Travels - Downbeat

Joe Lovano (left) and Bill Friselljack vartoogian/frontrowphotosMotian Saluted at Symphony SpaceUntil his early forties, drummer PaulMotian (1931–2011) was almost exclusivelya sideman. Motian then acquireda grand piano from then-employer Keith Jarrett,took composition lessons, made his first leaderrecords (Conception Vessel and Tribute) andlaunched a second career as a bandleader. “Ibegan to realize that you could write little ideasand have people interpret them,” Motian said ina 2001 DownBeat profile.Those ideas blossomed into an extraordinarytribute concert at New York’s Symphony Spaceon March 22. The evening’s co-curators, guitaristBill Frisell and saxophonist Joe Lovano—two-thirds of the Paul Motian Trio from 1984until the drummer’s death—convened a groupof musicians who had either played with Motianor paid close attention to his musical production.Drummers Joey Baron, Andrew Cyrille, BillyHart, Dave King and Matt Wilson rounded outthe program. Each performer’s intuitive juxtapositionof tonal personalities made each unitseem like part of a meta-ensemble. Vibrations oflove and high artistic intention permeated everynote. Perched on a cymbal stand, Motian’s whitebrimmedfedora stood watch.“You can’t talk about Motian’s music separatelyfrom his playing style,” said The Bad Plusbassist Reid Anderson, who functioned as aninformed rhythm section for Lovano and saxophonistRavi Coltrane on “Abacus.” Andersonadded that Motian “opened up rhythmic flow ina way that isn’t grid-based but is very compositionallyconnected,” presented “a personal way ofstructuring freedom and phrasing that hadn’t reallybeen done” and possessed “a beautiful, mysteriousmelodic and harmonic sense, a deep pop sensibilitythat our generation related to.”As the proceedings transpired, the most palpableimpression was the unitary strength ofMotian’s pieces, how their melodic integrity andinternal logic made his absence almost immaterialto successful interpretation.The audience felt Motian’s presence asLovano and Frisell opened invocationallywith “Conception Vessel,” the title track fromMotian’s first ECM release. The drummer alsoseemed to be on Baron’s shoulder as he propelledsoprano saxophonist Billy Drewes, bassistEd Schuller, Lovano and Frisell—four-fifthsof Motian’s ’80s quintet—through the intense,interactive tune “Dance.”There were no fallow moments, and manymemorable ones. Masabumi Kikuchi, Motian’spianist of choice since the early ’90s, conjuredup two poetic improvisations: a minimal, overtone-richsolo, and a fulsome call-and-responsewith bassist Gary Peacock, who executed crystallinelines with clarity and force. Peacock’smaster skills also emerged in two duos with pianistMarilyn Crispell, one a spare, delicate readingof “Etude,” the other a bracing tour through“Cosmology,” a spiky, atonal dance. Lovanoand Cyrille joined in on the rollicking “MumboJumbo,” which Cyrille transformed into his ownargot as Lovano tranced out on the melody andCrispell soloed turbulently.After a welcome-the-spirits drum duo withCyrille, Hart stayed for “Olivia’s Dream,” withsaxophonist Greg Osby, bassist Larry Grenadierand pianist Geri Allen. Spurred by Wilson, analumni edition of Motian’s Electric Bebop Band(Drewes, Chris Cheek, Bill McHenry, saxophones;Steve Cardenas, Jakob Bro, Ben Monder,guitars; Jerome Harris, Grenadier, bass) interpreted“Mesmer” as a peaceful Aylerian hymn. Frisellthen joined the guitars for a ravishing “Lament.”Osby and Frisell duetted like long-standingpartners on “Sunflower” and “Last Call.”Saxophonist Tim Berne—who recruited Motianfor three of his early ’80s LPs—illuminated“Psalm” with huge sound in duo with pianistMatt Mitchell. Allen and Frisell played the spectral,contrapuntal theme of “Fantasm” with transparentgrace before Lovano and Coltrane ratchetedup the intensity. McHenry played the tonepoem “Endless” and the jammish “Morpion” withMonder, Anderson and Cyrille.After reading a valedictory note from her ailingfather, bassist Charlie Haden, Petra Hadensang “The Windmills Of Your Mind”—the titletrack of Motian’s final album, on which she performed—withoutaffect or embellishment. Friselland Lovano took a trip with the elegant melodyof “It Should’ve Happened A Long Time Ago,”the title track of the Paul Motian Trio’s 1984debut recording. For the finale, nearly 20 musicianscollectively navigated Motian’s own perennialset-closer, “Drum Music,” with a luminous,“Ascension”-like feel. —Ted PankenJUNE 2013 DOWNBEAT 17