Early yesterday evening my wife and I headed over to Mr. Tipple’s Jazz Club to catch the 6 p.m. set taken by the Beth Schenck Quintet. Schenk led on alto saxophone; and she was joined by tenor saxophonist Cory Wright, Matt Wrobel on guitar, drummer Jordan Glenn, and Lisa Mezzacappa on bass. Wrobel joined Schenck and Wright on the front line, and improvisation was shared relatively equally among the three of them.
Most of the selections were Schenck originals. Perhaps the most engaging (not to mention personal) aspect of the evening came with the performance of “Dinner with Carla.” This was composed as a memorial to Carla Bley, who died this past October 17. This was the one selection in which Wrobel took the lead, and it also provided Glenn with an opportunity for a solo on his drum kit. The one selection that was not Schenck’s came at the very end of the set, Lee Konitz’ “Palo Alto,” which may have been created during a gig at a long-past Stanford Jazz Festival.
I enjoyed the intimacy of Schenk’s quintet. It suggested that this was a personal gathering, as well as a musical one. Mind you, I am a sucker for bass solos; so I had a bit of regret that Mezzacappa did not emerge from providing rhythm to exercise those inventive chops that I have previously encountered. Nevertheless, among the jazz, the single malt, and the light supper fare at Mr. Tipple’s there emerged the comfort that comes at the end of a busy day at the end of a busy week.
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