Drummer
Eddie Metz Jr.’s trio with Italian pianist Rossano Sportiello and Australian bassist-singer
Nicki Parrott sure knows how to swing its music. It did so on Monday, January
13 with creativity, poignancy, a bit of humor – and a program that honored the
players’ great influencers.
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| Eddie Metz Jr. |
This
was the band’s fourth visit to the Charlotte County Jazz Society’s concert stage
in nine seasons. It was clear from the first notes that their sound and
simpatico have reached new heights – and the audience responded in kind. This
is a band of equal partners. Their concert programming has evolved over the
years to a point where they have combined their formidable musical talents in
ways that appeal to their listeners.
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| Rossano Sportiello |
Sportiello’s
keyboard command and sprightly Stride-influenced style set the tone for the
night as the band opened with Earl Hines’ “A Monday Date,” then dug into a
stunning version of Erroll Garner’s “Misty” that showcased Parrott’s melodic
bass artistry on her mid-tune solo. The segment ended with their teasing take
on Stride master Fats Waller’s “Honeysuckle Rose.”
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| Nicki Parrott |
The
next segment underscored Parrott’s vocals. This being the centennial year of
Peggy Lee’s birth, she opened with the Lee hit “It’s a Good Day,” then performed
the Nat King Cole hit “L-O-V-E” and Ella Fitzgerald’s 1936 hit “Mr. Paganini.” She also performed Lee’s classic “Fever” later
in the concert.
The
first set concluded with material associated with Count Basie. The bandleader
hired 20-year-old Metz, who was still in school at William Paterson University, to go on the road
for six months as the band’s drummer in the early 1980s. What a way to boost a career. The trio
performed “Shiny Stockings” and “Shoe Shine Boy” with the drummer’s power and
subtleties on full display.
Sportiello
paid additional tribute to Garner, as well as George Shearing
(“She”), Oscar Peterson and Chopin in the second set. After the pianist dug
into Garner’s “”I Can’t Get Started,” Metz shook his head and said, “If you
closed your eyes, you’d swear Erroll Garner was playing here tonight.”
Sportiello’s treatment of Peterson’s classic ballad “You Look Good to Me”
honored the composer but was imbued with his own touches. Later, he reimagined the
classical “Waltz in C Sharp Minor” as a meeting of the minds between composer
Chopin and Fats Waller. It was a stunning display of his piano mastery.
In
a poignant change of pace, Parrott performed one more modern song in honor of
the firefighters, animal rescue personnel and others helping combat Australia's horrific bush fires. She chose “Rainbow Connection,” which Kermit the
Frog sang in 1979’s The Muppet Movie. Later,
she honored guitarist and inventor Les Paul, with whom she played for 10 years
at Iridium in New York. The two-song tribute included “Young at Heart” (with a
few lyrical twists) and “How High the Moon,” which was a 1951 mega-hit for Paul
and his wife, singer Mary Ford.
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| Eddie Metz Jr. |
Florida-based Metz, whose roots are in Michigan,
completed his Basie tribute with a clever solo performance of “Cute” from the
Count’s repertoire. He played this version of the Neal Hefti tune out in front
of his drum set, using brushes on a cardboard box held between his legs. He
reached back a few times to hit the bass drum or a cymbal for added effect.
The
trio closed things out with “St. Louis Blues,” with the audience standing en
masse and clapping along on this exhilarating evening.
Early
in the concert, Parrott thanked the audience for turning out in such strong
numbers “on a Tuesday night.” She returned three days earlier from an
Australian holiday visit. Parrott was jet-lagged, but you couldn’t tell in her
playing. Reminded that it was Monday, she quipped, “It’s Tuesday in Australia.”
This
Port Charlotte concert opened a week-long Florida tour by the trio. It drew
more than 380 people to the Cultural Center of Charlotte County’s William H.
Wakeman III Theater.
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| The International Trio |
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