As had been announced earlier this month, the Alchemist Quintet visited Mr. Tipple’s Jazz Club yesterday evening to perform the first two sets. This group has a somewhat unconventional front line shared by Michele Walther on violin and saxophonist Doug Pet, playing both tenor and soprano. The rhythm section consisted of John Kiskaddon on piano, bassist Ted Burik, and Greg German on drums.
Most of the selections were originals. By my count, both Walther and Kiskaddon contributed two of them. Pet used his, “Castles Out of Ashes,” to highlight his soprano work, which could not have been more polished. By my count, both Burik and German took only one extended solo each. Burik took the lead in improvising on Walther’s “Valentine’s Waltz,” providing a “call” to which Walther then “responded.” That exchanged was then capped off by a solo take from Kiskaddon. German got his chance to bring his technique to the foreground to cap off a series of improvisations around Pet’s “Breakthrough.”
As just about every reader will realize by now, this was a combo that delivered jazz the way I like it. Whether the music was a ballad (“Stella by Starlight”), a waltz (“Valentine’s Waltz”), or straight-ahead jazz, there was more than enough inventiveness to keep the attentive listener occupied. There also seemed to be a determination to connect with the audience (even those more occupied with food, drinks, and conversation), thus getting beyond the don’t-bother-me-I’m-busy demeanor of many of the more intensely focused jazz players. The whole affair was an engaging one serving up novelty mixed with imaginative takes on the traditional selections.
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