Michael Ross, David Pate & Fred Johnson: Respect & Love
Success on the musical stage requires two things: RESPECT and LOVE (the observation of a non-musician). The presentation at Fogertyville Community Media and Arts Center Sunday, January 4, flooded those of us in the audience as the respect and love among Michael Ross, David Pate, and Fred Johnson forged itself into a stunning, heartfelt tsunami that covered us all.
Throughout the evening, the nods, the looks of approval, and the smiles that the trio shared bespoke that respect and love.
As Ross (double bass) acknowledged at the beginning, he and Pate have been musical compatriots for 50 years and with the remarkable Johnson for 40. Ross explained the duo collaborations he and Pate have had in addition to work in other combinations. Their recent album release Conversations was fashioned during the pandemic; they would feature seven of the album’s ten compositions during the program.
Set one opened with “Daydreams,” a Sam Rivers composition; Pate played for years in Rivers’ Riv-Bea Orchestra. It gave him an opportunity to get his tenor warmed up (he said later he got that horn in 1971!). Next was Ross’ bouncy tune dedicated to bass player Ray Brown titled “Raymond,” with “free intro” and Pate switching to bass clarinet, an instrument he makes sing.
Then it was time for Fred Johnson, who climbed on stage with an instrument few of us had seen before (Pate included): a laptop cajon. This one was rectangular and had a strap which circled his waist to hold it in place. Besides the clarity of sound, it was enjoyable watching him play it. They dove immediately into “The More I See You,” with Fred swinging it every which way. After Pate (tenor) and Ross soloed, it was Fred’s turn as he unleashed his magnificent vocalese. WOW! Pate picked up the soprano sax for “Nature Boy,” again with Fred’s wonderful vocal inventiveness. Pate later confided that he believes Fred is “the best soloist in the state.” Tough to argue.
Next were two more tracks from Connections. “Doghouse” was first, a reprise of the title track of an earlier Michael Ross Quartet album. Ross’ massive bass chops provided the intro, with Pate on tenor and Fred providing vocalese and, of course, percussion. There was a wonderful Pate blues composition titled “Monk in the Cafe” with great work from all, including a fine “Birk’s Works” quote from Ross during his solo. I think it was at this point that Fred encouraged a singalong for “Ain’t No Sunshine,” the audience jumping right in with a lot of “I know I know I know I know I know I know” fun. Fred makes each of these tunes his own.
After set break, the duo offered two more from Connections, beginning with Don Cherry’s “Art Deco,” which was, as Ross pointed out, not what you’d expect from Cherry; it was a walking tune. A flurry of madness followed as Pate described writing “M6” while touring with Bernadette Peters, which he correctly noted as “Ornette-type melody, followed by wild free improvising.” Check.
It was once again Fred Time. He described his time in New York working with a man named Rev. Bob Chase, who had worked up a great series of poems. Ross was particularly interested in one called “Blues Waterfall,” creating music to match the lyrics (This track appears on Ross’ album Giraffe with Johnson on vocal). Ross had a deep intro before Fred’s voices was the waterfall of blues; he had also chosen a different, slightly smaller laptop cajon. The interplay between Fred’s cascading vibe and Ross’ superb solo was breathtaking. They chose for the album’s “requisite standard ballad” Jimmy van Heusen’s “Polka Dots and Moonbeams,” a gorgeous tenor feature.
Fred loves to do an improvised tune where he solicits words from audience members and works them into a narrative. Some of the words were: love, hope, sunset, sunset of hope, big change, turbulence, and more music. There were ten or a dozen in all. Next, he asked Ross to play a song, a blues, a platform to create the new song, and, once again, Fred nailed it, and we sang along at some point as well. This never fails to elicit delight from the audience.
“One more?” Complete agreement, and with that the trio launched into another Bill Withers song they love to play, “A Lovely Day.” You can bet that he always swings this into a singalong as well, every one of us basking in this lovely day of music from three titans.
Many thanks to Geoff Newman and Ann McGough (feature image) for the use of their photos. This was our first visit to Fogartyville. It is a wonderful venue, and the people there are outstanding. Special note to sound engineer Doug for a masterful job!
[ONE: Daydreams, Raymond, The More I See You, Nature Boy, Ain’t No Sunshine, Doghouse, Monk in the Cafe; TWO: Art Deco, M6, Blues Waterfall, Polka Dots and Moonbeams, Audience Creation, A Lovely Day]