Reviews

The Love Supreme Quartet on DVD
Review from The Africana/Barry Michael Cooper

“LSQ, or the Love Supreme Quartet, is a blazing birthday tribute to the legendary John Coltrane filmed in September 2004 at Xandos Coffee Shop in Baltimore. The event was sponsored by the celebrated painters Larry Scott, Don Griffin and their arts collective ComZee International. Seemingly channeling Coltrane, tenor sax virtuoso Greg Thompkins and his hot squad -- Lafayette Gilchrist on piano, Donnie West on bass, and Scott Tiemann on drums -- turn this slice of modern East Baltimore into a 1960s Village Vanguard soiree. With a stationary digi-cam that gives the viewer an avant-garde, fly-on-the-wall POV -- and the various poster-paintings sniped along the venue (most notably the work by Scott, Griffin, Eugene Coles and Jonathan Azor looming over drummer Tiemann's shoulder), LSQ's classic spirit feels retro-futurist. A must-have DVD for any Coltrane aficionado. (For more information, visit www.rolandparkjazz.com, or email Greg Thompkins at greg@rolandparkjazz.com)”

Roland Park Jazz Greg Thompkins – LSQ
Review from The City Paper

THE MOVIE: Think of this DVD from local saxophonist as a digital throwback to 1980s cassette releases. LSQ is a strictly low-tech affair that contains a different world. Thompkins played a John Coltrane tribute Sept.23, 2004, at Xando Coffee and Bar with a performance of 1964’s A Love Supreme featuring pianist Lafayette Gilchrist, drummer Scott Tiemann, and bassist Donnie West. A single camera was set up snugly framing the band in its square viewfinder; audience members walk back and forth across the screen throughout. It’s a little muddy and yellow, the way video looks when lit by nothing but incandescent lights. And the recording itself is a tad rough, probably due to a single microphone catching everything being thrown at it.

But, oh, what it does catch. LSQ isn’t simply a Supreme recreation, it’s more an interpretation of it by four musicians who know it well and love it each in his own way. It’s easy to forget that Coltrane himself was a big man, and he played music that needed a big guy who could push a big amount of wind into a big tenor saxophone. Standing in those shoes is tough, and Thompkins meets the challenge fearlessly, laying into four of the most recognizable notes in all of jazz, those that form the central motif of “Acknowledgement,” with a leveling force. And if he doesn’t hit Coltrane’s solo stratosphere planes on Supreme—which is, honestly, an unfair benchmark—he does deliver a series of muscular, lyrical ideas throughout this set.

Unsurprisingly, LSQ’s star is Gilchrist, who doesn’t so much try to inhabit Coltrane sideman McCoy Tyner as make Tyner’s piano space his own. Gilchrist opens the night with an impassioned, ebullient intro to “Acknowledgement,” and his solos are, as expected, the wittiest, most lively, and floridly moving (another unfair comparison, as the recording quality doesn’t capture the full richness of West’s bass or Tiemann’s drums). Call it heresy if you must, but Tyner’s A game versus Gilchrist’s best is just too close to call, though the idea of that cutting contest thrills the soul.

The evening’s true troopers, though, are West and Tiemann. Not only are their solos poorly served by the recording, they’ve got the hardest roles to fill. The Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones rhythm section of Coltrane’s classic quartet was tight and sympathetic enough to go wherever their leader went. West and Tiemann not only keep pace with, but also anticipate Thompkins’ and Gilchrist’s every adventure with lithe responsiveness.

