The Ben Darwish Group + The Sam Howard Band - Jimmy Mak’s (Portland, OR; Dec. 04, 2009)

Let’s begin with some full disclosure: Ben Darwish and I went to high school together, are on a first name basis and he still owes me a CD from his first group, Chill Factor. Now that you know that, here’s the rest. I’ve been meaning to see Ben and his various incarnations for years; especially since friends of mine (whose musical opinions I trust) have said that they’ve been blown away, on several occasions, by his virtuosity and natural ability to move a crowd. It never lined up though, and it was only on Friday night that I finally got to experience his latest venture, The Ben Darwish Group, live and in person.

This was also to be my first experience in a jazz club and what better way to start than in Portland’s preeminent, nationally lusted-after jazz hole, Jimmy Mak’s? Inside, I instantly locked eyes on the stage. It was only about a foot off the ground with barely any space separating the alternating short-long table set-up that populated the floor in front. The crowd was right there, having their dinners, drinks, and conversation, awaiting the first band to step up those 12 inches and lure them into looking past what was on their plates and engage their ears. The Sam Howard Band was up to the task.

Fronted by a young Queens native (now a Portlander), Sam Howard is a story-telling bass player that came to our city with compositions and musical dreams in tow, just looking for a place in the scene. From the stage introduction, he’s found one and set it off right, leading the group branded with his own name into a slow groove, peppered with sweet guitar notes and graceful piano runs. Sam’s face told his story. He loves what he’s doing and he couldn’t hide it if he tried. The rest of the band, made up of guitarist Scott Pemberton, keyboardist/pianist Andrew Oliver, and drummer Russ Kleiner, probably only added to his enjoyment, as they all brought their own voices and enthusiastic energy out to join him.

This is jazz for young people; a fusion project that frolicked in afrobeat rhythms, bluesy bar-rat solos and some country twang before returning home to a familiar jazz structure, as if they needed to remind you every once in awhile what roots grip the tree. And while Pemberton frequently took center stage, with his distortion pedal and tremolo tinkering, it was Oliver with his sneaky “maybe we should break into some funk” Rhodes lines that really stole the show. It was solid and I was surprised by the audience’s reaction. Claps and cheers after songs, but clinking dishes and chatting during.  Maybe people go to jazz clubs expecting the music to be secondary, acting as an ambiance enhancer instead of the main attraction. Whatever their collective reason, I thought The Sam Howard Band deserved better.

Ben Darwish must have felt the same way about the audience because when he and the rest of the ‘Group took the stage, he requested their full attention and that conversations be kept to a minimum. They began with a ballad called “In Case I Find You, Here’s My Song.” Ben sang it softly, seated at his piano, as Bill Athens, his bearded upright bassist, bowed out the details in long, slow strokes from center stage. This was the first public performance for The Ben Darwish Group and the first of many new Ben-penned compositions we would see that night. They were off to a good start.

The set ranged from a Bud Powell cover of “Crazyology,” a 30’s style swing number—by Ben’s own admission a stylistic rarity in their catalog—to slower selections like “Bliss,” which would fit perfectly to those old film noir scenes where the lead actor first locks eyes with that suspicious yet irresistible dame in the back corner of the nightclub. The piano was the anchor through all of this, guiding the way and signaling when someone else could have a turn. And when it was time, the music tended to drop down, until a single instrument had the space to rise up and take over control of the measures. Each musician got a turn, even the drummer.

As the songs went on, you noticed a few things. The first was that Ben is extremely talented, and technically seems to lack for nothing. This quickly revealed itself once the numbers started getting a bit hotter and Ben started to take solos. Departing from the comping that allows room for other musicians to move, Ben’s hand flew over that grand piano in a way that would have made Art Tatum proud. The notes were on, he wasn’t greedy with his time, and the compositions showed a lot of skill. The second thing you noticed was that he wasn’t the only flare in the gun. Tim Willcox could play a mean sax, Randy Rollofson effortlessly dipped in and out of splashy and powerfully syncopated stick hits and Athens, besides looking like a kindly schoolteacher from Nebraska, knew how to add key flourishes from any point of his instrument. The team was there, but there was still a problem.

Technically, they had it. You couldn’t fault them a single bit for that, but in all honesty, I thought the majority of it lacked a sense of personality. It sounded too contained, like there wasn’t a voice or soul behind the music, just a desire to play it correctly. That said, here’s some things I want you think about:

Number one: I like jazz, but am in no way an aficionado. I’ve listened to plenty, I own plenty, but I can’t dig deep into the nuts and bolts of it like a superfan could. I just go with my gut and I think that should be taken into consideration.

Number two: Even though I felt this way, none of it really added up for me. The reason being that from everyone I’ve ever talked to about Ben’s work, I’ve been told that not only is he technically skilled, his music has a lot of feeling and great emotion to it as well. But then it came to me. I have a feeling that the reason I might have seen something different is a matter of context. Meaning, everyone knows that when you go see a band near the beginning of their tour, when they are just starting out or are trying out new songs, you are opening yourself up to the possibility of some serious disappointment. And it makes total sense. Bands in these states either haven’t got to a point where the songs are fully locked in or aren’t in a place where they are comfortable enough with the material to allow it to bloom. I think that’s what happened here because the music wasn’t bad. It’s not my favorite style of jazz, but it was well-written and interesting. And I’d even go see them again in the future, because like I said, I have a feeling they’re going to find that voice a little down the road.

There were high points, though, and where I did think he shined and his personality came through was on his cover of the Sesame Street classic, “I Don’t Want To Live On The Moon.” There, the music was playful and you got a sense of the young man behind the music. He didn’t just want to play in the old style, only playing standards. He wanted to wink (musically) at the audience, showing them that this is supposed to be fun and can be what anyone wants to make it. This is where I enjoyed him and his band the most, when it felt like I could see the person steering the ship, instead of a shadow in the sun. And I think you need that or else it all just becomes a series of notes.

In the end, I had to leave early and missed the second set, so it might have all opened up after I left. If it did, shame on me but since I’ll never know, I will tell you this: I still think he’s worth going to see. He’s got the chops, the writing is strong, and every other report I’ve seen/heard has been glowing. So, if that’s all you need, check him out and let me know how it went. Then again, you might see me there.

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