Ben Goldberg Quintet 6/8/18 Firehouse 12

The quintet was Goldberg on clarinet, E-flat Albert system clarinet, contralto clarinet; Ellery Eskellin on sax, Mary Halvorsen on guitar, Michael Formanek on standup bass, and Tomas Fujiwara on drums. The clarinet is a striking jazz presence, coupled with some playing from the sawed off E-flat Albert popularized by Bechet, and the bizarre contralto that looks like a plumbing drain trap repair gone wrong, made for an excellent set. The firehouse is home court advantage for Halvorsen, Fujiwara, and Formanek who have been reviewed in this blog for their mighty trio Thumbscrew. Eskellin was an added bonus, tall and lanky, he had a Nordic presence. I say that because of his cool shoes, glasses, and hat, in addition to his playing that reminded me of Frode Gjerstad. Halvorsen's understated guitar work never ceases to amaze, she looks like a nerdy coxswain, controlling the boat from behind Leslie Stahl glasses. Mary is like an exotic saltwater fish, her wide eyes soaking in improv cues from her band mates, while oblivious to the fact that her form of expression is usually resigned to men. Formanek plucked and bowed with abandon, while hip Fujiwara looked like a Miami Vice stuntman epileptically supplied some brush work. It's hard not to evoke old time jazz with the use of clarinet, but this group deftly straddled old and new. A sublime take on Abide With Me, popularized by Theloniuos Monk but actually an old hymn, exemplifies the smash of old and new.