"Tootie for President"

Ah, many summer days have passed with no blogging. C'est la vie. I've been mostly cloistered in my apartment working on music for a gig next week at I Beam with my quartet Two of Anything.

I did venture out to the Village Vanguard last night to hear Ethan Iverson, Ben Street, and Albert "Tootie" Heath. It was fascinating to listen to this cross-generational trio. Tootie Heath is a master jazz drummer who played on John Coltrane's first recording, and he kept the music afloat with joyous swing the whole evening. Ben Street and Ethan Iverson each have a very personal and modern approach to the jazz tradition, and there was a wonderful tension in their adventurous improvising combined with Heath's very grounded beat.
Great choices in the repertoire, too! I can't remember the last time I heard "Stompin' at the Savoy" at a gig.

Oh, and the band were each wearing pins that I thought were for the Obama campaign, but on closer inspection read "Tootie for President."