Pate, Ross, Jenkins & Nickelson: Making IMPRESSIONS
The evening was billed as A Special Evening of Jazz in the Gallery at The Ale & the Witch in St. Petersburg July 31, featuring The Downtown Trio and special guest LaRue Nichelson. The gallery in question is the ante room next to the bar at A&W, the wonderful beer emporium and music venue where Bret Andress hosts live music often (19 dates in August).
The Downtown Trio featured three spectacular players (four counting Nickelson): Michael Ross, double bass; David Pate, tenor & soprano saxophones; and John Jenkins, drums. And this a good place to mention the sound engineer of the evening, Taylor Gilchrist, himself a fine bass player. He kept the sound perfectly balanced in that intimate venue.
I have had the privilege of hearing hundreds upon hundreds of amazing jazz performances over the past 55 years, and I’ve seen Pate and Ross play countless times for 50 years, together and separately. This performance by the quartet was the best, most riveting show I have ever witnessed. I suspect that most of the people in attendance would agree.
What made it so singularly incredible? Various factors come to mind. This group, sometimes with another drummer, often plays the music of The Michael Ross Quartet, some brilliant original music. For this show, we were unexpectedly treated to a cavalcade of jazz standards and true deep cuts. Ross and Pate were their glorious selves, but this night everything took on spiritual significance. This was my best intimate view of Nickelson, who was fabulous. And, for me, drummer Jenkins simply stole the night with a mind-blowing performance on a simple kit.
One more thing: how did this show manifest? Ross van Wassenhove, a true jazz aficionado, mentioned to his yoga student student Teresa Giammarino that he lamented anemic jazz in St. Pete. He wanted to hear something more intense, long solos, from the heart. Teresa plays in a community jazz band that Pate conducts in Gulfport. Her response: “That sounds like Dave Pate.” Ross said he would finance the affair. Teresa set the whole thing up with The Ale & Witch. It was recorded by Brett Husselbaugh, also a member of the Gulfport band.
They opened with Gillespie’s “Birk’s Works,” and the tone was set. Everyone had a feature, as was the case with many of the night’s numbers. They followed up with “No Greater Love,” Nickelson leading off and Pate blowing twice.
The night was firmly stamped as Pate said there was a request by Ross van Wassenhove to play “Spiritual,” of the great numbers from Coltrane’s four-night stand at The Village Vanguard in 1961. Pate owned this, and Nickelson was brilliant in response. Ross and Jenkins played in tandem.
RIGHTEOUS
Monk’s “Well You Needn’t” was a great Nickelson feature before Pate blew a brilliant intro to “Body & Soul.” Jenkins began with brushes and closed with mallets! What followed was a long bass solo which yielded to the band going over the top with “Impressions,” the second Trane composition from The Village Vanguard. Nickelson blew minds again with his comping underneath Pate’s stunning solo.
That was an hour and a half of heaven. YOU MEAN THERE’S GOING TO BE MORE?
Yes, in fact, more than an hour on the way. After a quick set break, Ross’ magical bass notes gave it away: “Afro Blue” was on tap. Pate pulled out the soprano for this one. RIGHTEOUS. Coltrane added this tune to his repertoire in 1963. From that ballad-like vibe, the quartet kicked it all the way up with a superb take on “Jump Monk,” Pate on tenor. This was another real WOW moment. The Joe Henderson standard “Recorda Me” was excellent as well.
The tears of joy I had earlier during “Spiritual” were about to return. Pate announced another request by Ross van Wassenhove, “India,” the third selection from the Village Vanguard sessions. [Ed. note: Those three songs were played each of those four incredible days at the VV.] Pate acknowledged that they were without Mr. Tyner and Mr. Dolphy but that they would soldier through. Ross offered up a magnificent bass intro before Nickelson soloed. Pate then tagged in on soprano. After superb work from each, their interplay was jaw-dropping.
They saved “Monk in the Cafe” for last, a tune that Pate and Ross recorded on their wonderful 2024 album Conversations, a perfect title given five decades of conversations, Ross with the whimsical bass line and Pate in response.
PLEASE, LET’S DO THIS AGAIN!
[ONE: Birk’s Works (Gillespie), No Greater Love (Jones/Symes), Spiritual (Coltrane), Well You Needn’t (Monk), Body & Soul (Green/Heyman/Sour/Eyton), Impressions (Coltrane); TWO: Afro Blue (Santamaria), Jump Monk (Mingus), Recorda Me (Henderson), India (Coltrane), Monk in the Cafe (Pate)]
Thanks to everyone involved with making this night truly one to remember.
