| Cameron Brown with Tony Malaby
I saw one set this Friday night by Tony Malaby, Cam Brown and Gerald Cleaver. The venue was this funky/scungy coffeehouse in the building which, fifteen years ago, housed Maine's leading jazz club. No beer, no smoke, no waitrons, no room -- packed house.
I was sitting about five feet from Malaby (who was basically just sitting at a cafe table, playing playing **** that makes your ears burn). I saw him last April and he's STILL growing. He has incredible timbral control and variety, dynamic dynamic range and control, and a raft of ideas ranging from the melodic to the skronkified.
Gerald Cleaver also demonstrated an incredible dynamic range. He was using full-size sticks with pen-point tips, allowing him to play real soft. Great grooves, nice tones, big ears, nice guy. I'll go see him anytime.
And Mr. Brown! He played a 100+ year-old French bass with round back and violin corners and a D neck, through a Realist, Walter Woods and a generic-looking 12" box. The amp was loud enough that I heard it for sure. Mr. Brown was gracious enough to offer me a try his on bass on the break -- how cool is that?-- and it had a very refined sound with moderate volume.
Mr. Brown plays so fine. He listens like crazy. He walks great, but spent more time playing broken time, which sounded so natural. It would be an insult to say that he sounded "as solid as a rock" -- perhaps the more apt description is, he provided a wonderfully effective screen for Malaby's projections.
If any of these folks goes your way, don't hesitate.
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