Palladium favorite Nate Najar returns to the Side Door Cabaret this Thursday night for a special evening of jazz. Instead of his regular trio, Nate appears with the incredible jazz pianist Kenny Drew Jr., and his favorite bassist, John Lamb. For this April 11 gig, Nate will set aside his acoustic guitar for an electric one. Expect a night of hard-swinging standards.
I asked Nate to talk a little about this lineup:
PALLADIUMPAUL: Tell me about this collaboration with Kenny Drew Jr? Have you done this before?
NATE NAJAR: Kenny is without question one of the finest pianists in the world today, and the biggest appeal to me about his jazz playing is that he does not play anything for esoteric means. Everything in his playing is meant simply to sound and feel good, rather than for academic exercise. Combine that with his virtuoso technique and vast experience and repertoire and you get an effortless mastery, always swinging. It is such a joy to listen to Kenny play and to be on the bandstand with him and react musically.
Kenny and I have played together in various configurations as a result of certain musical situations, but this will be the first time we have played a concert together. I usually play the classical guitar in my own groups, but dynamically the classical guitar does not work too well in this type of ensemble. You can use it, but it is best in that case as an accent piece and not a main instrument. All the shortcomings are amplified (no pun intended!) and all the strengths masked. I do play the electric jazz guitar also, but only when I work with a piano player. So for this show I will be on the electric jazz guitar.
PALLADIUMPAUL: This musical set up was made famous by Nat King Cole. Two lead instruments and a bass, no drums. What’s the attraction as a musician?
NATE: Nat king Cole was the first to be widely known with the drummerless piano trio and sort of set the standard for all other groups to follow. After Nat, countless groups presented themselves in the format of piano, guitar and bass on record, the concert stage, and even in lounges and hotels and other informal settings. It can be a pleasant, intimate sound and yet still swing hard. Some very notable piano trios emerged after Nat’s group including Ahmad Jamal and probably most notably Oscar Peterson with bassist Ray Brown and guitarist Barney Kessel and then later with Herb Ellis.
The big attraction to an ensemble like this is in the roles of the individual instrumentalists. The bass player is the time keeper. The guitarist alternates roles of percussion (“Rhythm guitar”) and lead, and the piano provides harmony and leads. It is a very interconnected type of ensemble, very different from a standard jazz group where a couple of horns might be lead soloists “on top” of a rhythm section.
I love working in this format and it really is the only time I prefer or look forward to playing the electric guitar, but it takes the right combination of musicians for this type of group to work. And John Lamb and Kenny Drew Jr. are absolutely the right guys for this ensemble. They are strong, individual personalities with unique voices and still provide great support and empathy when called upon to do so.
PALLADIUMPAUL: What are some of the tunes you’ll be doing Thursday night?
NATE: We’ll play a range of material including “standard” tunes from the Great American Songbook, jazz and bebop tunes and some big band classics. The important consideration is that this is not “my group” but rather three leaders co leading a trio. So the material we play will feature all the members of the trio in various capacities.
For tickets and information about the show on Thursday, April 11, visit www.mypalladium.org or call the box office at 727 822-3590.
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