David "Fathead" Newman at Twinsjazz 9/22/01

by Alan Greenblatt

Some forms endure. The small jazz combo, where one or two horns stand in front of a piano-bass-trio trio, has been the dominant form in the music since the end of World War II. In a small club, the musicians will each solo in turn, first the horn, then the piano, then the bass. It goes on and on.

David "Fathead" Newman's sets this past Friday at Twins took this form. His playing, too, was in no way unusual or pathbreaking. Fronting a local trio on flute and tenor and alto saxes, he called mostly for tunes we've heard hundreds of times -- "Willow Weep for Me," "These Foolish Things, "Autumn Leaves" -- along with "Hard Times," a tune he's been doing since his long-ago days with Ray Charles.

But it was excellent. Soul satisfying for those of us of a certain bent. Newman plays right on the intersection of jazz and blues, right where it was when he started his career in the 1950s, right when it was turning into rock and r&b. His second set was more straight-ahead jazz, maybe he was geting tired. He sticks within hailing distance of the melody in his improvisations, but he is yet another of those wonders who can play for five minutes and nail every note. As Leonard Bernstein said of Beethoven, he always knew what note comes next.

He was lucky with his trio. Bob Butta (pronounced like Buddha, not like butter) had an almost telepathic sense of what couple of chords to plunk down that would complete and round off Newman's phrases and thoughts. Steve Novosel's bass pumped away like a fat man's heart while drummer Harold Mann's beat was almost relentlessly steady. It was the first time I've seen a drummer rest his tambourine on the high hat, though.

Newman at one point was touting his CD, "Keep the Spirits Singing." "That's what we all need to do now," he said. True, but business in the club it way off since September 11, one of the twins told me. That's not unusual, but it would be a sorry thing if this club went under. Its new location seems so promising.