On a frigid January mid-week date, roughly five months prior to Burlington Discover Jazz, Robert Walter’s 20th Congress spent roughly two hours at South Burlington’s Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, setting an extremely high bar for performances during this year’s annual festival.
On tour in support of last fall’s excellent Spacesuit (Royal Potato Family, 2018), the keyboardist/composer naturally opted for some selections from that record. But while such choices as “13th Key” and “Posthuman” comprised only a small portion of the extensive setlist, more than a little of the show overall hearkened to the same Seventies-era fusion as the album; circa Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew and Herbie Hancock albums like Sextant. The depth of bassist Marc Friedman’s bass, in fact, directly recalled the vintage Seventies jazz-rock of those iconic musicians, particularly the latter’s unearthly Headhunters (in marked contrast to the more trebly tones fingered by Phish’s Mike Gordon on his single sit-in, “Don’t Chin the Dog”).
Right from the very start, a one-two punch of “Hunk” and “Little Red Book,” there was a fresh sense of (re-)discovery emanating from the playing of the whole band, and especially its leader. Robert Walter hasn’t really delved deeply into this stylistic territory over the course of an eclectic career comprised of a variety of solo, group and one-off collaborations including the Greyboy Allstars, Bobby Previte’s Coalition of the Willing (with Charlie Hunter and Skerik) and the collaboration with New Orleans’ James Singleton and Johnny Vidacovich (2008’s Cure All). But he’s making up for lost time with this lineup and with no little relish either, at least judging from the way he smiled so brightly so often during the course of this concert in the venue’s smaller room.
Whether this version of The 20th Congress was working from a pre-determined set list or not, Walter and his group proffered the definition of jazz in the moment. Over the duration of this single set, the quartet’s playing moved up and down, back and forth, then in and out of great intensity, an ebb and flow all the more remarkable considering this was the foursome’s first public performance. It was no coincidence once and future Slip bassist Friedman was positioned right next to the namesake of the group: Friedman supplied the stable foundation from which the rest of the foursome could depart and return, repeatedly, without reservation but with great aplomb.
With that keen seemingly effortless, intuition the likes of which comes only from genuine chemistry, The 20th Congress managed to build inexorably upon the momentum they generated, through the pacing of various breakdowns and dissolves, with relatively few exceptions in the form of momentary hesitation(s), virtually all their motion was in sync, including pure vamps, structured progressions and even some (thankfully limited) use of sound effects.
Though not nearly so prominent as those of his axe usually are, guitarist Scott Metzger—who had helped light up Burlington’s Nectars venue with Soule Monde one December night in 2018–was equally effective with rhythm chording as solos, displaying an instinctive touch for embellishment on his Creston model instrument, in particular during “Most Of All Of Us.” And his periodic exchanges with drummer John Kimock (son of guitarist Steve) were mutually delightful and inspiring judging from the animated body language and the grins on the faces of the two men.
The cumulative effect of the performance wasn’t exactly lost on the attendees, unfortunately numbering only around a hundred at maximum over the course of the night. But as the clock approached midnight, the impact did hit home, in much the same way as Robert Walter and company’s final number, (appropriately enough) “Miles:” anyone paying attention could sense the oncoming climax, but that didn’t render it predictable or any less pleasurable when it arrived. On the contrary, its hushed tone was the ideal capper to this rarity of a live music experience.
Photos Courtesy Ross Mickel/Bootleggers Beware Photography
*****
SETLIST
Hunk
Little Red Book
Nerva and Dumbo
Corey’s
Get Thy Bearings
Don’t Chin the Dog (Mike Gordon on bass)
13th Key
Posthuman
Chalk Giant
Emanate
Kickin’ Up Dust
Current Futures
Don’t Hate
Most Of All Of Us
Who Took the Happiness
Miles
