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John Jorgenson Live, In Ridgefield, Ct – July 13, 2010 Well, the rains came down and the floods came up, the rains came down and the floods came up, the rains came down and.... - you get the idea. If you ever sang that certain song about that certain man that built his house upon the rock, you know where I'm going with this. The day was filled with flooding highways and torrential downpours as we anticipated what was supposed to be an outdoor performance by The John Jorgenson Quintet. Thankfully (and wisely), the show was moved indoors, to the Ridgefield Playhouse, where it was dry, cool and comfortable, albeit a treacherous hour and a-half away. Still, we made our way to the venue, where four-fifths of the John Jorgenson Quintet waited to give 100 percent to the theater full of pilgrims ready and waiting to hear some hot swinging jazz. Reminding us that he lives in Nashville, where recent floods took a heavy toll, Jorgenson said that he was relieved to actually have made it in – even though one member of the quintet was down with the flu, rendering the band a quartet for the night. Still – short one percussionist – Jorgenson and his three band-mates performed a stunning set. It would take a vivid imagination indeed to conjure up a better performance than the one that took place on that stage. Jorgenson plays with obvious delight and total concentration, fingers busily strumming, picking, tapping and stretching strings, marking every inch of the fretboard as his own. This isn't an imitation of the great Django – it's as if Jorgenson has absorbed the man's energy, processed it, and is creating a new hybrid with his own unique personality and sensibility infused into it. Opening with “Hungaria,” from the wonderful One Stolen Night album, Jorgenson led his band through a full set (with an intermission) of string-driven jazz in the tradition of Django Reinhardt and The Hot Club of France. The Hot Club became most famous for the interplay between Django and legendary jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli, whose counterpart in Jorgenson's band is Jason Anick. Anick, still in his 20s, improvises furiously, tossing off harmonics at the end of intricate runs as he dialogs with Jorgenson's fiery soloing, conjuring up aural images of a young Stephane. A congenial host throughout the show, Jorgenson played not only his signature guitar, but performed impressively on bouzouki and, for two numbers, on clarinet. The second of those songs featured the versatile guitarist on vocals as well as clarinet, revisiting Louis Armstrong's unique outing on a Max Fleischer Betty Boop cartoon where, in floating head form, the famed jazzman sang “I'll Be Glad When You're Dead, You Rascal, You.” Jorgenson kept the mood lighter than the heavy weather, even obliging an audience member who called out, “play it again!” after the band finished “Red on Red,” giving us another few minutes of the song. On “Istiqbal Solo,” as the rest of the band exited the stage, Jorgenson did get more serious playing the intricate, multi-layered piece which references his project for jazz guitar and orchestra, Istiqbal Gathering. Providing all the rhythm any group could ask for, and effectively masking the absence of a drummer, were Paul Chase on stand-up bass and Ryan Flaherty on acoustic rhythm guitar. Although neither is present on the album, both men played as if they were born to be there, filling in the necessary elements to create the special progressive, modern Mediterranean / gypsy /jazz sound of the John Jorgenson Quintet. At the end of the evening, a special treat for the encore: the band unplugs totally and plays the last song without the benefit of any amplification at all. It's a stunningly beautiful, delicate rendition of “Norwegian Dance,” and is performed at the urging of an audience member that stood up and called out for it (oh – that would be me...). It was certainly a hot night in Connecticut. words and images: Bert Saraco
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