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Matana Roberts Trio
Live at the Empty Bottle, March 15, 2000
Phil Mosberg
Just before the set break, saxophonist Matana Roberts announced that she was extremely tired and a little out of it, due ot her hectic schedule during the past week- her first homecoming since transplanting to Boston last fall. Judging by her carefully constructed and developed improvisations, the disclaimer seemed almost hard to believe.
The trio of Matana Roberts, bassist Josh Abrams and drummer Chad Taylor used to hold court at The Velvet Lounge prior to the saxist's departure. These shows (Wednesday at The Empty Bottle and Thursday at The Velvet Lounge) are the first that the group has played together since September. However, the layoff could not destroy the chemistry that the trio had achieved during their steady playing days. The sensitivity and interaction that they demonstrated was just as if they had never taken a hiatus.
Drummer Chad Taylor laid down a solid, swinging , yet loose groove that showed the influence of Elvin Jones (when I told him at the break that I heard alot of Jones in his playing, Taylor laughed and stated that it was almost impossible for a drummer not to let Jones' influence in). Josh Abrams held the bottom down with his inventive bass work- a difficult task in harmonically free environments. The bassist also contributed several compositions that were highlights of the sets as well.
It was Matana Roberts' sax playing, however, that stole the show. Roberts is one of the most patient players that I have ever heard. Never in a hurry to jump in with a well rehearsed lick, every phrase was placed, every note chosen with care. Rarely did she play the high energy multiphones associated with many free players. Instead, she preferred shorter phrases, odd numbered note groupings and thematic improvisations that had this listener anticipating her next move, as if in an aural chess match.
Roberts especially shined on two unaccompanied pieces that opened the second set ("Vanguard" by her mentor Brian Blake, whose "careful" compositions and improvisations Roberts said she admired; the other an original inspired by the late Chicago saxophonist Eddie Harris) as well as the Billy Strayhorn classic "Isfahan" and the Thelonious Monk workout "Skippy".
Now that Matana Roberts has decided to become an East Coaster, her Chicago appearances might become more rare. One can only hope that as she takes off in the world of improvised music that she doesn't become a stranger to Chicago.