Tod Cochran Trio at SFJAZZ

Todd Cochran (from the banner for the SFJAZZ event page)

Yesterday evening I was able to get over to the Joe Henderson Lab in the SFJAZZ Center to take in the first set performed by the Todd Cochran Trio. Cochran led at the piano, joined by John Leftwich on bass and drummer Lyndon Rochelle. Cochran gave his program the titled Remembering… a homage to my hometown, San Francisco. However, he did not dwell on this concept, preferring to serve up a little less than an hour’s worth of thoroughly engaging performances reflecting on different aspects of his repertoire.

These days it seems as if everyone feels an obligation to give a nod to Thelonious Monk, and Cochran was no exception. He began the set with “Brilliant Corners” (which I have always felt gets far less attention than it deserves). Each of the numbers on the program allowed for extended solos by Leftwich and Rochelle; and, for this opening selection, Leftwich took his solo playing his bass with his bow. The tinge of melancholy in those bowed sonorities almost seemed to constitute a memorial nod to Monk’s spirit.

Early in the evening, Cochran let Leftwich and Rochelle take a break while he gave a solo account of one of his own compositions. “Crescent Moon” unfolded with a throughly engaging interplay of both harmonic and rhythmic progressions. This entailed the sort of sophisticated keyboard work that would make any skilled classical pianist gape with envy. (If Jean-Yves Thibaudet is not yet aware of Cochran, he would do well to go over to Amazon.com and check out some of his albums!)

Of particular interest was “LaRue.” This was composed for Emma LaRue Anderson by her husband Clifford Brown. He performed the tune as a vocal, putting his trumpet aside for the occasion. Last night that vocal line was taken as a bass solo by Leftwich.

In a somewhat affectionate vein, Cochran wrapped up the set with a waltz. The title was “Xoshia Girl,” which seemed to reflect the wrong continent! (Cochran said nothing about the title other than naming it.) Whatever the context may have been, the music provided an engagingly affectionate way to bid farewell to the highly attentive audience that had assembled for this set.