Improv Stylings & Visceral Nights: The Baked Potato 40th Anniversary Jazz Festival - Review

The Baked Potato in North Hollywood has been known as a premiere learning spot from young artists. Like its cousins The Roxy and the The Whiskey on Sunset Blvd. it has seen its share of stars working through its back corners. The difference is that, unlike the pure hard rock incentives at times of Sunset, the Spud moves more in context many times of jazz. And within that structure, even to a fusion type.The Baked Potato 40th Anniversary Jazz Festival is anything but quiet but it is definitely grooving. From the get-go, this is a jam and many people over the years understand the necessity of being able to get that experimentation moving in order to get the creative juices flowing. There are also alot of great stories to be told.Held over two days in the auspice of the Ford Amphitheatre within shouting distance of the Hollywood Bowl and Capitol Records, this intimate and visceral music exchange showed a distinctiveness of what these hills hold in terms of music invention within the club, only steps away on Ventura Blvd.On the initial day of the two partner, a progression of four very different arenas made themselves known, all of which share a distinction of great drummers and guitarists making their way to the pilgrimage.

First up was the Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats, a last minute substitution. This side project of the Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer has itself tight and moving. Making jokes from behind the drum set and just enjoying himself, the pure rock drummer in Smith comes out and sticks twirl in the air. His lead punk guitarist Jeff Kollman throttled the chords while staying within the structural integrity of the band using a slide intention of will. Smith threw the band in tempo with "Needs Strange", a New Orleans riff that made use of an almost Moog style progression. never letting the beat slow down for a second.

Next up was the King Of The Valley, Steve Lukather, affectionately known as "Luke" who, aside from his lead guitar regime with the band Toto, has been integral in many studio sessions of some of the biggest albums over the years, including Michael Jackson's "Thriller". While jam sessions move out in rhythm, his somber ode called "Song For Jeff" which he rarely plays, showed his perspective of the history of this institution. The "Jeff" was Jeff Porcaro, the lead drummer for Toto, until his passing in the 90s, who is still considered by many to be one of the premier drummers of the period. Luke's playing has edge but angles with pomp in many ways, gently instigated by his interesting sense of humor. His stories parlay great laughs, especially with what he talks of as his "lost years" in the early 80s before he got sober. However, when he starts ripping through the chords on his axe with a time-cut throwback, Luke is unfettered in his talent. His style of music which blends elements of hard rock and jazz shows the more specific crossover of music that defines the Baked Potato which is an intensive musical experience that can be enjoyed by the masses and not just within a niche environment.

One of the biggest compliments, a rock guitarist can give (especially one of Luke's stature) is give his praise to another player. Sometimes this can be considered lip service but Michael Landau is anything but. Over the next two days whenever Landau was playing, Lukather could be seen, nearly out of sight, on the side of the stage, studying this man. Landau's playing could be considered more reserved than a player like Luke, but the difference is very simply a structure of technique. He simply sues the pre-amps and less striking chords to similar end points. The ultimate perception becomes one of bombast which is essentially an extension of personality.

The progression of Landau's solo set could almost seem Faustian though his delivery at times was the most impressive of the weekend. The most visceral intention by far was what he deemed his "cosmic cowboy" piece called "Rascal Balls". Its musical progression wandered between specific chords of note and pure improvisation which felt undeniably and effectively thought out. Landau is a thinking musician looking at moves ahead in his progression. He also brought out an exceptional guitar played by the name of Kirk Fletcher, who made his bones on the blues circuit. Without much circumstance, his fingers danced along the guitar slide like melting ice elliciting smiles from the normally utterly reserved Landau, marveling and encouraging his would-be protege whose licks range somewhere between BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Vernon Reid of Living Color. His screaming progressions set the speakers aflame as Landau complemented the augmented sounds.

