I know almost nothing about jazz. In Seattle, jazz is everywhere (including Kenny G sightings in Greenlake, but I don’t remember that really being *jazz*) and so are black turtleneck sweaters and close-cropped George Clooney hair and withdrawn smiles, but I try not to pay too much attention to that, so when I’m invited to go to Jazz Alley (sidenote: The last time I was at Jazz Alley, I saw Tito Puente. He issued a memorable quote before introducing a song: “And this is from album number 114.”) to see The Regina Carter Ensemble, I had no idea what to expect.
Regina had had a family emergency, so her cousin, James Carter, an accomplished saxophonist, filled in. Carter had a talent for making a saxophone sound like several different instruments, and at one point it seemed like he was having an argument with his sax, and the sax would answer back, and after a bit of musical banter with the band, all the instruments made up and set off into a wacky tirade. That was followed up with a soft, dreamy number that reminded me of the outdoor snowy scenes from “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, right before the placed ornament brought the tree down. Delicious.
My friend Todd is really good friends with the whole ensemble, so after the show we got to hang out with the band, so much so that I ended up driving the drummer and the bassist to their accommodations in Eastlake (I’ve never driven a band home before, unless it was family). The Regina Carter Ensemble, featuring James Carter, is playing through tomorrow night, February 5th.