ITG 2004

Jeff Helgesen, Reporter

Friday evening’s main event was the Bobby Shew/Carl Saunders quintet, with the two legendary West Coast trumpet players accompanied by the conference rhythm section of Eric Gunderson – piano; Kenny Walker – bass; and Mark Marlier – drums.

The group set a swinging feel early in the concert with their reading of Friends Again, written by alto saxophonist Lanny Morgan and based on the chord changes to the jazz standard Just Friends. Saunders took first solo duties, followed by Shew and Gunderson. The two leads then played a chorus of “stop time” (in which the rhythm section dropped out for 32 bars) with one another before drawing the piece to a close.

As with many of the numbers performed, a relaxed, informal feel was present as Shew and Saunders worked out details (solo order, trading, etc.) of each arrangement as the performance was in progress, occasionally exchanging jokes with one another. The group’s second offering was another piece based on a song standard–Shew reworked It Could Happen to You with the tongue-in-cheek title It Might Not Happen. After the call-and-response of the head, Shew soloed first, followed by Saunders, and then two choruses of trading, before handing matters off to the bass and piano and finishing the tune off.

Saunders followed Duke Ellington’s In A Sentimental Mood, a breathtaking reading of the first of the two ballads played on the evening. Only two-and-a-half choruses long, Saunders’ facility and warmth elicited admiration from Shew and the audience.

Next, the group played Saunders’ arrangement of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s One Note Samba; following dexterous solos from the trumpets and piano, Marlier played a chorus on drums before the group returned to the close out the arrangement.

Saunders’ reharmonization of Johnny Mercer’s Dream followed; usually handled as a ballad, his medium swing version featured himself on melody and Shew on harmon mute. Shew’s two-chorus muted solo offered a welcome color change, followed by Saunders and a bass solo.

For their next piece, the two resurrected The Eternal Triangle, a Sonny Stitt composition that appeared on the classic Dizzy Gillespie recording Sonny Side Up. The chord changes (“rhythm changes” with an altered bridge) offered the soloists a chance to stretch out, with the horns trading eights and fours with the drums for two choruses before finishing up.

Next up was Shew’s reading of Johnny Mandel’s The Shadow of Your Smile (from the soundtrack to the movie The Sandpiper). The only flugelhorn piece of the evening, Shew’s lyrical interpretation demonstrated why he’s in such high demand as a clinician and soloist.

For the “last” tune of the evening (Shew spent some time relating a story regarding encores from his and Saunders’ days in Las Vegas), Shew brought out a piece he originally recorded on his 1970s recording Shewhorn called The Dancing Bishop. This 16-bar form gave the soloists an opportunity to stretch on some up-tempo chord changes (and a very challenging melody).

For an encore, Shew and Saunders demonstrated “why they had spent their money on trumpets,” bringing down the house with a scat-singing blues, and leaving the enthusiastic crowd roaring for more.