GEORGETOWN - The scene at Blues Alley on Monday had the dreary romanticism of any 1940s private eye flick. Clammy weather, which had soaked the incoming patrons, made the warmth of the low-lit jazz supper club all the more inviting. As the lights dimmed to a shadowy whisper, guitarist Rick Whitehead ascended to the bandstand unaccompanied by his bandmates. The subtle smile the Miami-raised jazzman flashed before going into his first piece, "Have You Met Miss Jones," set the pace for a night of intimate entertainment that would swing, stir and move the half-filled venue.
The solo mini-set at the beginning allowed Whitehead to showcase his chops as a disciple of swing music, steeped in the blues tradition. Of the four songs he performed by himself, his cover of the Duke Ellington swing classic, "Sophisticated Lady," was perhaps the most elegant. Whitehead's rendition reflected the melancholy of the piece, accentuated by his effortless virtuosity and improvisation. After a fashion, it seemed to be a tutorial to the audience of Whitehead, on Whitehead, a small showcase of his of influences and original compositions.
With the introduction of bassist John Previti and drummer Tim Biery, the performance shifted into high gear. What was most striking about their collaborative effort was the genuine joy and emotion that the experienced sidemen seemed to radiate to the audience.
It is exceedingly rare to see a trio with almost 10 years of history behind them able to find new ways to enjoy reading each others' minds. Whitehead summed up this fraternity perfectly at the beginning of the set when he said, "We never know what we're going to do beforehand. We just like to have fun."
Spontaneous moments of excitement popped up liberally throughout the night. The most noticeable of which were the visible grins of Biery and Whitehead during their high-octane performance of the bebop standard "Little Suede Shoes." Biery's stunning samba-like drum solo was indeed a showstopper, and threw the audience into a frenzy.
"If we keep playing that fast," Whiteman quipped, "we're all getting out of here a half-hour early."
During the up-tempo pieces, one of the subtle pleasures was simply watching the lightning-fast digits and palms of the established jazz masters. If they ever decide to quit music, the Rick Whitehead Trio has quite a future ahead of them in the field of surgery.
Previti, in contrast to his comrades, seemed lanky and distant throughout the night, as if he was overcome by the power of his profoundly deep bass solos. This was most highlighted during his performance to the opening solo to the Charles Mingus classic "Anastasia in Time Square." Previti had no qualms exploring his instrument to highest point of intensity, often having his hands spaced a minute distance from each other. When his eyes grew fixated to the wood floor, the audience knew he was in a world of his own.
Overall, the Rick Whitehead Trio left the audience both exhausted and thoroughly stirred with their set. They had performed an anthology of styles fusing the haunting nature of Parisian jazz with the energy of big band swing and bebop. Both original compositions and time-tested standards were injected with new life through the trio's fusion and improvisation. It would not be surprising at all to learn that the music itself had returned the gift of life to them as well.
