The Jazz Standard is the internationally renowned music venue beneath the Blue Smoke restaurant. Down a flight of steps and into a dimly lit bar and dinning area, the room gives way to a stage. Wall sconces and votive candles accentuate the rouge semi-circular booths and decorative fabric encasing the stage backdrop.
Matt Wilson and his Christmas TREE-O, featuring Jason Moran, took the stage to a hearty round of applause. Jason in full St. Nick regalia, complete with white beard, sat behind the grand piano, as the TREE-O, in matching red dinner jackets, settled in behind their own instruments.
Now in its fourth year, this holiday show has become something of a tradition. Wasting little time, the TREE-O and Co. did renditions of classic Christmas carols. Notably “Walking in A Winter Wonderland” had a smooth and sultry cadence. The saxophone took the lead, playing with the mood by lowering, then raising the register. When Matt Wilson’s turn came to solo he pulled off a clever use of floor and rack tom and snare drum to mimic the melody.
The necessity of some songs made Lederer switch from sax to clarinet to piccolo. Their interpretation of songs off of Vince Guaraldi’s “Charlie Brown Christmas Album” were faithful enough that any holiday reveler could’ve appreciated them while the jazz aesthete could engage their discerning ear with the TREE-O’s trills of improvisation.
In keeping with the holiday party spirit, the TREE-O called onto the stage Christian Mcbride, a four-time grammy award winner, to play the lead on electric bass for “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.” Stepping on stage in a brown wide-stripe blazer, matching fedora, and a smile, he brought a non-imposing swagger with him that meshed well with the rest.
What happened next was some of the cleverest vamping on bass that I’ve ever seen live. As to not sully our nostalgia, they started the song off properly before Mcbride slid up the neck onto the first two strings to begin his improvisation. He never lost the thread as he hammered-on and pulled-off on notes and ran through entire scales over all four strings, even playing chords to accompany the rhythm section when the others stepped up to solo.
The highlight of the show was an experiment that I wasn’t certain would succeed: an audience participation version of “12 Days of Christmas.” A gregarious friend of theirs took to the stage to MC the project. He sectioned off parts of the crowd to add sound effects and in some cases add a New York flavor to the 12 things in the “12 Days of Christmas.” Each “volunteer” was coaxed to do their part immediately after their objects were sung. From one participant having to stand up and coo like a Partridge In a Pear Tree to a table having to shout in their thickest New York accent, “Hey, Buddy” to the prompt of 4 Calling Birds and a table gargling in unison after Seven Swans a Swimming, the experiment succeeded nicely. Even the wait-staff had a hard time keeping a straight face as they whizzed to and from their tables.
Text: Mario Noreña
Photos: Sharon Alagna (sharonalagnaphotography.com)
