Review by: Cicily Janus
Photos by: Ned Radinsky
Special to Rocky Mountain Jazz

It's been thirteen years since the last time I watched Mulgrew play. Although, the second he sat down in front of those pearly whites, I remembered exactly why I've always been a fan. His first set at Dazzle started out like a visit with an old flame. There's the polite kiss on the cheek to greet you, then the embrace that returns to love. But his second number, You and the Night and the Music, took that meeting to the next level. He brought the talk in, the catching up of the years, and the brilliance of mood back into the place. His playing transcended the moment. It's his dense, rapid burning of the keys that surely left little Oscar Peterson-esque mementos for the next player who graces the stage.

Yet the dynamic dialogue he carries between his bassist and drummer on his original composition, Carousel, was enough to satiate all of your senses. You can taste the funnel cakes and feel the warm air as you ride round and round the melody he constructed. Your ears take you back to a time when everything was simpler with just a few notes from the beginning. But the diversity of his abilities is shown through the complex meter that seamlessly weaves throughout.

Mulgrew's compositions are standards in the making. Ivan Taylor sings on his upright and Ulysses Owens resonates perfectly in tune and tempo on Drums during this number despite the intricacies of the set. They're both Julliard grads, not to mention, young, hip and as Mulgrew says, the cream of the crop. And when Mulgrew makes this claim, you better take note. Ivan's smooth. And when he's featured in the standard, In a Mellow Tone you can hear his appeal - why Mulgrew plucked him from the crowd. The resonance of sound is as beautiful as an imported silk.

But the meeting with the old flame is hardly finished. Mulgrew enchants his love further by pulling Skylark out of its cage. Ivan and Ulysses set their quiet underlying voice behind him and allow this bird to soar. But what I experienced during this song was a moment of sheer splendor. Rene Marie sat directly in front of me. Mulgrew, earlier in the evening, had said that he played on one of her albums. And as the song began, she sang along quietly, smiling as if the two of them were in a living room somewhere playing this song alone. My pen and words turned into drawn butter as he continued. This is what Jazz is. It's an intimate, breathing art form. Every second of it created in the moment, by the moment and for the moment.

Catching my breath just in time for the last number, the group played a favorite of mine. Woody'n'you. A Dizzy tune featuring Ulysses. And his driving push tenaciously gripped the audience. Both Ulysses and Ivan were as dead on as machine guns going in for the kill. They pulled you upright and just when you think they'd let up they pressed on again. As a drummer burning the sticks and wood of his set, it's amazing to think I can hear inflection's in his beat. Dually noted are influences of Parker and Dizzy haunting him.

Mulgrew's trio is dynamic, a force to be reckoned with. Mulgrew has proved over and over again to the jazz community that he's one of the most formidable artists around. He consciously molds and shapes the landscape of future generations of jazz. He's no longer the old flame who's come to visit Denver, he's created a base of fans and lovers of jazz who ask for him time and time again.

I recently had the pleasure of covering NEA Jazz Master James Moody's 82nd birthday celebration at B.B. Kings club in New York City. The event was a benefit for the James Moody Scholarship fund and feature an amazing line-up of Jazz greats including: Kenny Barron - piano, Todd Coolman - bass, NEA Jazz Master Paquito D'Rivera - clarinet, Jon Faddis - trumpet, music director & MC, Roberta Gambarini - vocals, NEA Jazz Master Slide Hampton - trombone, NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Heath - saxophone, John Lee - bass, Mike Longo - piano, Jeremy Monteiro - piano, Jimmy Owens - trumpet, Adam Nussbaum - drums, Ken Peplowski - clarinet, Ada Rovatti - saxophone, Yotam Silberstein - guitar, NEA Jazz Master Frank Wess - flute and of course NEA Jazz Master James Moody on Sax.

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