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Shelley Denny: A Gentle Man and HIs Music
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Shelley Denny Quartet: A Gentle Man and His Music
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Shelley Denny: A Gentle Man and His MusicShelley Denny Quintet: A Gentle Man and His Music
(A review by Dan Lee)
I have never had the pleasure of experiencing the legends of jazz like Coltrane, Davis, Evans, Rollins, Gordon, Hancock, Blakey, etc. in live performance, but I have heard some excellent jazz over the years, especially in San Francisco.
Having known Shelley Denny for only a few years, I have always admired and respected his skills as a bassist and accompanist. Little did I know he is also a composer so it was with great eagerness I purchased a ticket to “Shelley Denny Quintet: A Gentle Man and His Music,” a showcase for his original compositions. I was expecting a decent show, but to my delight and surprise, what transpired on the evening of November 25, 2019 at the Dante Club was magical and masterful. I have not heard such a high level of jazz virtuosity in recent memory, even in San Francisco. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, I would even say the performance was transcendent.
Shelley Denny’s compositions ran the gamut from hard bop to bossa nova to blues to stylistic homages of Mancini and Monk. The personnel consisted of Denny on bass, Rick Lotter on drums, Scott Collard on piano, Steve Roach on trumpet, and Darius Babazadeh on sax. Each one of them had multiple moments to shine while showing respect for each other and having a fun time with some complex pieces. Like the aforementioned jazz giants, Denny gathered top notch musicians.
Pianist Scott Collard impressed everyone with a wide and diverse range of sounds from his electric keyboard including a faux Hammond organ and use of a rare device called a breath controller which sounded like a harmonica albeit played on piano keys.
I knew Darius Babazadeh from high school (he was two classes ahead of me). He has always performed with a sense of relaxed fun and playfulness while doing complex improvisations. Yet, he displayed exceptional sensitivity when playing a ballad on flute.
Trumpeter Steve Roach had a bright, clean, articulate mastery of his horn evocative of Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard especially when playing fast numbers. On slow numbers, his tone was beautiful.
I had the pleasure of sitting in front of drummer Rick Lotter. I watched him, mesmerized by his creative use of various sticks, mallets, and brushes on the snare, high hat, and crash cymbals. He perfectly kept the beat while making sounds I have never heard on percussion.
Shelley Denny was understated, hardly soloing during his own show, but he didn’t need to. We all know him as one of the finest bassists in the country. We now also know him as a accomplished jazz composer. He may be a gentle man, but he created lightning in a bottle.
This was the greatest live jazz performance I have heard in years. A recording of these guys would be great, but there is an energy of a live show which can’t be captured by a studio recording. The audience who attended this show experienced something amazing, rare, and wonderful. Thanks to Shelley Denny. Thanks to the Dante Club. I will never forget this performance.
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