Miner Auditorium
SFJAZZ Center, 205 Franklin St, San Francisco, CA
7:30 PM, Friday, February 1, 2013

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[7:33 PM lights down, introduction by Randall Kline; speech by Sen. Mark Leno]

1. (unidentified instrumental)
   
   [Marcus Shelby introduces Paula West]
2. Looking for a Boy
3. I Can't Get Started
4. It Ain't Necessarily So
5. Someone to Watch Over Me
   
   [Paula West off; Dan Hicks on]
6. Our Love Is Here to Stay
7. Fascinating Rhythm
8. Embraceable You
9. 'S Wonderful

[set ends 8:34 PM]

[8:54 PM lights down; Marcus Shelby introduces Jamie Davis]

1. I Got Rhythm
2. A Foggy Day
3. They Can't Take That Away from Me
   
   [Jamie Davis off; Marcus introduces Kim Nalley]
4. But Not for Me
   
   [Tammy Hall replaces Joe Gilman at the piano]
5. Oh, Lady Be Good
6. Let's Call the Whole Thing Off
   
   [Marcus, Akira and Howard retire; Kim asks for the PA to be turned off]
7. Summertime

[show ends 9:44 PM with group bow, no encore]

• Jamie Davis: vox;
• Tammy Hall: piano;
• Dan Hicks: vox, maraca;
• Kim Nalley: vox;
• Paula West: vox;

• Joe Gilman: piano;
• Marcus Shelby: bass;
• Akira Tana: drums;
• Howard Wiley: soprano and tenor saxophones.

My second visit to the new hall, joined tonight by mom.

What with shows at both the Ballet and the Symphony, we decide that an early arrival is the most prudent method of avoiding parking hassles, and after slowly winding south along Van Ness, turn left onto McAllister to grab the penultimate free spot left along the north side of City Hall right at 7 pm. Perfect! We then saunter a few blocks over to the SFJAZZ Center at Fell and Franklin, only to wait another 20 minutes out in the lobby – sound check must be stretching late tonight! The lobby fills up quickly, but before it gets too crowded, the auditorium is opened and we file in to take our seats up in the center of the eighth row – very nice! I like this closer vantage much better than the upper balcony!

As I noticed the first night, the seats are rather firm, what with only a thin pad over a metal frame, and while they're not too hard, they're certainly not cushy in any way. I suppose the moral is that one must properly suffer in order to listen to jazz, no? Piling on with another minor quibble, the arm rests end in small, hard plastic cup holders. No doubt drinkers will see this a feature, but the reality is that it makes it quite uncomfortable to use the armrest for it's intended purpose. And with one final kvetch, the seat height appears pitched at a population having a shorter-than-average inseam. When I rest my feet flat on the floor, my knees are at least an inch or two higher than the seat, putting me into a fairly awkward sitting position. Yeah. Suffering is good for you, I know…

So how was the show? In brief, 's wonderful.

It's pretty hard to go wrong with Gershwin, and while I'm sure others might quibble over favorites missing from the setlist, I was delighted with the night's offerings. As might be expected, the first set was a little tentative, and it seemed to me that neither the band nor the first two vocalists were entirely comfortable with each other. Not to imply that anything sounded wrong, only that the music wasn't as loose and easy-swinging as I associate with Gershwin, and with hearing a cadre of performers grooving care-lessly on well-known tunes.

After a short intermission, the second set got off with a bang, as Jamie Davis, formerly with the Count Basie Orchestra, got the crowd finger-popping and clapping in time to his scat while the quartet roared along behind in fierce imitation of the Kansas City Five. During his driving piano solo, I thought I heard Joe Gilman drop in licks from several Basie tunes, but each of them dashed bye bye before I could finish that aha of recognition. Sadly, after three tunes, Jamie was gone, but Kim Nalley kept the joint jumping with a fine rendition of But Not for Me. After another pair of tunes (with Kim's long-time accompanist, Tammy Hall, taking over at the piano), Kim dismissed the quartet from the stage and asked for the PA to be turned off “so that we all could enjoy the acoustic” of the new hall. She then proceeded to end the show with a compelling version of Summertime, performed to a pretty out-there arrangement by Tammy Hall. Stunning!

So poof! Just like that, the lights were up and the musicians came back for a quick bow before leaving the stage. No encore. Just plenty o' nuthin. Can't say I like it if that's going to be a regular policy at the new center, but hey, maybe they didn't have time to work out four-part harmonies for one last big finale.

Back to the previous event ☸ Back to the 2013 yearbox ☸ Back to the 2013 event list! ☸ On to the next event!