Yes, Eastern Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and for Christmas 2004, he brought you a diverse year of music, right here in your own back yard. Despite the success of Norfolk’s The Norva, the Hampton Roads area of Virginia has always played the neglected half-brother to nearby Richmond when it comes to up-and-coming national talent at local clubs. But with the help of newcomer promoter Quiva Productions and an industrious fan-base, the area is finally getting the visitation rights that a caring nurturer of its stature deserves. At the center of the recent resurgence is Virginia Beach’s Jewish Mother, which recently hosted keyboardist Marco Benevento and drummer/rhythmist Joe Russo, who together make up the loudest jazz act in the country and the only pair far enough out to call themselves, simply, The Duo.
Soon after taking the stage, Benevento and Russo greeted the house full of adventurous fans with a grating sand bath before fading off into a more friendly flow of keys and subtle half-step. The sounds progressed as a low-end punch in the gut slipped itself in and launched the pair into the big rock thump and dancing waves of “9x9.” “Becky” justified all the Medeski, Martin &Wood comparisons, starting with a tricky, looping electro-riff, filled out with an equally digital beat and topped off with a dry, white-cold funk from Benevento, but the even more robotic “Welcome Red” drew an experimental line in the sand of the expansive jazz beach both acts share. The easy, slow soul of “Mephisto” built itself into a swooping, gliding flight before the quasi-pop of “Sunny Song” lived up to its name. Russo’s toms provided the bass line and the layers of melody built upon each other, bringing Coldplay to mind as much as the Duo’s jammier contemporaries.
“3 Question Marks” provided an eclectic anchor for the all-inclusive first set, as it moved from pretty, floating sparks of spacey melody to dirty, grating Crimson-esque progressive rock, through spastic Mahavishnu fusion, then to the funkier, Headhunter side of 70s jazz before tearing it all down with the noise-bop deconstruction of Sonic Youth and building it back from scratch with a short, quick-shot chase theme. “Vortex” wrapped up the set with a full-brain rub down, beginning with slow, light brushes against the skin, synapses firing and tiny sparks lighting along the neuron pathway, hairs bristling along the way, finally ending in a deep, heavy massage and a slow, full exhale.
More melodic exploration opened the second set with an as-yet untitled number led by Benevento’s unrelenting B3 chords and atmospheric toying. “My Pet Goat,” pulled things back together and led the duo through to a noise-rock cover of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” which oscillated from the near-chaos of television static to a free-spirited, bouncing jazz interlude and back again, eliciting the strongest crowd reaction of the night. The opening notes of Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android” drew a little more noise, recalling John Medeski and Co.’s explorations of classic Hendrix material. Another cover, this time a mash-up of Led Zeppelin’s “Four Sticks” and “Moby Dick” followed right up, giving Russo a chance to strut his stuff on a punishing drum solo before the big rock finish of “Scratchini.”
Those who walked through the doors expecting a jazz duo might have been disgusted, shocked, surprised or pleased, depending on their respective opinions and definitions of jazz, but one thing is for sure: The Duo is stretching the limits of the genre while tightening the knots that bind it to its offspring. Area fans were privileged enough to watch the tethered balloon expand and take flight and can only hope that future visitations bring an equal diversity of vision and that the local musical fabric experienced the same stretching as well.
Photos courtesy of Michael Jones