Hard Jazz - The Jazz Composers Showcase is Sunday, and if you think this music just happens, think again. Review from The Sun/Nick Madigan

Tenor Saxophonist Greg Thompkins leans into the music as if he's searching for something very important and very elusive in the composition he's playing. The new gold-tone neck in his silver sax glitters in the bright light of the room where he's rehearsing the Greg Thompkins Quintet for the first Baltimore Jazz Composers Showcase on Sunday afternoon at the Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and Cultural Center. He's a big guy with a big sound and a gentle manner. On his left, Scott Tiemann, his coolly impassive drummer, listens carefully as he plays. On his right, Brian Kooken, his intense guitar player, is deeply involved with the music. Lafayette Gilchrist, a brilliant young piano player, is out front in one of his trademark caps; Ashton Fletcher, the veteran bass player, is a few steps away, engrossed in the tune. They're playing at Fletcher's house in Rosedale, crammed into what looks to be a family room, except for the instruments all over the place. It's getting on to midnight on a recent Tuesday night, the one time all these professional musicians can get together. They've been rehearsing since 10 p.m. They're working on Phoebe Myhill's composition "Jump in Jack", which she's dedicated to the quintet. She's one of eight composers whose work they will play Sunday. She's tagged as a composer of concert music with a deep interest in jazz.

The quintet works hard on her piece to bring it off. None of the eight works on the program is easy.
"On most all of the tunes," Thompkins says, " there's a little bit of that type of work that had to be pulled out and worked on. Whether it's the rhythm, or it's the harmony, or it's the melody. On some of the pieces any of those parts can be the more challenging." The Baltimore Jazz Alliance and the Baltimore Composers Forum joined to showcase the composers. George F. Spicka, a pianist-composer who is the co-president of the composers forum and on the jazz alliance's steering committee, has been instrumental in getting the concert together. "To me, the Baltimore jazz scene has really turned a major corner when you can have so many composers write excellent tunes," Thompkins says. "And," he adds, "the guys in the band are either all excellent players or composers themselves who are going to sit down and tear those pieces apart and put them back together and then go perform them." The quintet will play Spicka's composition,"Emerald Raindrops," which features singer Charlene Cochran on the only vocal tune on the program. The co-president of the composers forum, Stephen Makofski, has a piece titled "Clutter" on the bill. "In a way it's almost a minimalistic classical piece," Thompkins says. "It reminds me a little of Philip Glass." The Baltimore-born Glass, an important avant-garde composer, wrote original music for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. At the rehearsal, the quintet brings Myhill's "Jump in Jack" to a halt like a slightly uneasy drill team. "All I can say is this is much better than it was." Thompkins says. "But we still have some things to figure out. To me the main thing is mastering the form and being able to nail it every time."

In conversation about the gig, Thompkins offers thumbnail sketches of each of the composers whose works the quintet will play. "Phil Ravita is a very good bass player. I've played gigs with Phil," he says. Ravita's piece is "Hard at work," essentially a vehicle for solo bass, which Fletcher will play. "Todd Marcus has an excellent big band," Thompkins says. "Excellent bass clarinetist, composer." The quintet will play Marcus' "Ma'aelsalamal," "good-bye-God bless" in Arabic. The tune draws on his Egyptian heritage. Such formidable jazz luminaries as Greg Osby, Michael Formanek and Gary Thomas have played Marcus' works.
"Al Maniscalco, tenorman, very nice player, wrote a very nice piece in three," Thompkins says.
Called "Rainy Wednesday," it's a jazz waltz. Maniscalo, who has a master's degree from Towson University, has played with an amazing range of people and groups, from Branford Marsalis to Little Anthony and the Imperials. "Anthony Villa's piece is almost like a crossover fusion piece," Thompkins says. "The piece kind of reminds me of the group Weather Report." That's the revered jazz-fusion quartet of the '70s and '80s.
Called "Words Unspoken," Villa's composition requires a band that plays together a lot and rehearses a lot.
"It would be hard to come to the gig and say 'OK, let's put this music up and play it,'" Thompkins says. "There are so many different parts in it. You really have to learn the piece." Brian Smith, whose tune on the program is called Perception, plays piano with the Coldspring Jazz Quartet. "This is a very nicely written bossa nova," Thompkins says. "I think the pianist and guitar player will be the main players on this one. "You have to figure out who's going to be the soloist [on each tune]," he says. "You can't have five soloists on every tune. God knows I don't want to solo on every tune!"


