Throwback hip: Brad Linde Quartet featuring Katharine Whalen jazzed it up at Chapel Hill’s oldest bar

ARTS & CULTURE

This is the first of a new ongoing series about the rich homegrown music available in our area

Music: Brad Linde Quartet featuring Katharine Whalen
Venue: The Cave – 452½ W Franklin St

CHAPEL HILL — Jazz is the black sheep of the musical family. It makes up its own rules and is a step ahead of the flock.

That’s why, even playing standards last Saturday night, Linde and the quartet, together with featured vocalist Whalen, had to make a few unusual adaptations.

The late-’50s standards were from the repertoire of vocalist Annie Ross and leading baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, specifically their album “Annie Ross Sings a Song with Mulligan!”

Background

“I found a vinyl copy of it at All Day Records a few years ago and enjoyed listening to it,” Linde said. He’s a saxophonist, bandleader and educator. “I thought the album would be good repertoire and arrangements to do with my students, so I had the album transcribed.”

Annie Ross was a singer and actress who, with the world-touring vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, helped usher in the vocalese style of jazz singing (think early Manhattan Transfer).

In addition to his musicality and velvety tone on baritone sax, Gerry Mulligan was recognized as an influential composer, arranger, and conductor.

“The fact that there is no piano or guitar in these arrangements, and no full band rehearsal is a new experience for me,” shared Whalen.

They couldn’t rehearse as a group because Linde, who has strong roots in the area, now hails from D.C., and Whalen is one of the Triangle’s most beloved musicians with an enduring career.

Danny Grewen, a trombonist and singer from San Francisco, is so well integrated into the local music scene in the decade he’s been here that he might as well be a local. He frequently collaborates with Linde and others in several projects. He’s also a full-time member of all of Whalen’s projects.

“As far as hitting the gig cold, this is part of the jazz tradition,” Grewen pointed out. “The numerous hours of solitary practice help cut down on rehearsal time.”

There was preparation. Linde provided Whalen charts for the vocal, bass and trombone sets and together with Whalen’s other full-time band member, Austin Riopel, they could woodshed the entire album.

Another adaptation was to have the original baritone sax lines played by Grewen’s slide trombone, with Linde’s taking over the trumpet lines on the alto sax, with which he travels a lot.

Grewen gave some detail: “Making it pleasing to the ear isn’t without challenges. Between the bass, two horns, and vocalist, all four are single-line instrumentalists.”

That means that without piano or guitar, i.e., chords, the vocalist has less support and structure to navigate the melodic dimensions of a song.

The gig

Notably, the front room of The Cave felt like a living room (the back room has pool tables). Everyone was there to experience these songs. Every seat was taken, with a few standing, but it wasn’t overcrowded. Even after the crowd thinned out in the second half, remaining fans moved closer to the stage and were just as attentive.

“These are just great standards, not overdone, and with simple, swinging arrangements,” Linde said.

They played the whole album. Extended solos were taken (mostly on sax and ’bone) and the evening ended with a selection of Whalen’s favorite standards like, “Embraceable You.”

The quartet was tight on all fronts, anchored by Pete Kimosh on a beautifully worn double bass, and Steve Coffman on drums with a ‘bop kit’ — a compact drum set — with the two horns in unison to establish melody and gradually build the songs to back Whalen, and dive into improvisations.

The entire evening felt wonderfully nostalgic yet fresh; throwback hip came to mind.

Whalen can float over instrumentation and weave in her vocals which are mysteriously quite present and at times elusive in a good way. She placed the lyrics like lace over the notes. Not having a chordal instrument like a piano or guitar facilitated this.

She has an authentic voice that naturally sounds like vintage radio. Whalen didn’t need to embellish and laid down her style with taste and skill, while having a lot of fun.

“I’ve been a huge fan of Katharine’s for years and to get to work with her is a dream come true,” said Linde.

Brad Linde Quartet featuring Katharine Whalen. Brad Linde, alto saxophone. Danny Grewen, trombone. Peter Kimosh, bass. Steve Coffman, drums. Katharine Whalen, vocals. Photos and composite by Pamir Kiciman.

The Cave has great sound, so none of the artful licks by the quartet or their solos were missed.

Kimosh played the bass parts with such smooth fingering that all the notes flowed like water, yet retained the rich resonance of his instrument and made you feel the extended vibrations that emanate from the bass.

Coffman was precise providing the necessary backbone to the tunes, flourishing as needed without overpowering his bandmates, and popping the skins and cymbals with super clean and forceful sounds at other times.

Linde, despite dealing with fatigue, brought his warm tone and the agility of the alto sax to the mix, with silky solos meandering in commanding style and fully showing his passion for the music.

Grewen was in great form with his full tone on trombone and accurate slide positioning (mechanism that produces desired notes). The scoops, growls, or falls the instrument is capable of weren’t needed, but he phrased melodically throughout with great intonation and creativity.

Although it looked effortless, these musicians worked hard.

The crowd loved it and souls were soothed.

The venue

With the distinction of being around since 1968, The Cave has a full bar, music on most nights and an underground vibe which isn’t only because it’s designed like a cavern.

Jazz is a regular there with one-offs like Saturday night’s gig, and a Monday jazz night with Halo Trio, which is a sort of sit-in, open-stage event. The last Thursday of every month is “Open Mic at the End of the Universe,” with originals only. Virginia Sloop puts on a rotating musical showcase on the first Wednesday of every month through her label, Feel/Free.

According to Em Gee, you can find “Rock ‘n’ Roll, old school Country, Punk Rock, Metal, Hip Hop, Electronic, Experimental/Noise, and Singer-songwriter, or any strange and interesting combination of these.” She also noted that The Cave is currently booking weekend shows as far out as June.

Read TLR’s previous coverage of Katharine Whalen and Brad Linde, and look for more music news soon.

Pamir Kiciman is an artist who writes about a range of the arts and the creative process. This reporter can be reached at: Information@TheLocal Reporter.press.