Jimmy Bruno with the Ted Ludwig Trio
(Jazz at the Joint, North Little Rock, AR, January 16, 2023)
The 2023 edition of Jazz At The Joint hosted by guitarist Ted Ludwig and his trio (bassist Joe Vick and drummer Brian Brown) kicked off in grand style, welcoming Philadelphia Son guitarist Jimmy Bruno to the friendly confines of The Joint located in the historic Argenta Arts District in North Little Rock. Now an institution in central Arkansas, Jazz At The Joint has progressively improved raising the bar high for this first performance of the season.
Jimmy Bruno was born in Philadelphia, left to tour with Buddy Rich and live in Los Angeles, record, and teach before returning to become a household name. The diminutive Bruno was in good form and good humor for his shared recital of eleven standards, reeling off more than a couple of surprises in the bargain.
One of the beauties of jazz is its unspoken requirement of deftly skilled musicians able to perform a catalog of songs in all keys. It is de rigueur for any professional jazz artist. Musicians on tour often rely on local rhythm sections for support. The hope these local musicians are up to the challenge of learning the setlist shortly before the show and performing with little or no practice. The program for these shows arises from conversations between Ludwig and the featured artist long before they get together. A setlist is decided upon and when the featured artist arrives, there is a brief run-through of the selected tunes and the setlist undergoes some fine-tuning during the soundcheck. Once everything is set, the show goes on. The real magic occurs when the principals go off script, which joyfully happened several times this Monday Night.
Having peeked at the setlist, I had some idea of what was coming. These shows have been peppered with standards well known to all musicians, During the Jazz At The Joint season it is not unusual to have standards repeated from one show and one musician to the next. Examples are Duke Pearson's "Jeannine" and Wes Montgomery's "West Coast Blues." Neither showed up here, rather this was a balla
d night. After kicking things off with Hank Jones's "Level Seven," a masters' class in balladry occurred with the central part of set straight from the standards songbook: "Out Of Nowhere," "Shadow Of Your Smile," and "Everything Happens To Me" found themselves tethered to the unplanned or announced, "You Stepped Out Of a Dream." That is jazz. The set ended with a spry and swinging "Bernie's Tune," composed by Bernie Miller, Jerry Leiber, and Mike Stoller and made popular by the Gerry Mulligan pianoless quartet in 1953 on Pacific Jazz Records, backed by "Lullaby Of The Leaves." It was a treat as the tune has not been part of Ted Ludwig's usual suspects.
The closing set started with a Ludwig-Bruno duet on "Stella By Starlight" providing a vehicle of contrasting styles and sound. Ludwig favors deep reverb, giving his tone a large, warm sound. Ludwig has much to say, compressing many notes into small environs, always tastefully. Bruno, in contrast, uses little or no reverb or vibrato, preferring fewer notes. He likes to stretch and relax time, tossing in 64th note runs to keep the audience honest. The performance was well-matched and balanced. Once the pair finished and Ludwig prepared for the next tune, Bruno began an impromptu solo performance of "I'm In The Mood For Love" that seamlessly flowed into and out of "Moonlight In Vermont." Just as Vick and Brown were about to join Burno, Ludwig waved them off, not wanting to break the magical moment. A conversation about guitarist Johnny Smith and his performance of "Moonlight In Vermont" ensued and many laughs were had.
Penultimately, the band played Johnny Hodges' blues, "Big Shoe" giving the audience a lesson in old-school, swing-era practice before closing one of the best coolers, an inspired take on Bobby Herb's "Sunny," a song that will never lose its hipness. Jimmy Bruno played with stark honesty, relying more on pathos than technique. The trio never sounded better with bassist Vick four months post-shoulder surgery sounding assured and muscular in his support and soloing. The drummer Brown was inspired, sharing that inspiration with the rest of the group and the featured guest.
Jazz At The Joint is a piece of the artistic vision being built in the Argenta Arts District. Empresario John Gaudin has created an environment and organizations to bring world-class artists of all stripes to Central Arkansas in an effort to lift the arts into a place of prominence.
The venue for Jazz At The Joint is THE JOINT, a cabaret theater and coffeehouse in the heart of the Argenta Arts District, offering live entertainment five nights a week and the best locally-roasted coffee in Central Arkansas from morning to night. THE JOINT is also home to Arkansas’ number one professional comedy team, The Main Thing, starring veteran performers whose work has been featured on Saturday Night Live, Off-Broadway, and on Dick Clark’s United Radio Network. The Joint is steered by the able team of wife and husband team of Sarah and Adam Farrell, always ready with a smile. Next month, Ted welcomes New Orleans saxophonist Kharin Allen Lee
Setlist: Limit 7; Out Of Nowhere; Shadow Of Your Smile; Everything Happens To Me; You Stepped Out Of A Dream; Bernie's Tune; Intermission; Stella By Starlight (Duo); Just Friends; I'm In The Mood For Love - Moonlight In Vermont (Solo); Big Shoe; Sunny.
Musicians: Featured Artist: Jimmy Bruno: guitar; Ted Ludwig: guitar; Joe Vick: bass; Brian Brown: drums.