After playing a month of double residencies in both New York and Boston, which included serious guests ranging from Steve Kimock to David Fiuczynski, JFJO finished off with a week five pairing with The Slip. When the dual-trio billing was announced, it wasn’t clear as to how the setup would run; whether it would be a rotating cycle, sit-ins, or random collaborations, so when word spread it would actually be a sextet of two full trios, the fire was lit for a hot night.
Taking the stage on their own to start, JFJO slowly meandered into their exploratory, avant-garde style, drawing the eager audience in closer with off-beat rhythms and notes hitting both spectrums of the register. The word jazz, like any genre at this point, means many different things and can be used to cover various styles, but Jacob Fred is pure, straight up jazz. The kind of jazz you can’t listen to as a kid, because it scrambles your brain with the complexities of a word problem. Only after proper ear training, or a few good college years, can the novice jazz aficionado come to appreciate such mind-bending compositions. This is not the groove-rock jazz that has passed for so long lately. This is scotch, no ice, in a smoky club at 4am jazz...and it’s cool man.
Each Jacob Fred song gains it’s strength from the depths to which it is pushed, yet miraculously held together by the bass foundation of Reed Mathis. His abilities to bring bass to the forefront of the soundscape is astounding, and combined with the ferocity of Brian Haas on Fender Rhodes, it’s a truly colorful canvas. After a solid half-hour of original material which featured a climactic "Nibbles the Squirrel," The Slip joined the stage to a great hometown applause.
Feeling out their places, improvised solos were traded off between the players for the initial start of the shared set, with everyone trying to find their room. With the night an actual JFJO show, it appeared that The Slip was cautiously aware that they were the guests, and Marc Friedman remained hesitantly behind his fellow bassist for the early part of the set. As they all struggled to find their connections, it was both of the drummers who locked in tightly and really began the show. JFJO’s Jason Smart and The Slip’s Andrew Barr pounded away in time, and the club began to heat up both onstage and off. Feeding off each other, they brought the jam to a boiling point, only to be eventually topped by a beautiful rendition of Miles Davis’ "All Blues."
As the night progressed, the members came and went, configuring themselves in all sorts of combinations, with some vast exploration and solid solo work from everyone, but continuously the drum pair dominated the stage. Gracious hosts, Slip fans were even treated to a few gems of their own including a Slip with Reed quartet take on "Tonight We leave Chicago," which featured Brad on vocals. And for a brief moment, a tease of the crowd favorite "Honey Melon" brought loud cheers, but the song was quickly aborted for more improv.
A truly hot night of jazz that left the club drenched in sweat. Summer nights can’t be far behind.
Photos courtesy of Adam Marcinek
