The Jazz Culture Feature
The DAVE SCHNITTER QUARTET at FAT CAT
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DAVE SCHNITTER QUARTET by L. Hamanaka
Caught Dave Schnitter’s Quartet at the Fat Cat, Saturday, June8, 2013 at the early show, with Jeff Hirshfield, drums, John Hart, guitar, and Ugonna Okegwo, bass. A veteran tenor saxophonist on the New York Scene, Dave Schnitter is from Newark, New Jersey, played with Ted Dunbar and was a Jazz Messenger for five years. He previously played with Frank Foster, Charles Earland and Groove Holmes and is a well-known jazz artist. Mr. Schnitter jumped into “Be My Love” at about 200=quarter note, cutting a modern post bop steam of consciousness sound that carved long arcing lines through the din, occasionally referring to the melody. Mr. hart’s solo had a full bodied sound, starting with long lines of 8th notes, then he began picking out short riffs that related to the melody some of which repeated many times. Jeff Hirshfield and Ugonne Okegwe kept a strong pulse in the rhythm section for the soloists. On his solo, Okegwe displayed a fat pretty tone and a strong melodic sense, with interesting rhythmic groupings. The group then traded 8’s. Dave Schnitter then took the melody out with an extended ending while Mr. Hart provided nice counterpoint lines. The next song was “Bemsha Swing,” one of Monk’s gems at about 126=quarter note. Mr. Schnitter played with a strong spiritual sound, with engaging spiraling lines sometimes doing 16th note triplets, giving a distinctive voice to a modern jazz standard. Taking long pauses between phrases, Mr. Schnitter found and praised Monk’s vibrant poetry and alienation. He works regularly at the Fat Cat and deserves wider attention. John Hart did some wide intervallic leaps and phrases, with stark chords. Mr. Hart found some pretty lines and threw in some repetitive blues notes, to rebound off the solid support of the rhythm section, and later played whole tone licks. Ugonna Okegwo picked up Mr. Hart’s last lick and then did some nice running lines showing he 2
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could respect and maintain the mystery that is at the heart of Monk’s music. Mr. Okegwo has his own sound, though it is similar to Oscar Pettiford’s. Mr. Hirshfield is able to keep a steady tempo, color and comment, inserting the appropriate rolls.
Dave Schnitter, tenor saxophonist
They then did an original of Mr. Schnitter’s, “On the Way Home,” which should be a new jazz standard, that starts with a vamp on two chords with sharp rhythmic licks accompanying what sounds like an urban travel song: it was
John Watson, piano, keyboard/vocal w- Leee John
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John Watson at The Haven, June 27,for reservations call 020 8445 7419 or email:jazz@haven-bistro.co.uk The Jazz Culture, VII:2
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JeffHirshfield on the drums at Fat Cat
well arranged. There was some doubling of the beat (210=quarter note). The song gave the picture of a hip citizen in the midst of a turbulence of New York life trying to maintain their center through a melodic head and trying to find harmony in the environment. It was very well phrased. Hart’s solo was a fluent and cognizant of the accents built into the tune, as he went in pursuit of licks higher and higher in his upper register, which he interspersed with chords. Okegwo and Hart then made room for the drummer to solo. At this point Schnitter came back with some nice counterpoint chords, and the song ended on an upbeat accent. “For All We Know” was next as a ballad at about 52=quarter note, which gave Mr. Schniiter a chance to display a beautiful romantic tone; after the melody, he went on some whole tone excursions, arpeggios, echoed the melodic phrases an octave down, inserted some chromaticism and altered scale runs, 4
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bellowed up from his bottom and used extensions to echo the lament of the pretty song. Mr. hart another melodic player, used chordal runs and then thirds, inserted some 16th note triplet turns. This was echoed by the bass player who played some counterpoint lines. Mr. Okegwo also did some half step turns that had an emotive effect, who found profuse ideas in different registers, as if he had experienced this song in real life. Mr. Schnitter then took the tune out inserting multiple note runs, a pretty trill, or two before a short cadenza in which he played two notes at the same time in his upper register, before ended on a suspended note. The last song of the set was “Not Yet,� another original, the melody seemed based on three note riffs, then ascending and some percussive licks. There was a free section during solos during which Mr. Hirshfield kept swinging; but he also found the time to take an extended drum solo before the song ended. An interesting array of concepts from Mr. Dave Schnitter; the audience was enthusiastic, and the group was heard well thanks to the sound engineer, who is a regular on the jazz scene, Alan.
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Clockwise, Mr. Schnitter on tenor sax, Mr. Okegwo on bass, a back view ofFat Cat pool/table tennis hall, and Mr. Hart on guitar.
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The Jazz Culture Newsletter Private Jazz Tours in NYC; also pairs music teachers in certain countries with students or jazz enthusiasts. For Further Info email: info@thejazzculture.com
ERRATA in article on "MILT & HONI"
The following are corrections made by the staff of the film "Milt & Honi" about Milt Hinton and Honi Coles, appearing in the present issue of The Jazz Culture Newsletter online. The film "Milt & Honi" was produced and also directed by Louise Tiranoff. "Toes" or Michael Tiranoff was actually the Assistant Director of the film. The rehearsals seen were actually filmed. Brenda Bufalino's name is spelled Bufalino. Bobby Rosengarden has a "g" instead of a "t" in it. The word "traveled" only has one "l." The correct tense of the verb is not "got" but "get" when referring to Mr. Hinton's uncle, who had to get permission to leave the small Mississippi town to get a good paying job in Chicago. The dancer referred to as "Bubbles" was John W. Bubbles, the famous tap dancer. The "tree of hope" was actually in Harlem, not in Philadelphia, as stated in the article.There was a typo on the word "seen" (it read as scene). Nevertheless, despite these typos, the film "Milt & Honi" is a great addition to the history of jazz dance in the United States, and of two great performers, Milt Hinton and Honi Coles, and The Jazz Culture Newsletter sincerely apologizes for any typographical errors or oversights. The Jazz Culture Newsletter has been seen in 33 countries by jazz lovers around the world. The mission of The Jazz Culture Newsletter is to draw the world jazz community together and to promote the best artists and venues in the world so that jazz can flourish and survive. lionelle hamanaka, subscription is free on this website: publisher http://thejazzculture.com
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