Dan Weeks is no stranger to the Chubby Pickle or the Jazz Café. Once a month he is the drummer for the house band at Jay Sweet’s Jazz Jam, and he has played the Jazz Café as a band member, but on this night, he stepped out, (figuratively, not literally), to lead his own quartet. He made a great choice of players to surround himself with, including frequent collaborator, Joe Peterson on bass, last minute replacement for Greg Grispart, Red Bank native, Cecilia Tenconi on Sax and flute, and young phenom and fellow jammer, Kenny Tam on the keyboard.
Due to the change in personnel the songs for all three sets had to be reworked prior to each set, and like I mentioned to the folks at the next table, if I hadn’t said anything, you would have never known from their playing. The evening began with their rendition of the song “Softly,” which allowed the band to get into their groove with each member taking a solo. Next up was Louis Armstrong’s “Cheesecake,” with this version being more akin to that of Dexter Gordon’s, with Cecilia soloing over the solid rhythm section of Dan and Joe, while Kenny added some tasteful interludes on keys. Kevin Brewster’s “Top of My Head” was a nice choice, which fit well in this grouping, while Johny Green’s classic “Body and Soul,” featured a beautiful sax solo from Cecilia. The set ended with the obscure number “Cary isms,” which I was unfamiliar with, but sounded great, in the hands of these very talented musicians.
Set two began with Jerome Kern’s “Yesterdays,” which Dan pointed out was not to be confused with a song of a similar name by the Beatles. He also mentioned that his grandmother knew Jerome, who died before Dan was born, but he didn’t find out until much later in life. Cecilia took a very nice flute solo on this number, which also featured a solid drum solo from Dan. Miles Davis “All Blues,” is a jazz standard, that here replaced his trumpet with Cecilia’s sax to pleasing results.
Cecilia again played flute with stellar piano accompaniment by Kenny on keys to the Latin flavored “Ceora,” which also featured a fine bass solo by Joe. The Hoagy Carmichael number “The Nearness of You,” was featured in the 1938 film “Romance in the Dark,” and was a good choice for this set. They ended this portion of the night with one of John Coltrane’s most iconic works, “Giant Steps.” Known for its rapid chord changes, which are now referred to as “Coltrane Changes,” the band handed them masterfully, with Cecilia again on the flute.
The final set opened with another Coltrane classic, “Bessie’s Blues,” from the album “A Love Supreme.” Again, this band was up to the challenge, performing an outstanding interpretation. Kenny Tam’s original piece, “When the Sky Turn’s Blue,” can be found on the “Atmospheric Trio” CD, which includes Dan on the drums. There was no drop off in the quality of the composition, featuring Cecilia on flute, which is a compliment to Kenny, when you consider the songs covered this evening.
The Jule Styne/Sammy Cahn song “It’s You or No One,” was a swinging affair with Cecilia’s sax leading the way through this thoroughly enjoyable version. The Bill Evans signature song, written by Miles Davis, “Nardis,” is a title that doesn’t have any particular meaning, but the songs eastern scales and mysterious sound make it unique. This version was highlighted by some intense keyboard work by Kenny.
The final tune was “Black Nile,” a Wayne Shorter composition which featured some inspired sax from Cecilia as well as an outstanding bass solo from one of the premier upright bass players in the area, Joe Peterson. It was a great ending to a fabulous night of jazz at the Jersey Shore. Don’t forget that these and other fine players often show up at Jay Sweet’s Jazz Jam on the last Monday of the month at the Chubby Pickle.