SFJAZZ presents Patricia Barber
2015-02-12
Miner Auditorium
SFJAZZ Center, 205 Franklin St, San Francisco, CA
7:30 PM, Thursday, February 12, 2015

[7:31 PM lights down, announcements by Randall Kline]

1. [7:36 PM] ? PB Solo intro »
2. [7:38 PM] ? (unidentified instrumental)
3. [7:46 PM] ? (unidentified Portuguese vocal)
4. [7:52 PM] I Could Have Danced All Night
5. [7:58 PM] Rhythm-a-ning
6. [8:05 PM] ? “make you love me”
7. [8:11 PM] Silent Partner
8. [8:18 PM] You Gotta Go Home
   [set ends 8:23 PM]

1. [8:46 PM] Summertime
2. [8:57 PM; -HW] Caravan
3. [9:05 PM] ? “what shall we sing”
4. [9:11 PM; +HW] The Moon
5. [9:18 PM; -LK, HW] ? “why am I so emotional”
6. [9:24 PM; +LK, HW] You're the Top
   [set ends 9:29 PM]
    
   Encore
7. [9:31 PM; PB solo] Then I'll Be Tired of You
   [show ends 9:35 PM]

• Patricia Barber: piano, vox;
• Jon Deitemyer: drums;
• Larry Kohut: contrabass;
• Harvey Wainapel: clarinet, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone.

Want the instant summary? Great show, no guitar.

Patricia Barber is in a class by herself among the top jazz performers of today, and tonight's gig showed that she's still reaching in new directions: smooth Brazilian jazz pop? Check. Deconstructed Tin Pan Alley classics? Check. Bravo! It's fun to hear an artist stretch out like that, even if the results aren't necessarily what I'm most interested in hearing (where's the screaming guitar?). My favorites for the night were Rhythm-a-ning and Caravan. The first was played pretty straight, maybe because it's relatively fractured already? Caravan, on the other hand, was certainly given the PB treatment. The main riff was quite recognizable, but the original drum pattern was gone, and the development section went all sorts of new directions. A good challenge to the listener!

Additional note ought to be made of the penultimate tune of the night, Cole Porter's You're the Top, as it featured several wickedly funny new couplets on typical matters such as Obama dealing with the GOP-led congress and other silly things. All delivered in seriously deadpan style by PB. Maybe I can find a rendition to share from [YouTube]()?

In any case, I'm glad I attended, even if I didn't get to hear everything I wanted. Better luck next time? We shall see!

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