Leeway Posted April 26, 2014 Report Share Posted April 26, 2014 (edited) On Friday, April 25th, I headed over to Baltimore to see LARK at An Die Musik. LARK of course is an acronym for the last names of the members of the group: Ingrid Laubrock, Ralph Alessi, Tom Rainey and.....well....Kris Davis, but, if the arrangement were to be strictly followed, the group would have to be called LARD, which wouldn't do. So K for Kris, and LARK. Things did not go quite as planned. About a half hour after the scheduled start, venue management advised the audience that Kris Davis was ill and not able to play at the moment, and that there would be some additional delay. After a little while, Tom Rainey came out and explained that the group had gone for a bite to eat before the show at a nearby restaurant. Kris had something to eat that contained peanuts (although the restaurant had maintained it was peanut-free), and Kris, who has a severe peanut allergy, became ill as a result. The group decided they would play as a trio, would do a couple of pieces, then take a break to see if Kris could play. As Rainey put it, "LAR will play." So Rainey, Alessi and Laubrock did one long piece, and one a bit shorter, then went to check on Kris. After maybe another half hour, it was determined that Kris could not play. So the trio did another set. Altogether they may have played for about 70 minutes. It was disappointing that Kris could not play, but the trio made up for it with some wonderful, impassioned improvisation. Laubrock and Alessi confirmed that the whole performance was completely improvised. So many performances now seem to rely on charts, either partly or through-composed, it was nice to find three highly-skilled and interesting improvisors do their thing. Laubrock played soprano and tenor, and had some terrific solos on both, but I thought her soprano work was outstanding. Alessi I first heard live with his Baida group at Winter Jazz Fest, and was impressed. I was in the mood for some unadorned, non-processed, non-electrified trumpet and cornet playing, and Alessi provided that. He has a clipped, almost curt style, but was always thoughtful. Rainey is a master at this sort of improv and keeps the group moving. You could say the whole evening was a series of improvisations. I feel bad for Kris, but the trio provided some memorable music. Edited April 26, 2014 by Leeway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlhoots Posted April 26, 2014 Report Share Posted April 26, 2014 Laubrock / Rainey duo will be here in Santa Fe late in May.Plan to see them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertrand Posted April 26, 2014 Report Share Posted April 26, 2014 Any news on Kris? I hope they didn't go to the Thai place... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeway Posted April 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2014 Any news on Kris? I hope they didn't go to the Thai place... You know, that was what I was thinking! I haven't heard any more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertrand Posted April 26, 2014 Report Share Posted April 26, 2014 I have a personal connection to the Thai Place so I hope it wasn't them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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