On Friday, April 12, 2013 we had the marvelously superb tenor saxophonist Alexey Nikolaev back at Jazz in The Georgian at The Fairmont Olympic Hotel in the Emerald City that is known as Seattle in the great Pacific Northwest.
This will be Alexey's second time in as many months in the fine dining restaurant The Georgian. Here is a link to the blog post of Alexey's debut last month.
Again, Alexey and I had a great time of duet playing. Tenor sax and string bass duo is not an uncommon configuration. It is an interesting combo in that there is no harmonic instrument, ie., piano or guitar. The bassist implies the harmony by outlining the chords in walking bass lines. But, also, there is a harmonic ambiguity as well as the bassist may choose to not necessarily define the chord structure. This sparse harmonic accompaniment frees up the soloist, in this case the tenor saxophonist to explore improvisational territory that is not rigidly laid down by a traditional harmonic chordal instrument. For the inexperienced jazz soloist this lack of a present chordal instrument as well as lack of a drummer resulting in more open space may be a daunting exercise. But, for a veteran master player such Alexey, this offers a musical playground from which to meet the challenge of taking the responsibility that more harmonic and rhythmic freedom offers, yet create music that is aesthetic, pleasing, and tasteful...or perhaps not if that is the artistic intent.
We have a couple videos to share from this night. The first video is a good old standard called Bye Bye Blackbird. The second video is a very nice bossa nova tune called Once I Loved by great Antonio-Carlos Jobim.
Bye Bye Blackbird
Once I Loved
Alexey Nikolaev will be back in The Georgian next month on Friday, May 24. We both hope to see you come out to experience the culinary artistry of Chef Gavin and the exquisite fine dining experience that The Georgian offers. Combined with the outstanding sonic art of jazz, it is a full sensory adventure not to be missed.
Please visit our YouTube channel to see and hear highlights of Jazz in The Georgian, and Smooth Groove Productions special events.
Jazz in The Georgian every Friday and Saturday nights, 6pm-10pm at The Fairmont Olympic Hotel, 411 University Street, Seattle, Washington 98101, 206-621-7889.
Please visit www.smoothgroove.net
Elevate your special event with live music. We don't miss a beat!
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