An Acclaimed Artist Takes the Stage
For those in the know, finding pianist and composer Kris Davis is a surefire way to locate the cutting edge of jazz. A musician lauded for seamlessly uniting traditional jazz foundations with avant-garde exploration, Davis has quietly ascended to the highest echelons of the genre. Her accolades range from top spots in major critics’ polls to a Grammy Award in 2023 for a collaborative album with Terri Lyne Carrington, who also brought Davis into the fold at Berklee’s Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice.
This past Saturday, local jazz enthusiasts were treated to her immense talent right in Harvard Square, as the Kris Davis Trio delivered a captivating performance at the Arrow Street Arts venue.
The Perfect Setting for Modern Sounds
The concert was a highlight of a four-night jazz festival presented by Vivo Performing Arts, the new identity for the Celebrity Series of Boston. The black-box space, formerly known as Oberon, has been thoughtfully redesigned. While not an intimate club, the venue offers impeccable sightlines and crystal-clear acoustics, making it an ideal and spacious alternative to other local jazz spots. The audience was arranged at cabaret tables and tiered seating, all focused on the trio ready to create magic.
A Symbiotic Musical Unit
Davis was joined by two titans of rhythm: the formidable acoustic bassist Robert Hurst, a long-time collaborator with Branford Marsalis, and the exceptionally versatile drummer Johnathan Blake. Together, they formed a profoundly simpatico unit, responding with intuitive grace to Davis’s complex structures and her fearless, spontaneous direction.
The performance drew significantly from the trio’s stellar 2024 album, “Run the Gauntlet,” featuring the mischievously Monk-inspired “Little Footsteps” and the grand, “Heavy-footed.” However, the setlist was anything but predictable, weaving through newer works, older gems, and even compositions from Hurst and Blake themselves.
A Journey Through Sonic Landscapes
The set opened with Blake establishing a subtle pulse on his cymbals before Davis guided the group into “Where Did That Tunnel Go…,” a piece from her 2009 catalog. The trio displayed masterful control, effortlessly dipping into half-time and lowering dynamics without losing the music’s forward momentum.
A standout moment arrived with Hurst’s “The Bluesy Bird in Bob’s Backyard,” which showcased Davis’s love for prepared piano. Using gaffer’s tape, magnets, and erasers on the strings of her Steinway, she conjured a world of kalimba-like tones, muffled stabs, and, with a rip of tape, a sweeping cascade of ringing notes. This textural exploration created vast spaces in the music, punctuated by thoughtful pauses.
The trio then shifted gears into the beautiful ballad “Lost in Geneva,” where Davis unfurled rich, lyrical melodies over Blake’s delicate brushwork. This was followed by the entirely improvised “Zone 123,” a song Davis cheerfully admitted was “partly made up at the airport.” The band navigated its charging rhythms and a bouncy Latin vamp with breathtaking intuition.
A Collaborative Finale
For the finale, Davis welcomed one of her Berklee students, alto saxophonist Aoi Murakoshi, to the stage. Murakoshi held her own with a tart, confident sound over the crack rhythm section on Johnathan Blake’s composition, “Clues.” Blake himself capped the tune with a rambunctious and powerful solo.
As a final offering, the trio chose Hurst’s “Albert Collins,” a jaunty blues number. Hurst anchored the piece by alternately tapping the body of his bass and plucking strings, easing a night of exquisite and adventurous music to a relaxed and satisfying close.