The concluding supergroup of the first night made up of Allan Holdsworth, a proclaimed virtuoso guitar stylist balanced out by bassist Jimmy Haslip, pianist Alan Pasqua and drummer Gary Novak seemed to progress along two separate mindsets. Holdsworth revels in the dark netherworld of almost cosmic guitar sounds which alone are quite trip relevant but balancing his work against a more jazz-style jam almost works against the time.The ying and yang progression of the set left certain offshoots unhinged. Holdsworth strummed in the dark corner of the stage and while the beatnick trip hop rhythm at times hit some great highs, its focus slightly misfired. Pasqua's piano stylings seem predominantly at odds with this structure though when Haslip and Novak got with the backbone beat and ran, the tone came into focus with Pasqua jumping on full throttle. Time and rhythm sometimes just need a kick.The second day brought a more compartmentalized ideal of jazz based in the certain aspects of the mainstream, while adding one of the most energetic inspirations of playing in the form of the great Abraham Laboriel Sr. who lit up the stage.

The first of the second progression was the world famous Yellowjackets who, having functioned successfully for decades, understood anticipating the instincts of others. The first inclination imbued staccato drums with texture with Bob Mintzer jumping into the progression on tenor sax using the flux of vibrato "Charlie Brown" moments as Will Kennedy's jump-start rhythms kept the elements in check.

The true highlight of the set ranged in the cool beauty of "Geraldine" which used the sweet sunset of the sax like "Baker Boys" central with a Branford Marsalis intonation making its assumption smooth with its knowing. "Jack-A-Temp" finished it off tramping through the chords with style with a chain attack end worthy of praise.The true discovery beyond Landau of the festival was the almost completely improv group "Jazz Ministry". With Greg Mathieson leading the charge on the old school synth, this was the quartet most truly in sync because as Mathieson says "we don't know what we are going to do next".

The last time they played together was nearly 4 years prior yet they sound pinpoint accurate in terms of their perception of each other's moves. The gospel intonations were hard to miss but the funk interplays in tandem came off phenomenally with every instrument truly in its own and on par. Michael Landau, as part of this outlay, seems to transform in different measures as his inner rock progression seems to jump forward in alot more visible range with him completely consumed in its power.

However it was when bassist Abraham Laboriel Sr. took front and center that the true vision presented itself. It was old school funk that rocked the house as he allowed the bass to truly attain the voice that unfortunately in short order the instrument does not usually attain in mixed rock circles before maxing off in a time changing volley with drummer Vinnie Colaiuta in full rage.

The indominitable Larry Carlton next took the stage to close the evening. Living now in Tennessee, the return to his roots where he spent much of his career resonates as he tells stories of working at the studio, coming home and eating dinner at his place in the canyon before zipping down to the Baked Potato where he and his fellow musicians would "jam their brains out".

Carlton's set was a bit more structured in terms of playing to a set structure with his son joining up on base. He seems to respond to a younger playing method with attentive vision but is a master to detail. His style is more akin to a George Benson blues method with a gentle knowing.

Veritable aspects like "Smiles & Smiles To Go" brought out Laboriel, Mathieson and Colaiuta whom haven't played with Carlton in the years since their studio gigs adding to the uniqueness of the occasion. Carlton relayed it to a night that he and Lukather won a Grammy for a live album back in 2001 saying that "this day" like that one "does not suck". Watching Carlton work the jam with his former fellow musicians, the sense of how bands work in terms of voices seems utterly clear which only comes with perception and time.The Baked Potato is one of those exceptional hot beds of music that defined a generation but keeps the fires burning for those musicians who understand the balance of improv and the sheer love of playing for the want of it.The Baked Potato 40th Anniversary Jazz Festival showed the distinctive cross-section of music that literally defines the parameters of music and treads the line between experimental and mainstream. Only by walking this line does the specifics of how to speak to an audience come true. From the rock stylings of Lukather to the intellectual reckonings of Michael Landau to the sheer performance artistry of Jazz Ministry, one point is clear:The Baked Potato serves up quality...bar none.