Hank Jones and Frank Wess Perform at Iridium – The Jazz Masters Salute the Broadway Masters.Jazz Masters meaning: Hank Jones, piano; Frank Wess, tenor sax and flute; Rufus Reid, bass, along with Ilya Lushtak on guitar and Willie Jones III on drums. Broadway Masters meaning: compositions of Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, et al. Hank is a spry 90 years old, and Frank is four years younger. Readers should check out their 2006 release on Lineage Records, “Hank and Frank.”
The Iridium Jazz Club was crowded on a March 2009 evening, and the bandmembers, elegantly dressed in suits and ties, were a fine balance to the classy atmosphere of the club. One can choose from an extensive wine, liquor and food menu, and every seat gives a good view of the stage.
“Dream Dancing,” an unusual foxtrot by Porter was the opener, and featured the guitar and piano. Jones picked out his notes expertly on the piano, putting in some blues fills, and had a great touch when comping for the guitar solo. Lushtak played his licks smoothly and easily, adding a crescendo of chords for a big finish.
Frank Wess was introduced to play a flute-and-piano duet with Hank Jones on Rodgers & Hart’s song, “My Funny Valentine.” A hush descended over the audience, and the effect was almost hypnotic, to hear these two weave their counterpoint.
Another Porter piece, “What is this Thing Called Love?” was done in the true bebop style. Frank grabbed his tenor this time, and gave the audience what amounted to a lesson in jazz saxophone! Hank countered with his own repertoire of jazz phrases, and Ilya strummed a steady rhythm on guitar – he’s from the bebop tradition, too, and plays tastefully. “Sophisticated Lady,” the great ballad by Ellington, was interpreted by Hank with some fresh harmonic changes, giving the song a brighter feeling. By using chord substitutions, embellishments, blues riffs, etc., it was amazing to hear the wealth of ideas at the pianist’s disposal.
After a few more tunes, the band ended the set with “I Got Rhythm,” the Gershwin classic. Everyone got a chance to stretch out with extended solos, and I especially liked Rufus Reid’s bass solo, moving effortlessly between single lines and double stops. It left me feeling satisfied that I’d heard a great set, from some of the living legends of the Jazz era (with a capital ‘J’).
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