The Jazz Half

Cincinnati's Jazz Showcase

Venue: Chez Nora
            Brent Gallaher – saxophones
            Jim Connerly – piano
            Jim Anderson – bass
            Tony Franklin – drums

Brent Gallaher is a staple of the Cincinnati jazz scene. Whether backing up other musicians or in the spotlight as band leader, he is a well-known and well-played member of our jazz community.  Tonight in a venue that is no less a staple of the Cincinnati scene, he acts as band leader, fronting his namesake quartet including 3 other musicians who are equally known and played in the Queen City;  Jim Connerly on piano, Jim Anderson on bass and Tony Franklin on drums.

The night of music begins with a medium-tempo, pensive modal tune, the name of which either we miss or isn’t given, sets a very nice tone for the evening, letting listeners know that they are in for an evening of straight jazz in the pure. Characterized by a distinctly stated melodic line by Gallaher, trading off at times with Connerly, the tune has a relaxed yet decidedly competent sound that’s not flashy or pretentious. No fireworks to wear out the players or the audience prematurely for this 3-set, 4-hour night of jazz.

One of the very attractive characteristics of the Gallaher quartet is the consistent use of long solo sections by the players – particularly saxophone and piano –  all of whom are accomplished soloists. This first tune is not an exception as Gallaher and Connerly each take several minutes to work out their trade, as well as warm up the audience for the show to come.

The name of the 2nd tune, by Joe Henderson, is again either unstated or missed by your reviewer (who is happy to report that the set lists for the rest of the evening are known and documented here). Played in samba-feel, the head is a highly-syncopated latin groove. Vibrant and lively, the tune is driven by the soloists with the rhythm section in the pocket right behind them. The modal piano solo specifically takes the entire song and group in an entirely different direction, a universe unto itself at times flirting with Middle-Eastern chord structure, before circling back to the melodic line and the final solos by Anderson and Franklin.

Cut 3 is Horace Silver’s Summer in Central Park, played in a ¾ time, shuffle-feel, which includes enough improvisation inside of the main melody by Gallaher to create a very fresh appeal. Long sax solos by Gallaher are reminiscent of John Coltrane’s “sheets of sound” approach.  Of note too, are Connerly’s left hand/right-hand syncopation which infuses an “in-the-moment” liveliness into the tune, and a bass solo by Anderson that highlights his own be-bop sensibility as applied to the stand up bass. He is an accomplished bassist with a legacy in Cincinnati jazz who adds a certain gravitas to any combo with which he plays. Another impressive moment in the tune comes in a turn-around after one of Gallaher’s solos when the entire ensemble “lands” on a single beat in the phrase together, creating the sense almost of falling off a small ledge as a unit – boom! – then picking up the next beat without flinching. Intentional or not, the effect was dramatic and well-delivered.

Cut 4, How Deep is the Ocean?, starts out inconspicuously enough as a quick tempo straight-swing number, but steadily builds steam into an absolute barn-burner with one smoking solo after another from Gallaher and Connerly going back and forth. Again, Coltrane’s “sheets-of-sound” can be heard channeled through Gallaher’s horn, and enough cannot be said for Connerly’s incredible dedication to his solos, and to the entire accomplishment of whatever tune he happens to be playing at the time. His solos move from “sheets-of-chords” to single note runs over 2.5 octaves in a single phrase. He is not at all afraid to work it out and to push his own boundaries right in front of a room full of listeners. Taking a phrase, he might work it out two, three, four times or more in a row, each time growing it and evolving it until it manifests as he needs it, all the while forwarding the action of the quartet as a whole, the other members feeding on what he’s creating. He takes each phrase, each moment, to the next level with a “playing to win” abandon that is super-rich and a joy to experience. 

This rocket ship of a tune marks the beginning of the end of the first set, with one more tune to go, a laid-back blues boogie, Horace Silver’s The Jody Grind, which gives the band a chance to recuperate, and the audience wanting more. Again, outside of its sheer talent, it is a sign of the bands experience and work-a-day musicianship that they arrange their set-list in such a way. While others might perform the high-wire acrobatics in the first few minutes of the show to ensure the rapt attention of the audience, the Gallaher quartet paces itself, letting itself and the audience acclimatize to the scene before starting to pull out stops.

Oliver Nelson’s classic standard Stolen Moments kicks off the 2nd set, followed by a unique bossa-nova version of Coltrane’s epic Giant Steps. A very special moment occurs when, by request, the quartet offers up For All We Know to a couple celebrating their wedding anniversary. For the duration of the tune it might as well be  them and the band as the only ones in the place. Indeed, a special song for a special occasion.

The fourth cut of the second set is a version of Caravan that features mainly a dissonant and frenetic main phrase with an almost panicked-sounding bass riff, contrasted by bouts of swing and driving shuffle. Closing the set is Sweet Georgia Bright by Charles Lloyd.

Set 3 begins with the classic Take 5 by Dave Brubeck. This is a tune that because of its odd-time and immense recognizability can become tired very quickly. However the Gallaher quartet pulls this one off remarkably, keeping the vibe in the pocket the entire time and really letting the groove work for them. This is followed by Coltrane’s Moments Notice, Gillespie’s Con Alma and Larry Young’s Tyrone, a 6/8-time, waltz-blues, which elicits a sort of “rolling-thunder” feel from Franklin’s drums at times.

The show winds down around 1am with Bill Evans’s Interplay, an F-blues with a highly laid-back swing pattern and a vibe that we all could ride right out the door. Again, no need for pyrotechnics; if you’ve been here through any one set – much less, all three – you’ve already gotten those. The highs, the lows; the chordant, the discordant, the rollicking solos and smooth, solid lines played by tenured artists who know what it means to bring it every time. This final tune acts as an appropriate farewell that really coins the night and gives the feeling we’re about to pour out of the Blued Note club onto Bleaker street. And who would have thought, its right here under our noses?