Steve Allee's commissioned program builds on legacy, displays vision

The music offered in "Steve Allee: Vision and Legacy" rests firmly on both parts of its title. The longtime Indianapolis pianist-bandleader brought to the public Friday some new compositions and arrangements that showcased the best (and best-prepared) version of his big band within recent memory.

The official poster alone was tantalizing enough.

Allee's customary acknowledgment of those musicians, friends, and relatives who helped him develop
here moved front and center. "A Tribute to Indianapolis Jazz Mentors" was the show's all-important subtitle. The vision proceeds from there. His gratitude was infectious, and was returned by the near-capacity audience at the event presented by the Indy Jazz Fest and the Indianapolis Jazz Foundation.

The Schrott Center for the Arts at Butler University proved to be the ideal setting to represent the full scope of Allee's imagination, in addition to presenting his selection of musicians in the best light. 

Anchoring the rhythm section: Jeremy Allen and Steve Houghton

To start with one of his long-term colleagues right off the bat: I've never heard Steve Houghton's drums in a setting more conducive to displaying his excellence than I did Friday night. But everyone sounded splendid, and every instrumental voice could be heard along a full spectrum of soft-spoken to stentorian.

A short video bringing Indianapolis' heyday as a jazz center up to the present preceded the performance. Context therefore didn't have to depend entirely on the music to be evident. But of course what followed from there provided the most essential context: proof of the vitality and habit of looking forward that are characteristic of Allee and a host of other musicians from hereabouts. The cameo use of a couple of guest soloists — clarinetist Frank Glover and tenor saxophonist Sophie Faught — confirmed that the local scene has a history of developing significant stars to brighten the Indianapolis galaxy. 

Each guest had a solo spot: Glover's sinuous and multiphonic intensity was featured in Allee's arrangement of one of the "Zebra" pieces by the venerated pianist Claude Sifferlen, a mentor to both Glove and Allee and a regular performing partner of the clarinetist's until shortly before Sifferlen's death in 2010. 

Sophie Faught brought lyrical heft.

Faught brought her romantic effusiveness to bear upon Allee's urgent "A Prayer for All," which opened with a scene-setting unaccompanied solo by band bassist Jeremy Allen. The crowd was rapt throughout, refuting the derisive cliche that nobody listens to bass solos. Maybe Allee's kicker on his introduction to the piece was responsible: "We all love bass solos," he said.

Both guest soloists fronted the full ensemble for the concert's only other piece not by Allee, Freddie Hubbard's "Hub Tones." The pace was almost frenetic, but remained under control in Allee's suave arrangement. Hubbard's compositions were almost as influential as his trumpet-playing, and "Hub-Tones" marked a real advance of the bebop language. Friday's ensemble was fit for such a challenging finale, and was "braggin' in brass" with a mastery as complete as what I've heard the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra  deliver in Duke Ellington's piece of that title. 

Not only were blend and a full palette of colors important in some of the arrangements, but whenever the tempo quickened, the on-point precision, as in the repeated staccato phrases of "Spangalang," was remarkable. That winning piece, perhaps based on (to my ears, at least) the evergreen "Cherokee," featured blistering solos by saxophonist Mike Stricklin and trumpeter John Raymond. 

Something of a personal credo in these difficult times may lie behind "Truth Be Told," a typically reflective, then buoyant, Allee original. Allen's bowed bass at the start lent gravity to the ensemble introduction. When the assertive theme got under way, Anson Banks' plunger-muted trumpet inserted plaintive commentary. Especially admirable was the brief triplet-laced ensemble build-up to the solos, starting before Rusty Burge's vibraphone statement and recurring to welcome Rob Dixon's tenor sax, then Sandy Williams' guitar. The work amounted to a plea that "truth be told" in today's world, as well as a declaration that it must be.

 The "legacy" launching pad for the concert was established with substance in "Mickleyville," a tribute to the southwest Indianapolis neighborhood where Allee was first exposed to recorded jazz at his grandparents' home. Then came "Hub-Bub," a salute to one of the fabled "Indiana Avenue" clubs, though this one was on North Illinois Street. The piece tucked in some inviting interludes, like whispered conversations, in between the strutting and noisy club-life cheer. 

Like so much of Allee's music, it painted a picture even as it gloried in the pure, non-referential splendors of a well-designed composition, faithfully executed. You came away from such a performance with the satisfied assurance that a kind of milestone in Naptown jazz history had been crossed. The old nickname "Naptown," by the way, carries no implication that Indianapolis is a snoozy place. This concert may have permanently put that false reputation to rest. We can only hope.

 [Photos by Rob Ambrose]