Taylor Ho Bynum live at the Velvet Lounge

I had the pleasure of seeing cornetist, composer, and fellow blogger Taylor Ho Bynum's trio, quartet, and quintet last night at the Velvet Lounge here in Chicago. He rolled into town as part of a tour his trio is doing, Chicago representing the western-most stop on the trip. I'm always happy to see out of town artists making it to Chicago, especially people who don't have a built in audiences and are taking a chance on playing here and building one.

Lucky for us Chicagoans we saw not only his trio, but also a quartet with bassist Nate McBride and a quintet that added the flutes of Nicole Mitchell, which allowed Mr. Bynum to display his playing and compositions in a variety of settings, with a range of timbres, and of course some changed dynamics and interplay. The results of all three configurations were fantastic.

I had never heard Mr. Bynum's own music until I walked into the Velvet that night - I had heard his playing with Anthony Braxton and with Jason Kao Hwang's Edge on recording, but otherwise went in ear unheard (akin to sight unseen).

The concert started with the trio and built throughout, adding Nate McBride on bass halfway through the first set and then Nicole Mitchell at the start of the second set.

My first impression of the trio was that Mr. Bynum keeps excellent musical company.

Tomas Fujiwara was fantastic on the drums, lending sensitive accompaniment as well as active musical input all through an astonishing economy of motion.

Mary Halvorson was an unassuming monster on the guitar, utilizing the whole fretboard, a whammy pedal, and her own impressive chops, technique, and musicality to produce some incredible music.

And Taylor himself played adeptly on the cornet, an instrument which I must admit is dear to my heart as my first instrument, a tarnished, beat up horn that I inherited from my father and played amongst a row of shiny rented trumpets in 4th grade concert band.

Mr. Bynum utilizes the horn's full range and all of its timbral possibilities, at times framing the proceedings with textures and interjections and other times taking on the traditional role of melody in the ensemble. I hesitate to say there was much "soloing" during the concert by any member, although of course there was - but this was truly an ensemble situation, and while certain members were highlighted and showcased at times, there was a remarkably egalitarian slant to the compositions and improvisations.

The addition of Nate McBride on bass added quite a lot to the rhythmic interplay with Tomas Fujiwara, and it also fleshed out the range of the ensemble by adding the low end. The addition of Nicole Mitchell added her unique voice to the ensemble and really brought out some of Taylor's compositional skills in a higher relief harmonically and timbrally than is possible in the trio.

I only made it partway through the second set before my drooping Tuesday night eyes led me back home. I did pick up Taylor's sextet's new album the Middle Picture which I look forward to listening to and writing about. I noticed that Mr. Bynum's CDs hold an esteemed spot on the shelf next to Donald Byrd and just a short way down from Mr. Bill Dixon.

Nice to meet you Taylor - thanks for the great music - sorry I didn't make it till the end of the show to chat more. Hopefully we'll see you in Chicago again soon!