The Feven Kidane Sextet Max Roach tribute at VIFF Centre
Feven with Nebyu Yohannes, John Nicholson, Quincy Mayes, Bella Fedrigo, & Biboye Onanuga
"He was music," Feven Kidane said of Max Roach from the stage in her band's tribute to Roach last night. "He wasn't just a dude who played music: he really had it tuned in." Feven's sextet played an hour of music before a film screening, Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes, at the VIFF Centre co-presented by Tim Reinert's Infidels Jazz.
The band's front line was Feven with John Nicholson on tenor saxophone and Nebyu Yohannes on trombone; the rhythm section was Quincy Mayes on Fender Rhodes-sounding digital keyboard, Bella Fedrigo on bass, and Edmonton-based drummer Biboye Onanuga. They were joined by Yoro Noukoussi on percussion for the last number as well.
A jazz show in a movie theatre has a bit of the uncanny valley, but I didn't mind at all, having sat myself six feet away from the magic in the front row of comfortable seats.
This was the fourth Infidels-VIFF show; the collaboration goes back a year to April 7, 2023 when they programmed Vince Mai alongside a 1940s film, Le Corbeau, followed by the Rocky Horror Music Show on Halloween and Isabel Leong's Ghibli Jazz Orchestra in December. I understand it won't be the last.
Tim's introduction to the set was a strong statement of The Infidels' values. His theme was to compare Feven's attitude with what he felt from Roach: "Neither musician is afraid to be uncomfortable," he said, "and for a jazz musician, that's literally the most important feature you can have. This is exciting music, it's thrilling music, it's dangerous music, and it changes and evolves all the time. That's not a bug, that's a feature. That's the whole point."
Feven's band walked out and without saying a word, they did stretches and invited the audience to stretch their arms with them, up to the left, to the right – and because they were standing, down to their feet.
They followed it up with a body percussion piece where all six members beat rhythms on their chest: both constant rhythms that overlapped with each other, and bursts of improvisation amongst themselves. It was in the style of Max Roach's M'Boom; here's a YouTube video of M'Boom doing it at time 12:51 of the video.
Later, they played a track from a M'Boom album called "January V" which was their chillest number.
A highlight for me was the sextet's faithful version of "Pies of Quincy" from Roach's album Award-Winning Drummer...
