If you get the chance, catch A Classical Jazz Quartet Christmas at a theatre near you. I caught them last Sat. in Red Bank, NJ at the Count Basie Theatre and they were sublime!
Lineup:
Ron Carter - Upright
Kenny Barron - Piano
Lewis Nash - Drums
Stefon Harris - Vibes
They played tunes from various ACJQ recordings including ...plays Bach, the Nutcracker, et al. The encore was a rousing Coltrane's MR. PC. Ron must be knocking 70, but he is in good shape and was an absolute MONSTER on the bass...the rest of the players are also superb.
The only shame was that since Count Basie is a NFP organization, they didn't advertise properly so only 300 of 1600 seats were filled. Well, everyone else's loss was my gain as I got 2nd row orchestra seats directly in front of Ron for HALF-price due to poor ticket sales.
All I can say is that I was so close, I got the acoustic sound of the instruments as my primary sound source which was fantastic. Since BAsie is an old plaster Fresco-style theatre the acoustics are awesome! Seats are refurbed from Carnegie Hall as well!
A must see...highly recommended! Catch Ron while we still have him!
