Sunday, April 21, 2013

Review: Jerry Dodgion at Take Five Coffee + Bar













A quintet fronted by saxophonists Jerry Dodgion and Rob Scheps thrilled me on Thursday, April 11, at Take Five Coffee + Bar.  Here are ten takeaways from Thursday's show.
  • Dodgion, 80, can do a deeper knee squat than I.
  • Dodgion is still in possession of his cool West Coast chops.
  • When feminists decry "the cult of masculinity so prevalent in jazz" , they undoubtedly have guys like Scheps in mind. 
  • Bassist Bob Bowman has been no better than great the past several times I've heard him.  He was exceptional Thursday.
  • Scheps noted that Bowman and Dodgion last shared a bandstand 37 years ago as members of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra.
  • A copy of Roger Wilder's news CD at my table (it wasn't mine) drew excited attention from every jazz fan who spotted it. 
  • I've said it before and I'll say it again- Brian Steever is among the most visually entertaining drummers in jazz.
  • It doesn't make any sense, but the acoustics at Take Five Coffee + Bar are the best of any jazz venue in the Kansas City area.
  • The core audience of about two dozen jazz fans didn't make a peep.  Even the non-jazz customers who popped in and out of the coffee shop were respectful of the performance.
  • Dodgion's statement on "It Was a Very Good Year" was one of the best things I've heard in 2013.
(Original image by Plastic Sax.  From left to right: Roger Wilder, Jerry Dodgion, Brian Steever.)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I share your enthusiasm for Jerry Dodgion. It was a very good show! I hope he makes it back to KC soon.

bgo said...

My bad for missing out on it. Love Jerry's playing. A west coast legend for sure.