Wycliffe Rocks the House

Last night Jeff Tyzik brought some guest artists to perform with the Pops, one of whom was the incomparable Wycliffe Gordon. It was advertised as an evening of blues music, “Nothin but the Blues”, but not being a big fan of the Pops, I expected things to be on the cheesy side – sort of Nelson Riddle plays Leadbelly. I got tickets only for the opportunity to see Wycliffe, but had low expectations. Happy to say I was wrong, way wrong.

All four visiting artists were great: Dee Daniels, a blues vocalist with a four-octave range; Byron Stripling, an Eastman graduate, (a former student of Tyzik’s, in fact) on trumpet and vocals (smooth baritone voice, shades of Joe Williams); and Bobby Floyd on piano in the rhythm section, also taking the spotlight on a soulful Hammond organ. But once again, Wycliffe was totally astounding. His virtuoso work on the trombone is jaw-dropping. He solos like he’s playing the saxophone; but beyond that, he makes the trombone sing, and speak, and laugh. It’s unreal. And his scat-singing is like the second coming of Louis Armstrong. Lots of traditional blues numbers, but some newer jazz standards as well (Shorter’s Footprints, and Miles’ Walkin) and a couple original compositions too. Instead of a cheesy evening, it was a genuinely creative and entertaining concert.

We’ve seen a number of great older artists this year, but Wycliffe, along with Kenny Garrett, whom we saw in Toronto, suggest that the great jazz traditions are being handed down to a younger generation, and that’s a good thing.