	Reviews The Love Supreme Quartet on DVD Review from The Africana/Barry Michael Cooper “LSQ, or the Love Supreme Quartet, is a blazing birthday tribute to the legendary John Coltrane filmed in September 2004 at Xandos Coffee Shop in Baltimore. The event was sponsored by the celebrated painters Larry Scott, Don Griffin and their arts collective ComZee International. Seemingly channeling Coltrane, tenor sax virtuoso Greg Thompkins and his hot squad -- Lafayette Gilchrist on piano, Donnie West on bass, and Scott Tiemann on drums -- turn this slice of modern East Baltimore into a 1960s Village Vanguard soiree. With a stationary digi-cam that gives the viewer an avant-garde, fly-on-the-wall POV -- and the various poster-paintings sniped along the venue (most notably the work by Scott, Griffin, Eugene Coles and Jonathan Azor looming over drummer Tiemann's shoulder), LSQ's classic spirit feels retro-futurist. A must-have DVD for any Coltrane aficionado. (For more information, visit www.rolandparkjazz.com, or email Greg Thompkins at greg@rolandparkjazz.com)” Roland Park Jazz Greg Thompkins – LSQ Review from The City Paper THE MOVIE: Think of this DVD from local saxophonist as a digital throwback to 1980s cassette releases. LSQ is a strictly low-tech affair that contains a different world. Thompkins played a John Coltrane tribute Sept.23, 2004, at Xando Coffee and Bar with a performance of 1964’s A Love Supreme featuring pianist Lafayette Gilchrist, drummer Scott Tiemann, and bassist Donnie West. A single camera was set up snugly framing the band in its square viewfinder; audience members walk back and forth across the screen throughout. It’s a little muddy and yellow, the way video looks when lit by nothing but incandescent lights. And the recording itself is a tad rough, probably due to a single microphone catching everything being thrown at it. But, oh, what it does catch. LSQ isn’t simply a Supreme recreation, it’s more an interpretation of it by four musicians who know it well and love it each in his own way. It’s easy to forget that Coltrane himself was a big man, and he played music that needed a big guy who could push a big amount of wind into a big tenor saxophone. Standing in those shoes is tough, and Thompkins meets the challenge fearlessly, laying into four of the most recognizable notes in all of jazz, those that form the central motif of “Acknowledgement,” with a leveling force. And if he doesn’t hit Coltrane’s solo stratosphere planes on Supreme—which is, honestly, an unfair benchmark—he does deliver a series of muscular, lyrical ideas throughout this set. Unsurprisingly, LSQ’s star is Gilchrist, who doesn’t so much try to inhabit Coltrane sideman McCoy Tyner as make Tyner’s piano space his own. Gilchrist opens the night with an impassioned, ebullient intro to “Acknowledgement,” and his solos are, as expected, the wittiest, most lively, and floridly moving (another unfair comparison, as the recording quality doesn’t capture the full richness of West’s bass or Tiemann’s drums). Call it heresy if you must, but Tyner’s A game versus Gilchrist’s best is just too close to call, though the idea of that cutting contest thrills the soul. The evening’s true troopers, though, are West and Tiemann. Not only are their solos poorly served by the recording, they’ve got the hardest roles to fill. The Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones rhythm section of Coltrane’s classic quartet was tight and sympathetic enough to go wherever their leader went. West and Tiemann not only keep pace with, but also anticipate Thompkins’ and Gilchrist’s every adventure with lithe responsiveness. Hard Jazz - The Jazz Composers Showcase is Sunday, and if you think this music just happens, think again. Review from The Sun/Nick Madigan Tenor Saxophonist Greg Thompkins leans into the music as if he's searching for something very important and very elusive in the composition he's playing. The new gold-tone neck in his silver sax glitters in the bright light of the room where he's rehearsing the Greg Thompkins Quintet for the first Baltimore Jazz Composers Showcase on Sunday afternoon at the Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and Cultural Center. He's a big guy with a big sound and a gentle manner. On his left, Scott Tiemann, his coolly impassive drummer, listens carefully as he plays. On his right, Brian Kooken, his intense