Rodger Fox Big Band at the Auckland Town Hall

By FEDERICO MONSALVE


To put it in context: 30 years ago Thelonious Monk played Carnegie Hall, John Coltrane's Interstellar Space was finally released and Duke Ellington passed away amid some of the highest honours ever bestowed upon a jazz musician in the United States.

Thirty years later Michael Brecker (whose Coltrane influence is no mystery and who often quotes Monk and Ellington) set the Town Hall on fire marking the beginning of a tour that is, without a doubt, homage enough to an era in which jazz was becoming commonplace.

In a night of individual talents, the communication between the big band with some of the international acts seemed cold and at points lacking, but this was likely a problem that the mid-to-later segments of the tour won't have to worry about.

The first section was mostly devoted to Rodger Fox's Big Band, with Fox alternating between leading and jamming on the trombone.

This was big sound (Two Seconds to Midnight, The Meaning of the Blues, and London Suite) speckled with big solos - except for the bass and drums which remained painfully removed from the action throughout the night. Of note was Two Seconds to Midnight, which manoeuvred through some phrases reminiscent of Ellington's Spanish Caravan.

Trumpeter Jon Papenbrook overshadowed the rest of the brass section (through the merit of high notes rather than real chops), which held on tightly by the solo prowess of Fox.

The half ended with pianist Bill Cunliffe, in an attempted comedy relief, asking the audience for three requests.

He picked one pop (The Beatles' Norwegian Wood), one jazz (Take Five) and one classical (Handel's Messiah) which he managed to cut and paste into a melodic menage a trois which was as messy as it was humorous.

The second portion of the night began with 11-time Grammy award-winner Michael Brecker. The sax master's performance defied every rule imaginable.

He opened with a wonderful light tone, skipped through the melody as if it didn't quite matter and proceeded to speak sax as if it was some ancient tongue for which only he and Coltrane had dictionaries.

In an incredibly short set (four tunes including standards), Brecker proved the rumour that sets him at the top three of the list of living tenor saxophonists of our time.

The frail Diane Schurr, clad in the reddest outfit on this side of the spectrum, walked around stage clinging to a sight aid and scatting with the vocal range of a twenty-something year old.

Her stage presence was as charming as it gets and worked through a repertoire of pop (Besame Mucho) and blues standards (Travelling Light), swinging between energy-charged, through nonchalant, and was unfortunately stopped by several technical difficulties.

Fox ended Brecker's performance by exclaiming, "It was definitely worth the seven-year wait". On this night it was definitely worth the 30.


* Rodger Fox Big Band, 30th Anniversary Tour with Michael Brecker (saxophone), Diane Schurr (vocals), Bill Cunliffe (piano), Jon Papenbrook (trumpet)