GOLD SOUNDS PLAY PAVEMENT | 02.10.07 | NYC
By Team JamBase Mar 21, 2007 • 12:00 am PDT

Words by: Gabriela Kerson
Gold Sounds featuring Chesnut, Jackson, Veal & Carter
02.10.07 :: Dizzy’s Jazz Club at Lincoln Center :: New York, NY
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The evening featured four contemporary jazz greats – Cyrus Chestnut (keyboards), Ali Jackson (drums), Reginald Veal (bass) and James Carter (sax). These four renowned musicians came to play their inspired arrangements of the music of famous Northern California indie rockers Pavement. The quartet’s studio album, Gold Sounds, was released in 2005, and found them digging into the abrasive, often experimental Pavement originals to smooth them out and expand their range.
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The highlight of the evening was the second song of the set, “Blue Hawaiian.” Chestnut started at the piano and Carter’s alto came in so sweet it was chilling. Veal played the upright bass with a bow while the tortured horn cried out, a scattering of cymbals beginning and then trailing off into treble notes. Carter swung the sax up, a push of air with no tone. Chestnut had one hand on the piano and one on the Rhodes for a tropical flair.
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“Improv is composition at a rapid pace,” said Chestnut. “Right now, we’re gonna flip a coin into the imaginary bucket of songs by Pavement. Whatever it is we hope you enjoy it.” They pulled “Trigger Cut” from the bucket. The lights were dark, letting the city enter the room through the giant windows. Their interpretation was pretty like a carriage ride through the park. Veal listened intently as Carter’s sax grew more intentional, darker, more mature. The whole time Chestnut was talking through his keys – teasing, calming, testing, changing, reminding, guiding. The bass and piano anchored the song as Carter continued to go nuts, the animal connotations of the cowbell totally fitting his attack. Carter gave our ears a rest while he changed a reed, and Chestnut continued playing like the sweetest suitor. Veal’s fingers danced, his instrument buried beneath the sudden overlap in tones as the drums rode high in the war of sounds.
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Jackson broke into Kool & The Gang’s “Ladies Night” for a friend’s birthday to close the show. It was a heartbreaking end to a phenomenal experience, neither Pavement nor experimental. The club quickly turned the tables for the second of three sets. I left feeling revived, warmed as much by the southern hospitality as the music, which titillated my ears and left me loving jazz again.
JamBase | New York
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