Painted Ship / The Infidels launch ft. Chris Davis recap
Chris began with a medium swing, sunglasses on, Harmon mute pressed up to the microphone
A new Infidels Jazz series began on Tuesday, August 15th at the Painted Ship in Kitsilano. As previewed, Chris Davis was the opener for an Infidels series once again; the trumpeter brought his quartet with Max Huberdeau on piano, Dan Howard on bass, and Arvind Ramdas on drums to the bar.
Chris began with a medium swing, sunglasses on, Harmon mute pressed up to the mic. The quartet played a first set of almost all Chris' originals – except a straight-8ths "The Very Thought of You" – and a second set that included "Ecaroh", "All Blues", and a tango "Summertime".
"Ecaroh" is an underrated hard bop gem!
As Chris' sunglasses came off and the bell of the trumpet opened, Arvind's drumming was outstanding, bringing out the fire that I've loved hearing from Chris for years. I just had heard Max and Dan backing up vocalist Teighan Couch on Saturday at La Fabrique St-George, so it was great to hear them stretch out in this setting.
This exact quartet had also just played Frankie's on Sunday, two days earlier. Interesting timing.
Sometimes, Chris used some delay on the trumpet with an effects unit right in front of him. It matched how the swirly thing behind the band, on the wall, threatened to float me away:
"I can't wait to hear that great band again," Tim Reinert told me after his debut presentation at the venue. "The staff and management were just great to work with and I can't wait to present 80something with Andrea Superstein in September."
That's a 1980s-power-ballad-themed show by the vocalist Superstein, set for September 26.
The evening sort of filled the Tangent-sized hole in my heart....
It's a hip space with lots of people talking and an outside patio element as well – except here, you can still take in the music from the outside seats, unlike how the Tangent was. The music spilled well out into the street of West Broadway at MacDonald.
We needed every seat, because it filled up right away. Latecomers had to sit outside or solo at the bar. Only three staff scrambled around to serve us all and collect our bills: big kudos to them.
This series came in hot and will ride into its second installment next month with a lot of momentum; it bodes well for what could be a great place for vocalist-led groups, vibey instrumental combos – like Chris with the delay, Harmon, and shades activated, cooking along – and a Kitsilano crowd that already comes to the Ship for folk and singer-songwriter music on other nights.
The sound was good, considering the ambient volume of people talking. Perhaps the only weird thing was how the performers weren't illuminated by anything extra. Maybe it added to the vibe after all.
On the appetizer menu, check out the Smoked Binchotan Cauliflower.
