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Phillip T Young Recital Hall
September 20, 2014
Miles Davis' album The Birth of the Cool is one of the key albums in his canon and in the development of twentieth century jazz. It wasn't conceived as an album, but was compiled from a mere twelve tracks that were recorded at three sessions in 1949 and 1950, and originally released as 10" 78-RPM singles (one track on each side). The recordings contain innovations in instrumentation and arrangements, and a cool dry approach to playing that was in stark contrast to the high-octane bebop style of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, the leading names in jazz of the day. The participants in the sessions, notably Miles Davis and the three arrangers John Lewis (who also played piano on two of the sessions), Gerry Mulligan (baritone saxophone) and Gil Evans, all went on to pursue the implications of this approach through their careers, establishing the "cool jazz" aesthetic. In retrospect, the sessions were dubbed "The Birth of the Cool" when the sessions were assembled into a single album in 1957."
For the concert at hand, trumpeter Patrick Boyle assembled an ensemble to join him in replicating a selection of the original arrangements.
The performances were well-executed, capturing the sound of the original recordings. The use of french horn and tuba, and the omission of tenor saxophone, creates the opportunities for sonorities that remain relatively unused in jazz. The more bop-oriented tunes, such as "Budo (Hallucinations)", came off well, with one quibble: the soloists were sometimes lost in the blend of instruments.
The pensive "Moon Dreams" was dedicated to the late Canadian trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, who passed away two days prior to the concert. The performance was the highlight of this section of the concert, with the textures of the ensemble well-balanced, and providing hints of arranger Gil Evans' future work with Miles Davis such as the deservedly-famous Sketches of Spain album.
Boyle's "Fictional Brett" opened the second half of the concert, where his trumpet was joined by the creative drumming of Kelby MacNayr. The duo delivered a hard swinging and engaging performance, and while this sparse instrumentation was compelling, the tune is a strong one and begs for a bigger band.
The concert opened with a set of standards played by Boyle on guitar, joined by the inestimable Ian McDougall on trombone. This is a rare combination - it requires technique that few musicians possess. Which made the performance all the more rewarding, as the calibre of play was, frankly, astounding. Boyle's chops were evident from the concert's opening, an endearing solo chord melody rendition of Ray Noble's "The Touch of Your Lips". His guitar playing has a warm tone, imparted by his fingerstyle approach, with his hand positioned over the neck pickup.
When joined by trombonist Ian McDougall for a set of standards, Boyle's guitar playing behind McDougall's melody and soloing provided rich support, mixing walking bass lines against the every-shifting chords.
And Ian McDougall is a treasure. Patrick Doyle introduced McDougall by saying "He is one of the greatest musical talents this country has ever produced", and McDougall's playing supported that assertion. They launched into a hard-swinging "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", where an acceleration into the solo section didn't miss a beat. McDougall mixed idiomatic trombone elements, such as subtle glissando between and into notes, that are simply not possible on other instruments.
Another highlight was "Autumn Leaves", where McDougall captured the tune's melancholy in the head and coda, dropping into his horn's pedal tones at the end of the solo.
A jazz curmudgeon might suggest that the programming was too conservative, with only one new tune and 65-year-old arrangements. But when the results are as engaging and appealing as what was delivered, it was no surprise that the sold-out crowd in the intimate confines of the Phillip T. Young recital hall at UVic was most appreciative.
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