Live review from Bruce's recent tour with Roberta Piket and Alternating Current

Jazzbeat 05/11/03 By Don Henke

The subject of today's lesson is a refresher course on the difference between jazz fusion and so-called smooth jazz. The latter is a form of music which needs no preparation, no thought and, sometimes, no talent. The musician finds a nice lick that will cause nobody to think, feel or even pay attention. It's background music, aural wallpaper. Fusion, on the other hand, while sometimes loud, has creativity in its composition and improvisation in its performance.

The last ten days have provided two good examples of fusion. Friday of last weekend New York pianist Roberta Piket brought her electric band, Alternating Current, to the jazz room at Pacchia. Although it's fusion, it's closer to jazz than it is to rock. It's a departure for Piket, who has mainly recorded straight-ahead jazz. Her sets are mostly her own compositions, which are written out and read by the band members. There is forethought in these tunes and it shows.

Although Piket is the leader and her tunes are the thrust of the band, it could be said that the star payer is guitarist Bruce Arnold. He plays a solid-body guitar which is run through an amp and then a laptop computer. On this instrument he sometimes approaches Jimi Hendrix territory, but he pulls back before he gets there. He is a truly amazing guitarist. For the last set he switched to a steel string acoustic guitar which also was run through the laptop.

Piket's keyboard work is not as loud as the other members of her band, but close listening shows the skill she has in playing her own compositions and also improvising during her solos. Her vintage Wurlitzer electric piano looks rather strange in this age of streamlined Korgs, Moogs, etc., but it gets the job done.

Bassist Steve Lucas does little more than keep time, but that's more than drummer Kirk Driscoll does. He's loud, but that's about it. His solos lack ingenuity and his accompaniment is all over the map. With two first-class musicians like Piket and Arnold, the backing should be much better.

Tuesday night Steve Smith and Vital Information played to a packed house at Gilly's. Smith's band always draws well here and this time he had the enhancement of a guest star, saxophonist Bill Evans. This is a group that has been together for years and they know their tunes and their charts. Having Evans with them gave them some new pieces to work on and also gave him the chance to blend into their numbers.

Smith started as a big band drummer, then formed the rock group Journey and then, twenty years ago, started Vital Information. He is one of the finest drummers in the country, although he is also one of the loudest. Once in each set he did a solo turn. In the first, it was with sticks on just the hi-hat cymbal. In the second, it was brushes (brushes!) on a snare. Both were extremely well-received.

Evans is a very good saxophonist, playing both tenor and soprano. On soprano he's no John Coltrane but he's closer to him than to Kenny Gorelick. He played some very pretty tunes on soprano and his tenor was hard-blowing style. Having over twenty years experience with Miles Davis, John McLaughlin and his own groups, he has refined his style to perfection. It is hoped he will tour this country with his band soon.

Frank Gambale is another of the fast-fingered guitarists like the above-mentioned Arnold. He constantly brought the crowd to its feet with his solos. Tom Coster, unfortunately, didn't get as much time in the spotlight as usual, but he did get his licks in. He's a great keyboardist and sometimes surprised the others with his comping and soloing. Baron Browne was a competent bassist and soloed decently. This writer is not a fan of the electric bass and it takes a lot to get him to sit up and take notice.