Mat Maneri Quartet: 5/8 @ Cornelia Street Cafe

[Steve Reynolds]

With a pianist and bassist I don't know

Eliot Cardinaux - piano

Will McEvoy - bass

With the great Randy Peterson on drums

I be first in line

Get Ready to Receive Yourself

Edited May 5, 2014 by Steve Reynolds

[CraigP]

http://eliotcardinaux.wordpress.com/

He's a poet too!

[colinmce]

Should be nice. I saw photos of a Sinton/Gray/Eisenstadt/Maneri group that looked to die for. Hope to hear that one someday down the line. Josh Sinton doesn't record nearly enough, especially on bass clarinet. His solos on the first Nate Wooley Quintet record on that horn are something else for real.

[CraigP]

Yep, looking forward to that new Ideal Bread set coming out this month, I believe.

[Steve Reynolds]

New Mat Maneri tunes called things like "Send", "Kicked ", "Turn" and other one word names for the other four new sketches/compositions. The only tune was an older piece called "Last Step"

Leaving I heard a young lady speaking with two make friends and they commended her for staying to the bitter end. HA!

One long 90 minute set - new quartet never played together before / none if them ever laid eyes in the music which Mat joked (?) that he wrote at 6:00 this morning. A few rough patches in the beginning with McEvoy in the unenviable position of adapting the double bass to this music. But he got more tuned into the music as the set progressed. He never took oh the his although he once grabbed it and then thought better(?) of it. The pianist was wonderful leaving plenty of space - only playing when it added something to the music.

The rapport between Mat and Randy remains telepathic, invigorating and inspirational to this listener. I may be considered some sort of fanatic about these two - and for good reason. Peterson uses no extra toys - the only thing that appears odd is his large cymbal is tilted on a severe angle. His playing is always in some sort of groove that seems to exists on some margin - the tension created by his playing is unmatched for me by any drummer - with the possible exception of Gerry Hemingway - and his dynamic power also can only be approached by Mr. Hemingway.

And the bass drum sound that he gets - as someone said, and I reminded him, of the 2002 show at Tonic with the great Joe Maneri quartet (with Barre Phillips) augmented by Craig Taborn and Roy Campbell - or described his sound as atomic bombs or blasts.

And when Mat says "me and Randy", my heart skips a beat - as it did last night - as that is when the improvisation detail, precision and intensity went to that otherworldly level

To the bitter end indeed - the last half hour was a band finding their way - just warming up - but unheard by most as it is not an easy music to find one's way into. It is between the notes, beyond description, oblique, yet direct, technically challenging, yet heartfelt and almost vocal.

Light Trigger, baby

Edited May 9, 2014 by Steve Reynolds

[Leeway]

I guess that's why they call it improvisation; lots of stops, starts and turns in a set that long (90 min !). Thanks for the review. Does Mat intend to keep the group together?

[Steve Reynolds]

I guess that's why they call it improvisation; lots of stops, starts and turns in a set that long (90 min !). Thanks for the review. Does Mat intend to keep the group together?

They were talking about doing 2 sets but I think once they started a few minutes late (~9:20) and the crowd was light, they must have decided to go straight through.

Yes - I would think Mat will go forward with the group. The pianist was really sublime and fit right into his music.

Fun to hear how Mat instructs and guides the young guys. Before the second to last piece , he told them to take their time getting there.

He would signal to McEvoy down for volume(?) or tempo(?), and he will often give instructions who should start (bass), (piano & drums), etc.

Then before the last piece, he had his bow less than an inch from the viola for more than a minute before the pianist struck the first soft note.

In retrospect, as it is with Joe's music, despite the awesome skronky power of the heavy improvisations, it is the passages at beyond slow and/or below soft that give the music it's heart.