Noah Delivers

A splendid evening of music in Crowell Concert Hall with the world premiere of Noah Baerman's "Know Thyself." Big crowd as well and they were treated (in the second half of the show) to an expansive work, a 60-minute plus song cycle that was melodic, passionate, at times funky, sweet, challenging, and ultimately cathartic. Blessed with a intuitive rhythm section, the fiery Vinnie Sperrazza on drums and the wonderfully melodic Henry Lugo on bass, Baerman shaped a musical journey that hinted (sometimes strongly) at his roots (pianist Phineas Newborn, his teacher James Williams, and even - to these ears - Chick Corea) but moved far beyond them. Wayne Escoffery showed his hard-edged tone on tenor saxophone with solos that often led to a firestorm of notes while his soprano sax had a sweeter edge (though he "wailed" on that horn as well.) Erika von Kleist has a sonorous tone on alto saxophone and her rounder tones on her flute solos were often mesmerizing. Vibraphonist Chris Dingman played strongly throughout the night, his solos displaying a "dancing" side that I had not heard in his work with saxophonist Steve Lehman. Guitarist Amanda Monaco, like Escoffery a long-time friend of Baerman's, also has a round tone on her instrument - she did not solo much tonight but her work on several of the transitions in "Know Thyself" was integral to the shape of the piece.

As for Mr. Baerman, I have seen and heard him play many times over the past 12 years but never better or stronger than on this night. There was a section near the end of the "Suite" where he played a stunning solo, fingers flying over the keyboard, chords spewing out of his left hand, playing hard against the roaring percussion of Sperrazza. He's always had a penchant for "soulful" piano lines but this solo was thunderous, highly rhythmical yet never out of control. (As a sidenote - he's also quite the erudite emcee, keeping the proceedings light in the opening set as he introduced and praised his fellow musicians and talked about the songs.)

After the well-deserved standing ovation, Noah returned to the stage alone and proceeded to play a multi-faceted version of Thelonious Monk's "'Round Midnight." 'Twas an adventurous and rapturous way to end a triumphant evening.