| Salt Lake City |
 |
 |
| GER |
12 |
16 |
7 |
35 |
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| USA |
10 |
13 |
11 |
34 |
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| NOR |
11 |
7 |
6 |
24 |
|
| CAN |
6 |
3 |
8 |
17 |
|
| RUS |
6 |
6 |
4 |
16 |
|
| AUT |
2 |
4 |
10 |
16 |
|
| ITA |
4 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
|
| FRA |
4 |
5 |
2 |
11 |
|
| SUI |
3 |
2 |
6 |
11 |
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| NED |
3 |
5 |
0 |
8 |
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Malone, friends offer mellow jazz
By Rebecca Cline Howard
Deseret News music critic
RUSSELL MALONE, Abravanel Hall, Sunday, Feb. 10, 8 p.m.; one performance only.
Of all of the various Olympics-related activities going on Sunday night, the Russell Malone concert was certainly one of the more relaxing.
Malone's somewhat understated, laid-back style, combined with a program of mostly slow and mid-tempo charts, made for, well, a generally mellow evening of jazz.
Malone was actually a stand-in for the originally scheduled Billy Taylor, who couldn't appear due to health reasons. However, two guests who joined in — Jimmy Owens and Frank Wess — appeared to be from the originally scheduled program, as both have played with Taylor for a significant number of years.
The program was dedicated to Taylor and featured a number of his charts, along with a few by Owens and Wess.
Although all three leads are unquestionably talented musicians, the first half of the evening fell together kind of like a bunch of guys who had just flown in a few hours earlier and hadn't really played together much before. It didn't help that the person in charge of the house lights seemed a little confused at times, and there were a few problems with Owens' microphone onstage.
Not that Owens, Wess and Malone were bad — not at all. They all have a deep understanding of the various jazz styles and are eloquent in voicing them. It's just that the music had a hard time transcending the style and the notes and really getting that energy, that verve, going.
Of course, it did happen a few times. Owens' "The History of the Blues" was the first to get them off the ground into a good-and-gritty blues groove.
Pianist Benny Green, although strictly playing the role of a sideman on Sunday, deserves a great deal of credit for his energy, talent and contribution. He played a wonderfully fun solo during "The History of the Blues," as well as during many of the other charts. In fact, he came pretty close to stealing the show more than a few times with his spirited playing.
But it wasn't always sheer speed that pepped things up. Owens' soulful (and later energetic) trumpet playing in "The Spiritual Suite" was another one of those moments where the music went into direct communication with the audience.
Still, too many songs, such as Taylor's "The Secret" and "Theadora," although adequately performed, just didn't maintain much energy.
E-MAIL: rcline@desnews.com
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February 12, 2002
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