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The music menu in North Carolina's Piedmont region last weekend was full of high profile acts - City Centerfest in Charlotte featuring Bob Dylan, Widespread Panic, the Black Crowes, String Cheese, Kool and the Gang and many more, the Dave Matthews Band at Walnut Creek Amphitheater in Raleigh, and the ever popular Merlefest in Wilkesboro. However, a fortunate few were on hand to see what had to be the sleeper show of the weekend - the Jazz Mandolin Project at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro. While they have played to large crowds at this club before, the combined draw of all those other acts must have played a huge role in the size of the audience this past weekend. There were roughly thirty people in front of the stage at the show's end. These were also thirty of the most fortunate people in Carrboro on this night, as the band played a two hour set of mind-bending improvisational music.
The Jazz Mandolin Project is the brainchild of Jamie Masefield, an accomplished mandolin player from Burlington, Vermont and the constant in the group. Always using the same trio format (mandolin, bass, drums), Jamie has featured Burlington luminaries such as Stacy Starkweather (bass) and John Fishman (drums), as well as a host of young jazz talent. The band's current lineup includes percussionist Greg Gonzalez and bassist Danton Boller. In a 1997 interview with the Pharmer's Almanac, Masefield said, "Because of the name, I think a lot of people assume the whole band is mandolins, which to me is sort of a horror picture. The only thing I can think of is that it's jazz related music, full of energy. It's not Charlie Parker, straight - ahead stuff.. It's got a lot of rock overtones, and classical undertones in the way the tunes are written."
I have always been highly impressed by the musicians that Jamie has asked to play with him, and having not seen his newest bandmates perform, I was a little unsure of what to expect. The most succinct way of putting it would be to say that these two young musicians are immensely talented. Playing with a variety of effects and using a bow at times, Boller was absolutely amazing. He rattled the stage and equipment with the depth of his upright bass, playing and engaging in duels with Masefield on a regular basis. Gonzalez's drumming was loose and jazzy at times, incredibly precise and economical at others. Both musicians really seemed to challenge Masefield, as there was a ton of eye contact and listening going on between the players.
I must quickly mention the opening act though, Living Daylights from Seattle. While I only caught the tail end of their set, it seemed like great music and I was hoping they would come out later to contribute to JMP's set. After a solid rendition of "The Country Open" and an expansive "Spiders," Living Daylights' Jesicca Lurie walked out onto stage and stepped to the mic beside Masefield, leading the band on a wild ride through Ornette Coleman's "Ramblin'." As I stood there and soaked it up, I couldn't help but imagine what Ornette's reaction to this would be. "I see a sax trio on stage playing my music, but what is that guy playing?" I then imagined Coleman smiling in surprise as Masefield engaged in a long call-and-response section with Lurie that was as much fun to watch as it was to listen to.
The surprise of the night for me though was found in the jamming on "Mile" and "Oh Yeah," as the group settled into a series of long, trance-like excursions that saw Masefield and Boller laying down series of loops while Gonzalez set a frenetic pace behind them. While shaking our heads between tunes, a friend of mine said, "I don't think I've ever heard 'mandolin' and 'techno' in the same sentence before." I think many would be forced to agree. A great "Xenoblast" closer and "Opera" encore left me feeling as though I had witnessed something special. At the merchandise table afterwards, the guy selling CD's summed up the quality of the music and the size of the crowd best, saying, "Yeah, they really killed it tonight. Was Phish playing next door or something?" The band really looked as though they were enjoying themselves onstage, though, and it showed in the music. I would like to personally thank them and encourage them to come back to Carrboro as soon as possible, as well as encourage other music fans to see them when they come to your town. You will be treated to an evening of genre-defying music played by an extremely talented trio of musicians. In Masefield's words, "We just draw upon a lot of things that intrigue us, and hope that it will intrigue the crowd."
Timothy Leadem
JamBase North Carolina Correspondent
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