REGINA CARTER, Sheraton City Center, Monday
One of the wonderful things about jazz music is that it's all about being original. And one of the wonderful things about Regina Carter is the way she takes that concept one step further.
As a jazz violinist, she stands out in a crowd of saxophones, singers and trumpets. But even if you were to compare her to one of the handful of famous jazz violinists, you would still find that she has an original voice.
And that voice is an extremely musical one. Carter's early classical training is evident in the way she plays, both in her technique and the way that her approach is always consummately musical and beautiful.
With a distinctively rich, dark, husky tone to her playing, Carter draws out the beauty unique to the violin. She also takes advantage of the capabilities that a violin has versus more traditional jazz instruments. Frequently emphasizing the more delicate, quiet aspects of the music, she brings nuances and aspects to jazz that other instruments can't touch.
Carter's Monday concert began with an easygoing Latin "Black Orpheus." This chart kicked off the program in a nice, understated way, setting the tone for the evening. The band (pianist Xavier Davis, bassist Matthew Parrish, drummer Quincy Davis and a percussionist) generally seemed to keep pretty low-key, even in their solos. They may have been intentionally laying low as so not to compete with the violin, but sometimes their uncomplicated style came across as almost too simplistic (for straight-ahead jazz, anyway).
Carter's musical roots showed themselves in some of her program selections, such as the classically based Ravel's "Pavane for a Dead Princess." Of course, she didn't play them in "straight" classical style. After playing the basic melody, she used it as a jumping-off point for free improvisation with the whole band.
Such early jazz-violin influences as Stephane Grappelli came through on Lucky Thomson's "Prelude" and Ella Fitzgerald's "The Music Goes 'Round and 'Round." "Come Sunday" was in an elegant gospel vein. Carter also gave a lot of emphasis to Latin influences, such as the tango in her rendition of Milt Jackson's "Someone I Love."
The highlight of the evening, however, was a crossover piece, "Mandego Street," which may be best described as "world music." And the best part of that chart was a terrific percussion solo that featured some incredible technique.
E-mail: rcline@desnews.com