The leonine, meditative face of Myron Walden – bass clarinet and sax – was a counterpoint to the mellower, sometimes grinning face of fellow sax player Melvin Butler in the Brian Blade and the Fellowship Band concert at Louisiana State Exhibit Museum on December 19th.
Contrasts ruled on Saturday night. In videos the group Fellowship seems to have a united front. But in the art deco auditorium of the circular State Exhibit Museum listeners saw that Fellowship energy rises from the divergence in the five players’ styles.
Pianist Jon Cowherd was cerebral; his playing focused on sonorities rather than rhythm, his face was rarely revealed to the audience. On the opposite side of the stage was bassist Chris Thomas, who smiled frequently and brought a playful vibe to the show by tickling his giant instrument.
In the middle was percussionist Brian Blade. Unlike the calm reed players, he continuously cycled changes in grip, in sticks and mallets, in cymbal strikes and foot pulses as well as facial reaction.
The evening of jazz felt a bit like going to church. There were hymn-based melodies (jazz players have borrowed from the church their livelong history), there was Jon Cowherd’s meditation on pump organ in one section and there were reflective solos played by both saxists. The ultimate church moment arrived when Rev Brady Blade, Sr, closed the evening by singing an extended, high-drama version of “Amazing Grace.” At the apex of a long career, Rev. Blade is like the Fifth Beatle in his sons’ shows.
The concert also resembled the arrival of a storm. Waves of pianissimo were followed by hard blowing solos from the sax players. Blade was an electrically-charged cloud. Staccato rolls and room-cracking rim shots flashed: thunderous tom booms jolted listeners.
Members of the Fellowship reside in NYC (Cowherd), in Chicago (Butler) and Paris (Chris Thomas), but the audience swarmed the players after the show. The Fellowship band has been playing together some 16 years. They know the Blade clan; they know Shreveport, where Brian and wife Lurah Blade, a chief organizer of the concert, reside.
