Haden / Hutcherson / Cables at Yoshi’s
Yoshi’s, San Francisco – June 8, 2009 – 10:00 p.m.
Charlie Haden
What the heck was going on at Yoshi’s San Francisco last night?
Charlie Haden, who headlines this week with a pair of specially-assembled trios, barely showed up for the second set on opening night, leaving band mates Bobby Hutcherson and George Cables to fend for themselves on five of the set’s eight tunes. When Haden did appear, he was clearly less than fully engaged with the others, standing apart both physically and musically, his simple walking lines out of sync with Cables and his dull, grudging solos drifting towards disinterested abstraction.
The set began well enough (if 20 minutes late), with Cables turning in an energetic solo piano version of “Round Midnight.” Running through a series of implied rhythms with a touch of Latin flair, Cables filled up the ample space with densely crosshatched lines and prismatically scattered brightness. The next few tunes, all duets, were equally pleasurable, with Cables and Hutcherson strolling playfully through “My Old Flame” and hushing the audience with a gorgeous and lazy rendition of “I Thought About You.” Hutcherson was alternately impish and authoritative, settling into odd harmonies and opening up wide spaces between forceful declarations.
Haden finally made his appearance 30 minutes into the set, and that, alas, was the end of the magic. After two awkwardly disconnected performances, he left the stage, returning one tune later but only after being summoned by Hutcherson… and the audience. Haden then appeared to leave the finale up to Hutcherson, who looked nonplussed for several moments before finally launching into “All the Things You Are.” This tune was headed straight for the rocks until Hutcherson put his foot down, abruptly ramping up the tempo and forcing Haden to engage. When Haden’s solo again began to drift, Hutcherson quietly floated marker buoys to keep the trio on tack until they could limp in to an ending.
Were these just the growing pains of a drummerless trio trying to come together on opening night? Perhaps. Or maybe there was something else at play. Either way, this group has two more nights to get it together, and then Haden gets a fresh start with Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Lee Konitz Friday through Sunday. Let’s hope for better.
Note: Apparently, the first set was nearly identical to this one. See Jim Harrington’s scathing review of that show at the San Jose Mercury News website.
Filed Under: Concert Reviews
I wholeheartedly agree with this review. I was at the same show and was mightily disappointed. Beyond the total lack of engagement by Haden the reviewer mentions, which was simply bizarre (he spent more time tuning his bass and trying to literally “shoosh” Cables and Hutcherson between half-hearted, leaden runs than actually playing anything) I have to say I was also annoyed by several other things:
1) The sound quality of the show was very poor. For the first few numbers, near the back of the room you could barely hear Hutcherson and Cables’ piano sounded like a toy. By about mid-set they brought up the vibes to appropriate level but the piano never did sound right.
2) Why was George Cables’ piano situated so that he had to sit with his back to the audience? Every other jazz show I’ve ever been to (and that’s many, including at the Vanguard in NYC and many other top flight venues), the piano is situated so that you can at least view the pianist from the side. This just seemed totally bizarre – it was a like a form of protest or something.
3) The Yoshi’s staff ought to be chastised severely for the way they treated the audience. To casually walk out front and say “It’s going to be another 20-30 minutes” without allowing people in for a drink or just to sit and talk is inexcusable in my view. Again been to jazz shows at the finest venues in the U.S. and have never been treated this poorly. I drove 1.5 hours each way to see this show. Which leads me to the most severe criticism…
4) The musicians played for maybe 40 minutes, tops. So the audience got penalized for someone screwing up and making the show start so late. Totally ridiculous and a frank rip off. Never has $28 bought such a dinky, foreshortened evening of music.
It’s sad when legends fall…I’ve loved these guys’ music for years but other than Mr. Hutcherson, who was as professional and inventive and charming as one would expect from an old pro (the only saving grace of the evening), I was completely underwhelmed with this show, and shocked by the total lack of respect Mr. Haden showed for the audience.
Bummer! Makes me think twice about ponying up for Haden/Konitz/Rubalcaba this weekend…