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Trommer Sextet: Channeling Socially Distanced Vibrations

Cornell’s Trommer Sextet jazz combo rehearses to develop as a group and prepare videos for the new JazzDesk Youtube series.

The Trommer Sextet gathers in Lincoln Hall after a productive rehearsal.

Six Cornell musicians, instruments in hand; four separate rooms scattered throughout Lincoln Hall; one professor, steering the ship; the Trommer Sextet is ready to play its first notes, and none of the musicians can hear one another in their headphones. After a tweak of the controls, Professor Paul Merrill, director of jazz studies, counts in the first tune and the musicians’ fingers are at work. In any other year, technology used in jazz combo rehearsals plays a minor role in connecting the musicians, but in the age of COVID-19, dozens of black coiled black wires flowing from room to room are an important ingredient to making the magical musical sounds come alive.

Long before the fall semester of 2020 began, Professor Merrill was resolved to make the 2020-2021 Cornell jazz combo program a success. As a result of his careful planning and a determination to simply make the best music possible, the Trommer Sextet had five rehearsals in the books just by the end of September, as well as a recording of Clifford Brown’s “Tiny Capers” on the Cornell Jazz Youtube channel as part of the new JazzDesk series. Before I get too excited about what is to come for the Trommer Sextet, first take a seat in the isolation guitar pod during our second combo rehearsal.

I unpack my Ibanez jazz guitar (the same brand used by jazz guitar greats George Benson and John Schofield), review the chord changes of “Alone Together,” and ensure that my camera, the visual passageway from the main room into my guitar pod, is at the right height. Guitar amp on, levels set, and Evan Kravitz (drums) counts in the tune. “Alone Together” by famed mid-century song-writing partnership Dietz and Schwartz was originally played as a slow ballad, but over time has morphed into an upbeat must-know for all jazz players.

This tune has an AABA form, which allows Samantha Rubin (alto) and Reed Landry (tenor) to split up the melody, and Edward George (piano) and myself on guitar to have equal opportunities to “comp,” or play chords behind the horn player’s melody or solo. As a result, the first and second halves of the song have vastly different types of feel; the tune begins with my lighter comping on Rubin’s softer sound and then quickly transitions to George’s forceful block chords in the spaces of Landry’s staccato-style playing. Throughout the whole piece, Teddy Rashkover (bass) keeps the rhythm locked and steady, which allows Kravitz to punctuate sections with creative fills and hits.

The time comes for Professor Merrill’s feedback, a critical and constructive part of this rehearsal. He challenges the horn players to diversify the punctuation in the melody with a mix of long and short notes, and for Kravitz to outline the sections of the form more distinctly. He also inspires George and me to not restrict ourselves to our predetermined comping organization and to listen to the soloist to know when to add a new color or accent a particular chord. While challenging at first, George and I begin to develop the feel of when to act upon an invitation to contribute rather than play every chord change. After a few takes, Professor Merrill’s advice begins to sink in, and the group loses its rigidity.

With the trio of drums, bass, and piano in one room, and guitar, alto, and tenor each in separate pods, listening to one another far outweighs what one musician plays at a given moment. As six selfless players, the Trommer Sextet is able to sound its best. At every rehearsal, our group continues to make progress musically both individually and collectively, despite the restrictions COVID-19 placed upon us.

Under the diligent instruction of Professor Merrill and our continued dedication to the music, the Trommer Sextet has the potential to develop into a force of nature. JazzDesk, filled with eclectic recordings from all four jazz combo groups, will serve as a hub for the fresh and exciting jazz music Cornell students create this year. Check it out, and you will feel the socially distanced vibrations.

Trommer Sextet:

  • Samantha Rubin, alto
  • Reed Landry, tenor
  • Spencer Nachman, guitar
  • Edward George, piano
  • Teddy Rashkover, bass
  • Evan Kravitz, drums
  • Professor Paul Merrill, instructor
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Joe Bonamassa Reemerges to the Stage in Royal Fashion

Blues-rock titan returns to the Ryman Auditorium with his world-class band to preview his new album Royal Tea.

Joe Bonamassa and band prepared for their first show after six months.

