WAMC Performing Arts Studio
News and Reviews
| Shaw presents ‘fun’ night of originals By David Singer (First published in the Daily Gazette of Schenectady, NY: Tuesday, March 3, 2007) “Up here we have more fun than anyone,” pianist Lee Shaw told the mostly filled Linda Norris Auditorium midway through her 75-minute set Friday night. For those who’ve seen her — she’s been living in the Capital Region for 30 years — they know her comment is genuine. To keep things fresh, she played only original material, something she said she’d never done exclusively before. Never? Could be, since she’s promoting her latest release of all originals, and her support Friday night — bassist Rich Syracuse and drummer Rich Siegel — were her players on the record. She opened with a pretty blues tune, “For Now,” which also opens the newest CD, “Originals.” “I write about things in my life that I feel strongly about,” she said to introduce the next number, “Little Friend,” written for her first dog. The sweet ballad wandered early into a bedtime lullaby until Syracuse transformed it into sad drama with a bow solo. The trio followed together with a series of faster moving rounds of improvisation. Drummer Siegel then played a solo so embedded into the song that I can’t even say when the solo started or ended. Shaw continued calmly through the whole thing as if the drum solo fit just right into her soft piano playing. They followed with “Domino,” a song Shaw wrote for her second dog, which her husband called “Foots.” Hence, the tune “Foots Domino.” This song leaned over into ragtime but never fell in. As a unit they were polished, crossed all their T’s and dotted their I’s. They improvised with great freedom and emotion, though they never went for giant leaps, which would not have been appropriate anyway. Structurally, they performed in standard trio mode, presenting the melody for a round or two, then a round of solos for each member, with Shaw holding the core together like the master of ceremonies. They occasionally traded bars of fours, sharing concepts and notes as smoothly as the ’73 Knicks shared the ball. Shaw introduced “Prairie Child” as “a little tune that wrote itself” when she thought about her days as a girl on a horse holding onto her father for “dear life.” Siegel’s solos were wonderfully musical, but his tameness, particularly during this solo, was frustrating. He let loose three songs later, finally, in a loud, stiff solo, followed by a more explosive one to end the night. Even Lee Shaw fans didn’t mind a little wildness from their drummers. She followed with “Sweet Baby,” another song written for Domino the dog. This one rolled like midtempo New Orleans blues, smooth and steady with more soul than her others. She did a song for her husband called “Stan’s Song” — it’s probably a good thing she had one for her husband after all those dog songs. You get the feeling that this gifted piano player operates at much higher levels than the rest of us and that she performs publicly at lower levels so that we can enjoy and appreciate her gift. At least that’s how I felt Friday night. Back to News and Reviews |
| Used with permission of the Schenectady Daily Gazette. Re-use rights may not be assigned to a third party without prior written permission from the Daily Gazette. |