Sunday, April 30, 2023

BASSIST BEN WILLIAMS TERRIFIC CONCERT IS THE PERFECT ENDING TO THE CARR CENTER'S THREE-PART TRIBUTE TO BASSIST RODNEY WHITAKER

 

Bassist Ben Williams

Near the end of bassist Ben Williams's Saturday evening performance at the Carr Center, he performed a brilliant duet with mentor Rodney Whitaker on Oscar Pettiford's "Blues in the Closet." Whitaker jokingly thanked Williams for going easy on him. Then, immediately after the audience's laughter subsided, Whitaker praised his protégé, pointing out Williams was his greatest student. He devoured six years of music in two years, adding that he loved Williams and was proud of the musician and human being he'd become. There are so many reasons to praise Williams. He graduated from Michigan State University in 2007, earned a master’s from Julliard two years later, won the 2009 Thelonious Monk International Bass Competition, and signed with Concord Records. Williams performed a flawless set to honor Whitaker with his band pianist Marc Carey, guitarist Brad Allen Williams, drummer Jharis Yoley, and saxophonist Jaleel Shaw. The 90-minute set closed the Carr Center's three-part tribute to Whitaker billed as "Rodney Whitaker: The Man/The Mentor/ The Music." The other concerts featured Whitaker's former students, bassists Endea Owens and Brandon Rose. Williams opened with a funk-infused arrangement of trumpeter Woody Shaw's "Moontrane" and ended the concert with Bob Dylan's somber "Death of Emmett Till." In between, Williams's group performed his original compositions, several from his 2020 album "I Am A Man." Williams didn't say how long this group has existed. However, it's perfectly seasoned with one giant heartbeat. All the members contributed sturdy solos, notably Jaleel Shaw on "Strength & Beauty" and "Dawn of a New Day," blowing so forcefully that he chipped the paint on the walls. On "If You Hear Me" and "Promise Land," William proved his competency as a singer. The entire concert, I was awed at how Williams walked the bass until his feet were aching and how similar his and Whitaker's leadership philosophies are. Like Whitaker, Williams doesn't believe a jazz bassist's sole function is to linger in the cut, keeping time.

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