Fall’s jazziest highlight Bobby Previte promises a powerhouse

BOBBY PREVITE and BUMP
Saturday, October 26
At the Yardbird Suite
Doors at 8:00 P.M. Members $26/Guests $30

Solid jazz fans and the under-initiated alike are bound to enjoy a true highlight of the fall jazz season down at the Yardbird Suite on Saturday, Oct. 26.

New York-based musician, composer and drummer Bobby Previte brings his all-star ensemble to Edmonton for one night only, following performances over the last week in Oakland, Portland and Vancouver.

Bobby Previte and BUMP not only feature Previte’s funky-to-crashing-to-subversive drumming, but also four other gifted and established musicians, including: Steve Swallow on bass, Wayne Horvitz on keyboards, Marty Ehrlich on saxophone and Curtis Fowlkes on trombone.

"These four guys are great musicians... I like letting out the rope with them," says Previte. "I try to subvert the music and I like it when they subvert the music. I like it when people brush my ideas off and go their own way. With these guys, you can do that kind of thing."

All five players in BUMP are stellar names in jazz circles. Bassist Steve Swallow, for example, has played for years with Carla Bley in different settings, and spent many years with the Gary Burton Quartet in the ’70s and ’80s.

Previte first met Swallow about six years ago when Swallow was playing with Bley at the Detroit Jazz Festival. Previte recalls that after he was introduced to Bley, she said, "Oh, you’re Bobby Previte, we hate you... your music is too good."

Previte says that the Yardbird gig will not only feature some pieces from the group’s Just Add Water (2001, Palmetto Records) release, but also new material that will soon be on tape. "We’re going into the studio two days after this gig. You can tell the people to expect a powerhouse band that can play to the back of the room... we’re an exciting band live."

There’s no reason to doubt Previte on his jazz word. The man’s not just a musician; he’s a thinking person’s thinking person. When asked to sound off a single famous quote, he pulled out three musically-applicable comments from Picasso, Jane Austen, and Napoleon.

"It took me five years to paint like Raphael and a lifetime to paint like a child," Previte says, paraphrasing the first of the bunch. "That’s where you want to get to. Play is important, we have to be spontaneous – music really has to be free."

As a musician and composer, Previte has freed himself to cover all parts of the musical map, including playtime with electronic drums, his "new passion." Check out www.bobbyprevite.com for MP3s, discography and a "history" lesson on the man’s musical works and many collaborations.

Although the cover charge for this show is steeper than for most Yardbird events, it’s a sound bet that every last jazz dollar spent on the evening will give good payback. But don’t take this writer’s word for it; take Carla Bley’s.

For more proof positive of the mega-credentials in the BUMP ensemble, check out the Yardbird's website at www.yardbirdsuite.com.

DON BUCHANAN