Outfitted in an elegant custom-made suit and black shades typical of his buttoned-up on-stage attire, blues-rock titan Joe Bonamassa dug into his first hard-hitting tune at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee after six long months off the road. For twenty years straight since his debut album, Bonamassa has been touring and recording nonstop, averaging more than 100 shows per year, and releasing 13 studio records and 17 live albums. He had his tour operation down to a science, but when the greater power of COVID-19 forced him to shut down the blues-rock machine in March, he began planning to adapt.

Bonamassa lives for the stage, for his fans, for the music, and most of all – for his guitars. Bonamassa owns about 450 guitars and 400 amps, a testament to his life’s dedication to the instrument. So one can only imagine how this self-proclaimed guitar geek felt when he had to put a halt to his US Spring 2020 tour. Just two months before, Bonamassa and his band of Hall of Fame inductees and highest in-demand session players recorded his new album Royal Tea at Abbey Road Studios in London, and it is set to come out on October 23, 2020. With this recording session completed just before the world changed, Bonamassa had a fresh batch of new material to serve up for fans at his virtual livestream on September 20, 2020.

With the exception of one song and some rearranging, Bonamssa played Royal Tea in full, giving fans more than a glimpse into what the album will sound and feel like. Bonamssa’s vision for Royal Tea was to pay tribute to British guitarists such as Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Paul Kossoff, who inspired him to take up the instrument as a budding musician. This new record’s sound is entrenched in late 60s early 70s British music, which is even more apparent upon knowing that Bonamassa co-wrote many of the songs with blues-rock guitarist Bernie Marsden from the band Whitesnake. Eight months later, with cardboard cutouts of fans aligned in the benches, guitar amps turned up to 11, and a setlist waiting to come alive, the blues-rock was ready to commence.

The virtual extravaganza opened with “When One Door Opens,” a heavy tune that awakened Bonamassa fans after a six-month live music drought. Bonamassa is known for playing Les Paul guitars, following in the footsteps of Jimmy Page, Paul Kossoff, and Peter Green, but in this opening song he used a B-bender telecaster, a guitar commonly used by country-style players. This axe gave Bonamassa a unique tonal ability that formed an integral part of the main riff, and the high energy song proved to be the perfect way to start off the album and concert. At many virtual shows, artists have their crew members applauding throughout to mimic the audience’s reactions, but Bonamassa decided to have absolute silence between songs to reflect the current state of the world.

Bonamssa plays his new album Royal Tea at The Ryman Auditorium.

Loosened up from their opening song, the band jumped into “Royal Tea,” the title track of the album. This bluesy song featured backup singers Jade MacRae and Dannielle De Andrea on the verses with the repeated line “royal tea,” as they alternated with Bonamassa’s vocals. “Royal Tea” felt royal and rooted in British culture as the main pulse of the song was very similar to a British marching band prodding down a street. At the breakdown, the song escalated from a riff identical to the intro to Jeff Beck’s “I Ain’t Superstitious,” reaching a climax, and then returned to its original feel to close out the song.

Each musician in Bonamassa’s hand-crafted band is regarded as of the highest caliber on their instrument. On stage left was Reece Wynans, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee and keyboard player from Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble; on bass was Musician’s Hall of Fame inductee Michael Rhodes; and filling in for his usual drummer Anton Fig from the David Letterman Show house band, was Academy of Country Music Award for Drummer of the Year winner, Greg Morrow. For this gig, Bonamassa also added Rob McNelley as backup guitarist, who filled out the band’s sound with a unique blend of colors, as well as Jimmy Hall, who guested on harmonica for a few songs.

After playing through Royal Tea, the brief intermission gave the band a break before ripping through the powerful encore, which consisted of material from A New Day Now (20th Anniversary Edition), a reissue album of Bonamssa’s first record A New Day Yesterday (2000), as well as a track from his Redemption (2018) album titled “Evil Mama.” Each of the four songs in the encore were more vivacious and jaw-dropping than the previous. The finale, a combination of Jethro Tull’s “A New Day Yesterday” and Yes’s “Starship Trooper: Würm,” ended the concert in royal fashion. For avid Bonamassa fans, this song was particularly exciting to watch as he has not performed this arrangement since 2008. The three chord sequence of “Würm” was the perfect platform for Bonamassa to end this virtual livestream with a melodic and energetic solo, leaving viewers hungry for more.

