By: Joe Lang
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When you go see a Dean Magraw project live, you never really know what to expect, and this weekend was no exception. Down in the Artists’ Quarter, on what was to be the hottest weekend of the year, Magraw was slated to play a couple of solo shows, and sometime before zero hour bass maestro Anthony Cox was invited to play alongside Magraw. For any fan of improvisational music, Cox should be a welcome addition to any lineup; having studied with Dave Holland and played with Elvin Jones, John Scofield and Stan Getz, to name a few, Holland is a top notch player in the Twin Cities with at most a handful of equals.
After chatting with Magraw a bit about his projects (a lot of studio work, including sessions for Lorie Line and sessions for an original project featuring J.T. Bates and Jim Anton) he set up his small Fender amp, sound tested his Martin and Strat, and was shortly joined by Cox. I was slightly relieved to not be attending another jazz concert that resembled a tomb or a Johnny Cash prison concert; college kids as well as old timers were seated throughout the AQ, comprising a solid attendance.
The duo started off with a Carla Bley song (“Sing Me Softly of the Blues”) which meandered around and gave breathing room for Magraw and Cox to solo over, but, as with many of Bley’s compositions, the piece was dissonant, and the playing felt extremely loose, even noodley at times.
The reason, as the duo explained shortly after, was the fact that the two hadn’t played together, much less rehearsed in quite some time; although Cox played on and contributed to Magraw’s Seventh One album, the two hadn’t played together publicly for years, which was reflected in the looseness of the performance. “If any of this music sounds too rehearsed to you, come let us know,” Magraw joked in between songs.
The duo trudged on through the improvisational unknown including Cox’s piece “Sketch,” one of the highlights from Magraw’s Seventh One. The piece would have been a welcome addition to the set, but Cox’s playing was substantially faster than the recorded version, which doesn’t work on a brooding piece that would sound at home in the soundtrack to a film noir. As a result Dean’s playing was hasty, rather than letting the groove sink in.
But on other tracks throughout the night, including Magraw’s as of yet unrecorded “Keep the Faith” and “Bird in the House” as well as Cox’s “Caroline V,” the duo locked into some tasty grooves and tasteful licks. The one problem with the playing was that it was slightly juxtaposed: Dean’s playing was often softer and less aggressive, and Anthony’s bass attack was a little too fierce. At times Cox had the soft, relaxed, but grooving Jaco tone, but at others his touch was too intense and his groove was less inspired. The duo closed with a James Brown jam, one of the highlights, which had both players grooving throughout.
On Saturday, I cruised in from St. Paul to try and catch the tail end of the second set just before 1 a.m. Fortunately, I was able to catch Magraw’s “Seventh One.” Even though I only caught the one piece it was evident that the both players were in their comfort zone. Magraw’s playing was more continuous and melodic than the previous night and had a stronger bite, and Cox’s groove was less hasty and more tasty. After a night of catch-up it was obvious that the two were warmed up, locked in and back on top of their game.
As I was walking toward the back of the venue, a blonde woman who looked to be in her fifties looked at me and said, “Do you think you could play one more song?”
“I’d love to,” I said, “But unfortunately, I wasn’t the one playing tonight.”
She was obviously a little confused, and I told her to ask the bigger, blacker gentleman (Cox) if they would be willing to play one more tune. I joked to Dean a little later that if this woman thought I looked like him, it was either a really bad thing for me, or a really good thing for him (I’m at least 20 years his junior).
The two got back on stage and played through one more song, a jazz ballad with a name that escapes me, and called it quits. Although I only got a chance to hear a little bit of the second night, I’m excited to check out the duo again—when they lock in they are a site to behold.
Location Info:
Artists' Quarter
Artist Info: Anthony Cox, Dean Magraw
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