guitar player, is deeply involved with the music. Lafayette Gilchrist, a brilliant young piano player, is out front in one of his trademark caps; Ashton Fletcher, the veteran bass player, is a few steps away, engrossed in the tune. They're playing at Fletcher's house in Rosedale, crammed into what looks to be a family room, except for the instruments all over the place. It's getting on to midnight on a recent Tuesday night, the one time all these professional musicians can get together. They've been rehearsing since 10 p.m. They're working on Phoebe Myhill's composition "Jump in Jack", which she's dedicated to the quintet. She's one of eight composers whose work they will play Sunday. She's tagged as a composer of concert music with a deep interest in jazz. The quintet works hard on her piece to bring it off. None of the eight works on the program is easy. "On most all of the tunes," Thompkins says, " there's a little bit of that type of work that had to be pulled out and worked on. Whether it's the rhythm, or it's the harmony, or it's the melody. On some of the pieces any of those parts can be the more challenging." The Baltimore Jazz Alliance and the Baltimore Composers Forum joined to showcase the composers. George F. Spicka, a pianist-composer who is the co-president of the composers forum and on the jazz alliance's steering committee, has been instrumental in getting the concert together. "To me, the Baltimore jazz scene has really turned a major corner when you can have so many composers write excellent tunes," Thompkins says. "And," he adds, "the guys in the band are either all excellent players or composers themselves who are going to sit down and tear those pieces apart and put them back together and then go perform them." The quintet will play Spicka's composition,"Emerald Raindrops," which features singer Charlene Cochran on the only vocal tune on the program. The co-president of the composers forum, Stephen Makofski, has a piece titled "Clutter" on the bill. "In a way it's almost a minimalistic classical piece," Thompkins says. "It reminds me a little of Philip Glass." The Baltimore-born Glass, an important avant-garde composer, wrote original music for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. At the rehearsal, the quintet brings Myhill's "Jump in Jack" to a halt like a slightly uneasy drill team. "All I can say is this is much better than it was." Thompkins says. "But we still have some things to figure out. To me the main thing is mastering the form and being able to nail it every time." In conversation about the gig, Thompkins offers thumbnail sketches of each of the composers whose works the quintet will play. "Phil Ravita is a very good bass player. I've played gigs with Phil," he says. Ravita's piece is "Hard at work," essentially a vehicle for solo bass, which Fletcher will play. "Todd Marcus has an excellent big band," Thompkins says. "Excellent bass clarinetist, composer." The quintet will play Marcus' "Ma'aelsalamal," "good-bye-God bless" in Arabic. The tune draws on his Egyptian heritage. Such formidable jazz luminaries as Greg Osby, Michael Formanek and Gary Thomas have played Marcus' works. "Al Maniscalco, tenorman, very nice player, wrote a very nice piece in three," Thompkins says. Called "Rainy Wednesday," it's a jazz waltz. Maniscalo, who has a master's degree from Towson University, has played with an amazing range of people and groups, from Branford Marsalis to Little Anthony and the Imperials. "Anthony Villa's piece is almost like a crossover fusion piece," Thompkins says. "The piece kind of reminds me of the group Weather Report." That's the revered jazz-fusion quartet of the '70s and '80s. Called "Words Unspoken," Villa's composition requires a band that plays together a lot and rehearses a lot. "It would be hard to come to the gig and say 'OK, let's put this music up and play it,'" Thompkins says. "There are so many different parts in it. You really have to learn the piece." Brian Smith, whose tune on the program is called Perception, plays piano with the Coldspring Jazz Quartet. "This is a very nicely written bossa nova," Thompkins says. "I think the pianist and guitar player will be the main players on this one. "You have to figure out who's going to be the soloist [on each tune]," he says. "You can't have five soloists on every tune. God knows I don't want to solo on every tune!"