Joe Lovano & Shabaka
(Dizzy’s membership. 11 January 2024. Winter Jazzfest. Reside assessment by Dan Bergsagel)

NYC’s Winter Jazzfest is celebrating 20 years of midwinter programming this January, and doing it in fashion, with Shabaka as artist-in-residence. For an NYC-based Londoner, that is in fact a degree of delight – the London scene being so respectfully represented on this nice cauldron of jazz – and in addition excellent news for NYC jazz followers, as we get to see Shabaka play 5 nights in a row.

This wasn’t Shabaka’s first displaying at Winter Jazzfest – since 2017 he’s been right here with Sons of Kemet, The Comet is Coming, and Shabaka and the Ancestors, in addition to a saxophone for rent filling in for dropped out reveals. This was Shabaka’s first time at Winter Jazzfest with out his saxophone, and this was the primary evening of his residency, held at Dizzy’s and offered by Jazz at Lincoln Heart in collaboration with Winter Jazzfest.

Shabaka’s change of instrument household was nonetheless clearly catching folks without warning; the venue’s web site – Dizzy’s Membership – was promoting the tickets for this primary gig of Shabaka’s residency as a two-tenor saxophone duel between him and Joe Lovano and Shabaka. As Shabaka began methodically soundchecking a battery of several types of flute (*) , it grew to become clear this could be an evening completely different to its billing. And as they began taking part in, it additionally grew to become clear that the billing order – Lovano with Shabaka – ought to most likely have been reversed, too.

Shabaka began quietly with the shakuhachi – the Japanese longitudinal flute we heard on his 2020 solo launch Afrikan Tradition. main Lovano in, working the higher register of his tenor together with his left hand whereas giving a percussive shake together with his proper hand. The eye was on the less-familiar sounds of the flute, and as Shabaka went on a musical exploration drawing from traditions from a number of continents with what felt like a by no means ending and magical array of various conventional flutes – finish blown, aspect blown, fipple, vessel – he simply pulled the gang together with him.

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His transverse bamboo flute was delightfully breathy, with clipped quick notes and Lovano supporting delicately on steadiness drum. His ocarina, accompanied by buddhist cymbal crashes. His lengthy skinny flute, managed with a speedy finger overlaying and uncovering the opening on the finish, produced a seemingly unbroken sequence of fleeting notes within the embouchure-only harmonic vary of a easy bugle – hints of army tones assembly near-circular respiration.

The set of drone flutes – native american, mesoamerican and chinese language, and produced from wooden, bamboo, and clay – actually sung: one which regarded like a set of cumbersome binoculars produced an otherworldly, nearly theremin-style in its vary switching and vibration; one other a gourd-like flute which was richly chordal, with a fluttering multi-note drone; one other flute with a flatter physique and a strapped-on block, which Shabaka performed nearly in a gaelic folks fashion, sounding just like the clearest bagpipes you’ve ever heard. The mastery of this range of flutes is in fact in itself spectacular, however extra so was the familiarity of the musical floor – the identical relentless rhythmic power that ties all these flute impressions collectively, with a transparent throughline from the thrilling hype fashion of Shabaka’s earlier band work.

All through the present Lovano added texture together with his personal small music store of devices: soprano, clarinet, rattles and gongs. It was solely on the ultimate piece of their concise set that the dynamic between Lovano and Shabaka switched. To shut, Shabaka swapped woodwinds for a kalimba. And whereas Shabaka was engrossed, wanting as if he was busy on a gameboy, Lovano let free the lengthy expressive and sorrowful tenor solo that he’d been holding again, to audible rapture from the gang. However up till that time, the area and assist Lovano gave to Shabaka all through the present was in itself the best mark of respect for Shabaka’s musicality, and testomony to Lovano as a caring musician. After I spoke with Lovano in 2022 (LINK TO INTERVIEW) about his tribute album to Paul Motian As soon as Across the Room, he referenced how he cherished the completely different method wherein Motian ran a band – sharing the area, with out the formally outlined position of improviser and supporter. My opinion of Lovano was already sky excessive – however his delicate assist and partnership all through this uncommon present solely bolstered it.

So, how a lot of a break from the previous was Flute Shabaka? Was this Miles going electrical? Was this Dylan going electrical? For certain, this was much less seismic. Within the noise spectrum, Shabaka has moved within the introspective route: extra acoustic, extra variation, extra custom. And it appears Shabaka’s songwriting and taking part in fashion simply cuts by means of, whether or not it’s by means of a saxophone or in any other case. However nonetheless, in his closing phrases to the gang, he understatedly implies that the cohesive musical resolution that we witnessed possibly hadn’t been simple. “Change is rarely simple”.

Winter Jazzfest has modified, too. The inclusion of Brooklyn within the multi-venue marathon nights has been an actual bonus, however for LJN jazz followers, there has additionally been a scaled again illustration from London, with the famous absence specifically of the wonderful Gilles Peterson-hosted BBC Music and PRS showcases of previous years. Peterson remains to be right here dj-ing this 12 months, however maybe the visa scenario that induced a lot bother for line-ups in January 2020 (LINK TO REVIEW) earlier than different occasions broke stay music put an finish to the transatlantic journey. This crowd was simply glad Shabaka has made it again, and has moved in for the week.

(*) NOTE by Dan: I’m not a flute professional… I used to be too shy to beat my method by means of the gang to ask for names and historic references. However I’d welcome any feedback, clarifications and corrections on the names and forms of flute referenced.