Concert Review: Han Bennink and Mary Oliver with Wayne Horvitz, Jacob Zimmerman, and Geoff Harper

Is it fair to review the concert with a headliner from the Netherlands? I first heard Han Bennink play in Amsterdam with Cor Fuhler and Wilbert de Joode. The creativity of the free improvisation between these three musicians was astounding. It's still a gig that stands out in my memory as one of my most definitive moments in my European musical adventure.

Han Bennink is a drumming legend. He plays on the last recorded performance of my favorite jazz musician, Eric Dolphy. "Last Date" is such a wonderful album (though the recording quality could be better) that showcases Eric Dolphy at the height of his creativity with a young Han Bennink and Misha Mengelberg doing what they can to keep up (they do a stellar job by the way, but Dolphy was playing ahead of his time). "The Topography of the Lungs" is one of the most regular albums on my record spinner (tablet/phone). In this album, Bennink plays with Derek Bailey on guitar and Evan Parker on alto saxophone as the three great improvisors create wonderfully textured music that has inspired me for many years. With plenty of other recordings of Han Bennink out there, you should really do yourself a favor and check him out. Any opportunity to listen to his playing should not be missed.

Joining Bennink in Seattle was the American violinist (who also lives in Holland), Mary Oliver. I met and listened to many performances of Mary Oliver while I was listening to Amsterdam, and she is unquestionably a master of experimental violin performance. Her regular use of extended techniques always makes me giddy (I really love it when people have mastered playing their instrument in unconventional ways). Most other times I've seen Oliver perform has been with dancers. Between her and Anne LaBerge (my mentor from Amsterdam), the two of them opened my brain up to interdisciplinary collaboration.

The first set of this performance at the Royal Room in Columbia City was just a duet with the two traveling players. This set included free improvisation as well as compositions by Misha Mengelberg (who I think was originally supposed to be part of their tour but was very ill). The Royal Room is a great venue with great sound...but for some reason I couldn't hear the speaking between pieces, so I can't name specific titles or composers apart from Misha Mengelberg.

This first set was magical. Mary Oliver and Han Bennink have clearly been playing together quite frequently. Oliver commands a mastery of violin/viola technique to create sometimes ambient and sometimes chaotic sound environments. She uses false harmonics, pressure bowing, pizzicato, vocal harmonizations, and other techniques for this wide sonic range. Han Bennink is very precise with his attacks, very focused on timbre, and has a melodic approach to the use of a drum set. To Bennink, the instrument is not just the drum set, but also his own body, the walls, tables, or anything that can be hit with a stick. The energy that emits from his playing is palpable. Often, a performer will have moments of uncertainty...particularly during free improvisation and while playing with performers who are unfamiliar. Everything Han Bennink plays is intentional,and it is played with conviction.

For the second set, the two headliners were joined by three local players in Jacob Zimmerman on the Altro saxophone, Geoff Harper on the bass, and Wayne Horvitz on piano and electronics. Though these three players are each great musicians, I did feel as if this set was almost an afterthought. The nature of this instrumentation is very reminiscent of a bebop era jazz combo. Indeed, if Mary Oliver were playing trumpet, it could almost be a Charlie Parker tribute (the playing was a bit out there compared to Bird). The pieces for this set were primarily written by Misha Mengelberg again. The melodies were nice and a little esoteric. Cord progressions had lots of extensions and rich harmonic context. It kind of sounded like a sixties jazz jam. Considering Misha Mengelberg was one of the prominent Dutch jazz musicians of the 1960's, that's probably not too surprising.

Even though Mary Oliver is probably among the best and most creative violinists alive today, the sound of a violin in this context wasn't working for me. Let me add that I've spent a significant portion of my life trying to convince people that the flute can be just as great of a jazz instrument as a saxophone and it's very frustrating how much more seriously sax players are respected in this particular idiom. Jazz with all its talk of freedom and creativity can be extremely limiting. All that being said, I found myself struggling with the violin in the traditional jazz setting. It's not just Oliver...I find it difficult when I listen to Stephan Grappelli, Regina Carter, and Jean-Luc Ponty too. But, Jerry Goodman is probably my single favorite musician in the Mahavishnu Orchestra, so I can attest that I love violin in some rocking moments. Playing swing with a violin always sounds strange to my ears...and to be honest playing swing on the flute also does. Traditional jazz musicians take swing very seriously, and it kind of baffles me I admit. Though the violin stood out to my ears as a bit awkward in this context, Oliver played some really cool stuff. 

The second set had some fantastically beautiful moments. Those of us in the city are well aware of how great it is that Wayne Horvitz chooses to live here instead of New York or some other huge international city. Geoff Harper and Jacob Zimmerman are also highly skilled musicians capable of putting on a great show. At one point, Zimmerman and Bennink played a percussion and saxophone duet....and how could anyone not think of Interstellar Space? The smiles on Zimmerman's face afterwards revealed a giddyness to have the opportunity to perform with such a great musician. He held his own and made some killer music with Bennink.

There were some problems it seemed with the audio system. I was sitting at the bar, so I wasn't in an ideal space for the speaker placement...but there were multiple times Wayne Horvitz tried to speak into a microphone and it was never on. I also had difficulty hearing Horvitz at the electronic instruments. I assume this was frustrating to him as well because he never used the electronic keyboard after that first piece. The microphone may not have been turned on at the mic itself, but my hunch is that the engineer never unmuted the mic. Quality electronics are something I'm particularly picky about. I've been working heavily in audio at two high profile event venues ever since moving to Seattle, and I have spent a great deal of time in studios behind the desk as well as behind the mic.
Even though there were these issues with the audio (I would make recommendations to the Royal Room for some consideration for speaker placement in the bar area), the performance was fantastic! It was a great first show to see after so much time out of the scene working and taking care of my daughter. Was anyone else there? Care to add any more insight?