Let's Lower the Tone Jazz Legend Dick Forman 'Struts' at CFA Performance

Author: Lucie Greene

On Saturday Jan. 18, Dick Forman and his jazz group took to the stage at the Center for the Arts Concert Hall. The quartet was comprised of Don Stearns on Sax, Jim Daggs on bass, Bob Lemnah on drums, and special guest Paul Asbell.

Formerly the head of the Center for the Arts and now a Jazz teacher and accompanist at Middlebury College, Forman finally got a chance to really '"strut his stuff."

The mood, as ever with Forman, was laid back and friendly as he guided the audience through a variety of numbers ranging from swing and acoustic Blues to simple standards.

There is something so intimate about jazz of this style, particularly in the quartet or quintet format.

Everything seems so effortlessly cool, be it warm ballads or faster tunes such as the be-bop numbers. I feel this atmosphere of relaxed intimacy made the formal stage performance seem almost unnatural.

The musicians showcased their skill, but with jazz of this nature, an open and comfortable social setting is fundamental to the entire experience.

The whole concert I was dying to be sitting at a table in a dingy basement club in the city, complete with shady characters, moody subdued lighting and a crowd of patrons who with Fosse-esque elegance chain-smoking cigarettes -- this all under the pleasant haze of a stiff drink, of course.

The raked, rowed seating, the band raised on the stage and a mixture of local residents and students wearing quite respectable combinations of North Face and knitted sweaters, clutching at best a mug full of coffee (debaucherous caffeine addicts!) contrasted slightly with my vision of the ideal jazz setting.

This said, you couldn't fault the music itself.

At best the music had the hairs on the back of my neck going absolutely crazy, cut to "Real Thing" played beautifully and subtly by Don Stearns.

At worst, if that's even appropriate, it nonetheless had me tapping my feet and nodding my head in time.

Solos were played expertly by all members, helped by the good rapport and obvious sense of fun throughout the evening.

My favorites were Paul Asbell's acoustic Blues, "Stardust" by Hoagy Carmichael and also Jim Daggs on bass. Daggs traded 4s with Paul Asbell in "H.S." by Sonny Rollins -- who quite frankly is the personification of 'cool.'

Forman, while not performing as many solos as he might have, did a great job of holding the group together and proved himself beyond measure on the few solos that he played.

The evening ended with a series of Dexter Gordon tunes including "Monmartre," "Cheesecake" and "Catalonian Nights."

The injection of variation on these numbers, including Latino hints, was particularly interesting and exciting.

I ask, too, after seeing the concert, if I am the only person who finds it confusing during jazz concerts that the audience claps after each solo.

The evening was great and definitely should be more of a regular occurrence at the College. Jazz is so easily accessible to virtually every music fan. It seems a shame that there isn't more of it played at The Grille.

There's so much acoustic, folk and country music performed, it could inject some much-needed variety.

Perhaps there could be some form of core band or quartet that played one night each week there, and made it an open "Jam" session for anyone to join.

I can imagine some wisecracking bartenders and lowered lighting to replace the civilized, clean cut, skiwear sporting and decaf-skim-soya-non-fat-no-anything coffee drinkers. Unrealistic? I live in hope.