Barber in concert ... well worth the outing


Had the absoulte pleasure of seeing Patricia Barber in concert in Montreal last night. Most excellent performance.. Although NOT accompaginied by Dave Douglas(Trumpet), the performance by Arnopol(Bass), Alger(Guitar)and Eric Monzaka(Drums) was excellent especially Monzaka, if ever a smooth drummer exisits, I found and heard him last night.

Contrary to her Verse CD (most recent) the concert was I would say heavier on the insturmentals, there was still lots of the a-typical Barber vocals, but this concert really got emphesized by some excellent playing.

Barber, in typical, not skilled in public relations was very involved in the concert, telling which lights to kill or brighten and where to accentuate one instrument or another , all done by hand signs. She is a true professional and a hell of a Pianist.. I would ever rate her as one of the top Jazz Pianist today.

She mixed a lot of her new Album with some of her older stuff..

Overall an exceptional show that lasted approx 1.5 hrs and one more thing I have to add, the acoustics were excellent (how rare is that in any venue !!!!!)

I recommend you go to her web site and look on her tour schedule for a city near you ( http://www.bluenote.com/tourdates.asp )..If you want to witness cream of the crop in todays Jazz..look no further !

Matt

http://members.rogers.com/mzn50/
mzn50
Thanks for the review, I always enjoy reading about the events that I can't get to.
I've not seen her lastest tour but she comes to Minneapolis quite often and I have enjoyed her many times. I'll watch for her latest, she is a wonderful person to see in person. You really get a great sense of her deep talants.
I saw her Friday, the night before, at 2 shows at the Regattabar in Boston. Agreed she is excellent as was her ensemble. Saw her this past spring too, same place. Certainly worth the trip, esp. since the price of admission is so little and the venue and music so good. Highly recommended.

-Ed
I agree w/you, she is wonderfully gifted and creative. I have seen her twice here in the DC area, most recently in May at the Women in Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center. She plays barefoot, flutters her hands, and squints her eyes a lot. Fascinating to watch as well as to listen to.
Sc53, that's funny, we noticed exactly the same things with the barefeet , hands and other minor excentricies..really entertaining.. she also took a picture of the crowd.. which I think is not a comon thing for an intrevert( a talented one at that)

Matt
I also saw (and loved) Patricia at the Women in Jazz Festival. SC, we gotta figure out a way to tell each other when fellow 'GoNers are going to be in the same place!