Bass Desires
By Kirk Silsbee
Forget the “woo-woo” vocals and the paint-by-numbers smooth jazz tunes on Marcus (Concord) by electric bassist Marcus Miller – the man is a formidable player. For him, funk is interchangeable with jazz, so turn him loose on Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground” and you’ve got something that feels awfully good. Miller sets up shop at Catalina’s tonight through Sunday, and he’ll no doubt come up with something to please almost everyone. Lee Konitz, the sublime alto saxophone legend, continues at the Jazz Bakery until Saturday. Konitz helped define extended linear improvising, and always rendered it by the most graceful means. Guitarist Larry Koonse is a protean musician who enhances every musical situation he’s dropped into. He teams up with the superb Polish contrabassist Darek Oles for a night of cogent duets, Saturday at the Metropol. Sunday at Local 47 (817 Vine St., Hollywood, 818-400-3263; 2 p.m.; $20), the California Jazz Federation hosts a fundraiser with bands led by Bruce Babad, Ramon Banda, Billy Valentine, and Stuart Elster. This benevolent organization has stepped up and seen to the needs of musicians who’ve fallen on hard times and is funded by these events. Also Sunday, the marvelous collective Quarteto Nuevo plays an infrequent recital at U.U. Community Church of Santa Monica (1260 18th St., Santa Monica; 6:30 p.m.; $10, $15; Liraproductions.com). Straddling the worlds of folkloric, jazz, and contemporary composition, these four virtuosos make a hybrid music that’s greater than the sum of its parts. Tuesday at the Bakery, the great drummer Peter Erskine pilots his trio with pianist Alan Pasqua and bassist Dave Carpenter. Trio jazz doesn’t get much better than this.
For info, see Jazz, Blues, Latin listings.
Published: 04/30/2008
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