James Carter & Friends: Live at the Blue Note

Select ratingGive it 1/5Give it 2/5Give it 3/5Give it 4/5Give it 5/5

Photo by Dino Perrucci

For his weeklong stand at New York’s Blue Note, saxophonist James Carter assembled a super group of players to share the spotlight: John Medeski on organ, guitarist Adam Rogers, Christian McBride on both upright and electric basses, and drummer Joey Baron. The final two nights of performances are to be recorded and released as a live album on Half Note Records.

The quintet reportedly had only a few scant hours of rehearsal before they began the run on Tuesday, but by Thursday’s early set they were already meshing like a full-time working band.

After a quick introduction by Carter, the band dug in and immediately came out swinging. Carter spent much of the night switching between instruments, but he was most exciting while playing his big baritone (he also played alto, soprano and flute). He seems to specialize in getting to the “unreachable” notes—those sounds that are either just too high or too low.

McBride kept a wide smile on his face throughout the night and spent much of his time egging Carter on with shouts of encouragement. McBride also spent the evening in complete lock-step with Baron’s explosive drumming.

Photo by Dino Perrucci

The band picked up steam as the night went on, and by the third tune they were turning corners and pulling new rhythms seemingly out of nowhere.

Medeski sounded most comfortable on the Latin-, funk- and blues-based songs, and luckily the second half of the set was loaded with just that. Several of his smoky organ solos stood out as highlights of the set, though Adam Rogers seemed to have no problem keeping up with both Medeski and Carter in the soloing department.

Super-groups like this can be a bit tricky. Sometimes the end result can be less than the sum of the band’s talented parts. Not so with this edition of James Carter & Friends, who have been gelling and improving with every set.