop and, as promised, was one of the most compelling songs of the evening.
The set ended with another segment of the "Superhero Suite" and the audience was left with a healthy mix of discordance and consonance in their collective aural memories as the final installment of Jazz at the Rose came to a close.
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