The real million-dollar quartet? Well, it was ours (and not in cryptocurrency) for an evening at Jazz Kitchen

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The jazz drum maestro of the Hoosier capital, Kenny Phelps, took the microphone first to herald his sidemen Friday night at the Jazz Kitchen.

They were the briefly returning New Yorker Zach Lapidus, who earned distinction as an

Bandleader Kenny Phelps takes care of business.

American Piano Awards finalist here and now lives in Brooklyn; the nearby, locally raised and prodigious tenor saxophonist Sophie Faught, and Indianapolis bass stalwart Nick Tucker. 

This counts as a group of all-stars, working well together in the first set and delighting a packed house throughout. The saxophonist's entry was delayed for one number, as Lapidus began with some free-floating thoughts at the piano, then was joined by the rest of the rhythm section.

His way with long-breathed melodies is caressing and challenging at the same time. His selection of repertoire (he seemed mainly responsible for leading the consensus)  acknowledged other masters of jazz piano and composition:  Andrew Hill, Brad Mehldau, Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk.

The band melted everyone's hearts with a singular touch of seasonal appropriateness. Avoiding  hackneyed tunes out of a desire to be "merciful" (the pianist's word), the quartet launched into a prayerful favorite from the movie "White Christmas." Irving Berlin's "Count Your Blessings" has a widely recognized tune with the kind of instant-hit magic that was one of its composer's blessings. I understand it's a favorite downtown currently at the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's annual "Yuletide Celebration."

Rare combo: Lapidus, Tucker, Faught, Phelps

It makes sense that the tune was very gently elaborated by Lapidus and Faught. Both can stay close to expressive paraphrase when they want to, instead of searching for novel structures to erect upon the chord changes. When Lapidus chose to stay in touch with Tucker's solo, providing lots of decoration, he never got in the way. The band put a patient coda upon its rendition that held the audience spellbound.

Phelps picked up the tambourine as a framework for Hancock's "Textures," typical of his sensitivity to context. Lapidus followed in dominant fashion with Monk's "Pannonica," setting the tone for the band with some of his most rhapsodic playing. He didn't seem tempted to mimic the composer's more forceful, detached kind of lyricism. 

Before the set ended, the audience was treated to a volcanic Phelps solo, rubbing shoulders with the deep-digging Tucker solo that had preceded it. Then, after that tear-jerking "Count Your Blessings," Lapidus put an extra stamp of gratitude on his return to Indianapolis with Woody Shaw's "The Organ Grinder," fully endorsed by the band.

[Photos by Rob Ambrose]







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