Concert review: Paul Motian…one of the most influential modern drummers freeing the drummer from strict time-keeping duties!

Venue: the Village Vanguard (NY)
Date: Thursday, July 28th, 2011.

Concert review by Audrey Fort

Personnel: Chris Cheek and Bill McHenry (saxophones), Steve Cardenas  (guitar), Mat Maneri (viola), Jacob Sacks (piano), Thomas Morgan  (bass) and Paul Motian (drums)

Witnessing Paul Motian perform should be a rite of passage for all  drummers. This octogenarian is especially known for his innovative  role in pianist Bill Evan’s trio in the 1950’s and 60’s. Along with  bassist Scott LaFaro, Motian helped liberate the rhythm section from  its role as mere timekeeper. Motian still plays regularly with  various groups that he leads in New York City, primarily at the  Village Vanguard.

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Motian is a small, yet vigorous man. Completely bald and wearing dark  glasses, his posture and physical energy belie his age; apparently he  runs a couple of miles nearly every day. When seeing an aging  musician of his stature play, there is concern the performance will  not reach the technical level that it may have 20 years before. This  is irrelevant in Motian’s case. His unique vision, borne from years  of experience, calls for the highest level of musicianship. As if  slowly shedding his possessions one-by-one over time, he doesn’t play  a note unless it needs to be played, which led overall to a perfect sparseness.

Motian’s touch on the instrument shocked me; he approached the drums  physically like a stern taskmaster. With pursed lips and a focus that  almost did not allow concern for the audience watching him, he played  like he was trying to wrangle with his drums for the first time. It  didn’t look smooth, and at times his cymbals sounded shrill and harsh,  not unlike his physical expression. He played only his kick, snare, and cymbals for the first several songs.

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Because he had such a dominating presence, it wasn’t easy to watch him  without losing perspective of the entire band, so I closed my eyes. It began to make much more sense this way. It was easier to hear how  his part fit in with the whole, and it was perfect. Motian’s well-considered playing complimented the various soloing voices of the ensemble while challenging them.

The entire band was awesome. Often one or more musicians would drop out entirely, yet there was very little traditional soloing. The  compositions (which were not introduced, but I’m guessing were a mix  of Motian’s and other’s works) and their arrangements flowed in such a  way that often the transitions did not invite applause. The overall mood of the set was moody, challenging, and immediate.

As a drum student, Motian’s septet is a lesson on the drummer’s role as a contributing musician to an ensemble effort.

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