Bonamassa was mentored by many guitar greats like B.B. King, so he too has given back by helping budding musicians, even more so now that many have been affected by COVID-19. Last spring, Bonamassa launched the Fueling Musicians Program through the Keeping the Blues Alive organization, which provides financial support to artists. A portion of each ticket bought for the virtual concert went towards this worthy cause. What’s more, following the lively Bonamassa show, the After Party Showcase featured performances from a variety of other artists including The Cold Stares, Jared James Nichols, and Tyler Bryant.

Music fans all over the world suffered several long months without live events, but September 20 was a reminder that loud blues-rock is a necessity. Bonamssa’s tour machine lays dormant for now, but when the time comes for fans to experience his mesmerizing live shows in person again, it will be a religious ceremony and a punch in the face all at once.

Setlist:

  1. When One Door Opens
  2. Royal Tea
  3. High Class Girl
  4. Lookout Man!
  5. Why Does it Take So Long to Say Goodbye
  6. A Conversation with Alice
  7. I Didn’t Think She Would Do It
  8. Beyond the Silence
  9. Lonely Boy
  10. Cradle Rock (Rory Gallagher)
  11. Walk in My Shadow (Free)
  12. Evil Mama
  13. A New Day Yesterday / Starship Trooper: Würm (Jethro Tull / Yes)
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Taking Flight

No observer gets higher above Cayuga’s waters then I— except maybe the turkey vulture, red-tailed hawk, jet plane or Reaper drone visiting our lake from its Syracuse aerie. None of these is friend to the Warbler.  My outsized avian cousins would just as soon have me for a bit-sized, grab-and-go snack, and those civil and military flying machines would blithely shred me with their engines and spit me out as feathered confetti, tiny dots of red and white floating down in final descent to the place I love: Cornell!

Even if I now and again venture up to the heights (though never to Cayuga Heights) for the view—look in on the chimes of McGraw Tower, flit over to the twin towers of Ithaca College, or check the progress of the high-rise construction in what our alma mater hopefully calls the “busy humming of the bustling town”—my favored destinations are the trees, bushes and flowers of our glorious campus, the lapidary steps and benches, the sills and eaves of its edifying edifices. Rather than assuming the bird’s-eye-view, I prefer to be quad-level peering out from an oak or maple branch, listening and watching.

It is not only planes that have been absent of late. The university’s quadrangles, paths, and bridges do not see the continual rush of humanity coursing from its buildings every hour or so.  The place appears largely vacant, the humans having apparently taken up the habit of hibernating as if in emulation of the university’s mascot, the bear, but doing so, oxymoronically, even during the summer and autumn.

In the Arts Quad a large tent with open sides was set up. I liked to perch atop its apex or duck inside if a sight or strain caught my fancy. Mostly the temporary pavillon remained empty, though occasionally during the day I spied parents snatching a nap while their toddlers roamed the temporary floorboards. Now and again I spotted an instrumental duo inside or under a nearby tree, and flew down to do what I do best: observe. Sometimes individual lessons were underway, the musicians looking a bit stranded, their music not reaching far beyond the tent stakes. Once I sang my colorful song to encourage a fledgling clarinetist, but my improvised duet elicited only an annoyed glance.  I flew away.

This weekend the wind ensemble came outdoors to present an afternoon concert.  A black grand piano was even schlepped out of Lincoln Hall for the festivities. People roused themselves from their slumbers and emerged from their lairs to assemble for the music, standing well apart from each other, as I’ve noticed they are wont to do nowadays.

The highpoint (like I said, I do like occasionally get high, even if I mostly stay low), was Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, a rousing keyboard concerto that has always set my wings to flapping.  Its symphonic blasts raced across the lawns and echoed off the vacant buildings, while the pianist ripped off his solo part with the brashness of the blue jay and the nimbleness of the chickadee.  The fall afternoon glowed red and resounded in blue—an optimistic, American blue.  The people swayed like trees in a jaunty breeze.  The straps of their masks flexed. Their ears were cocked. They were smiling as they listened.