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| Marc Ribot at The Bowery Poetry Club 1/15/04 |
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Author: lbpomeroy
Posted on: Thursday, January 22, 2004
Marc Ribot plays the work of Django Reinhardt
January 15th The Bowery Poetry Club
Marc Ribot: guitar
Jenny Scheinman: violin
Trevor Dunn: bass
Bruce Cox:drums
When a student of the jazz guitar first learns about his or her instrument and those who played it well enough to be canonized in that small group of fret pioneers, the student will learn the name Django Reinhardt. A Belgian-Gypsy, Reinhardt established his career in Paris with violinist Stephane Grapelli and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France. Reinhardt and the Quintet dominated the European swing scene through out the Thirties and early Forties. The guitarist’s arrangements, Gypsy-Jazz stylings and flamboyant fingering technique distinguished Reinhardt as one of the foremost jazz guitarist at that time and a European counterpart to Charlie Christian.
I was excited to learn that Marc Ribot would be interpreting the music of Reinhardt. I have admired Ribot’s style and approach to music for sometime. Ribot’s past work with his band Los Cubanos Prostizos and avant-garde alto player John Zorn and his Electric Masada showcase Ribot’s talent for embracing diverse and complex musical themes and traditions and then deconstructing them to build something entirely personal from the process. I expected Ribot to follow the same approach to Django Reinhardt’s music, music firmly structured in distinct composition yet open enough to allow fresh interpretation.
The group opened with the song “Rhythm Tudor” as drummer Bruce Cox and bass player Trevor Dunn laid a pulsing beat and Ribot cut in the melody. Scheinman’s violin joins the guitar emphasizing the melody that seemed to tip toe and then leap as though it was sneaking through an alley. Scheinman played intensely and her gaze locked in with Ribot’s finger-work on the guitar. Having established the melodic theme of the piece, Ribot played with the notes with increasing frenetic intensity, digging and crawling through the harmonies, his licks sharp and spicy. After his solo the melody returned more haunting then I had remembered it. There was a narrative feel to the music, as though it was fable or story told to you, foreign and folksy at once.
The next piece “Tears”, began with a more delicate melody, but was soon interrupted with crisp punctuate rests. Ribot explored various chord voicings adding texture to the stop and go dynamics of the song. There emerged a carnival off kilter feel to the song, lyrical and almost mocking us. An accordion seemed to be missing from this dreamy fairground jaunt. Django Reinhardt’s style is distinguished with thick and thumping picking and Ribot did not ignore that fact, as he himself plucked deep and brashly. Cox led the group into an unexpected straight- ahead rock beat as violin and guitar blazed forward at alarm bell intensity. The drummer brought the tempo back down to a floor-beating stomp.
Another remarkable piece was “Bouncin’ Around” a smoky and swank strut of song. Imagery once again was invoked in this colorful piece. I can’t help but envision the violin and guitar as marionette and puppeteer jerking and slinking back and forth as they mimic each other’s gestures. The overall tone of piece became sad and mournful. Ribot’s licks were bluesy and shadowy, but the song does not stumble off and closes with a collective farewell.
It was appropriate that The Bowery Poetry Club would host an evening of the music of Django Reinhardt. There is a bohemian coziness to this club and it hums with caffeine fueled enthusiasm and focus towards those on stage. For a brief stretch of time we could imagine sitting on the Left-Bank of Paris listening to the Quintet of the Hot Club of France.
By Ben Pomeroy
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