Review: John Jorgenson Quintet Live Performance

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You would think I’d be well past being surprised by John Jorgenson. I thought so. And I was wrong, way wrong. This afternoon I went to hear the latest iteration of his Quintet at the Musician’s Institute in Hollywood. I went with what I considered realistic expectations: a solid show with maybe a touch more professionalism than inspiration. After all he’s been traveling around the world with this group for close to two years. That’s a lot of airports and a lot of one-night concerts. You couldn’t blame him if he phoned it in once in awhile. Or just did a paint-by-numbers show. But you know what? It wasn’t like that at all.

He’s been playing this music for more than 20 years, but danged if he didn’t make a quantum musical leap somewhere in the last twelve months. That was what was so surprising. How could somebody that good get that much better? But he’s has. His chops were scorching. In fact I think I saw two fire marshals standing by with extinguishers just in case the flames shooting from his finger burst out of control. His touch was impeccable. The last time there was this much precise articulation at this speed, it was driven by Dale Earnhardt. He was just as clear on the ballads. The solo on Danse Norwegienne was like watching the gods of Asgaard construct a fairy castle out of crystal. Somewhere Edvard Grieg is smiling.

Jorgenson has expanded the sweep of gypsy swing. It’s close on becoming world music on a Sel-Mac. The rhythms and melodies bounce from Roumania to Brazil to Spain and back to Paris. And hovering there in the background, always a tiny taste of Nashville. Not so much from Jorgenson these days as from the excellent and driving violinist, Stephan Dudash.

The whole group is as tight as a pair of size six sneakers on Shaquille O’Neal. The "batterie" hummed along like a perfectly tuned engine, Rick Reed on snare, Charlie Chadwick on bass and Gonzalo Bergara, rhythm guitar. (Is anybody not named Nou’sche Rosenberg or Hono Winterstein playing gypsy rhythm this beautifully? Not that I’ve heard.) Fast or slow, they locked on every song. More to the point, all three of them took the gig seriously. There was a level of concentration you could feel. Jorgenson appears to be the most relaxed and easy-going and casual of musicians but the H.M.S. Bounty didn’t run this rigorously under Captain Bligh. They’ve earned an extra ration of duff for tonight.

I’ll save comments on the compositions (strong in a variety of styles) and arrangements (fresh, complicated and compelling) for a review of the new CD, Ultraspontane. But in the meantime, a word to the wise: if you think you know what John Jorgenson is up to musically, but you haven’t seen him for a year or so, you haven’t got a clue. If he comes around, don’t miss him. The show is golden. The music soars.