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cookiedoughmeagain · 4 years ago

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Haven DVD Commentaries; 5.05 - The Old Switcheroo (Part I)

Notes on the commentary with Adam Copeland (Dwight), Adam Higgs (Writer), and Bian Millikin (Executive Story Editor). Officially this commentary is just with the two Adams, but Brian is there as well (setting up the equipment??) and joins in after a while.

(It is possible I’ve mixed Brian and Adam Higgs up sometimes, sometimes all the different voices blur together a bit in my head. Adam Copeland’s is easier to separate because his is more familiar.)

AH: We’re going to give a shout out to Cindy McCreery and Scott Shepherd who wrote these two episodes (we’re just talking about 505 right now, but we’ll get to 506 in a bit), and they sadly couldn’t be with us today but we’re going to do our best. AC: This is very important to the Havenites; pancakes. And the fact that they are not enjoyed [by Mara] which is very strange because Audrey loves her pancakes, but Mara doesn’t. AH: Do you like pancakes? AC: I devour pancakes. Some call me the master of pancakes. Yeah I’m like Paul Bunyan. AH: What do you put in a pancake? AC: Well I usually just buy them because I would butcher it, and I know that going in.

AC: That is the Grey Gull. AH: And it’s a grey day. AC: Which in Nova Scotia is not necessarily that strange, but a beautiful place, one of my favourite places and favourite sets. I actually contemplated buying the Grey Gull because it’s for sale. But I think there’s no plumbing, or no toilet. AH: That would be a bit of a difficulty. AC: Yeah. So that was my reason for not buying the Grey Gull. What do you think about that Brian Millikin? BM: I think that was a smart investment move on your part. AC: That’s Brian Millikin, sitting in the rafters. AH: There’s Manteo. Who do we know who has ties to North Carolina? Brian Millikin, maybe you and Nick Parker (another illustrious writer on the show)? BM: I love the way North Carolina looks just like Nova Scotia. AH: Yes, we did not actually go to North Carolina to shoot these episodes. AC: If we had it would have been closer to my home in Ashville, so it would have been a lot easier for me. AH: We should have just shot at your house.

AC: Ah, Richard Donat, aka Vince Teagues, one of my favourite men that I’ve ever met. Such a quiet and strong presence on set. He pretty much just rocks. I’ve been told that’s what I will look like when I’m his age. AH: Maybe it’s time travel. You’re a younger version of Richard, sent from the past? Or the future? AC: Yeah. It could be the case. That could be a spoiler alert. *laughs all round* AC: OK. It’s not. But it could be! Who knows; Dwight Teagues. I just heard all your minds blowing out there, Havenites. AH: Well there is a lot in this season; we’ve got a lot of father/son dynamics between the two of you. Maybe it could explain it. AC: It could explain all of it. AH: Both leaders of the Guard at different times. I’m just saying. AC: Yeah, the alpha male, banging of heads. We both have large craniums. You know, it could fit. AH: I like this theory.

AC: North Carolina was a nice change of pace, to take it out of Maine. AH: I haven’t been on the show very long, but Brian Millikin who has, and is still sitting in the rafters, how many times have we left Haven on the show? BM: I’m going to go ahead and say this is the second time ever. We went to Boston at the beginning of season four. AC: Brian was actually on a swing hanging from the rafters of the building, and he’s now hopped off so he’s back with us.

[As we see Vince and Dave switching bodies] AC: This is one of my favourite bits actually, because John Dunsworth (Dave) and Richard are just amazing, and I love them both. So to see them inhabit each other’s characters was fun. AH: And this was a nice episode too, because one of the things we wanted to do was give them a bit of a spotlight epsiode. We never get to spend as much time as we want to with the brothers Teagues and we decided, well let’s do it - let’s have them drive a plot and have fun with it.

[As Vince knocks his head on the doorframe in the cafe] AH: I love that gag. We had so much fun with the height thing when we were coming up with this episode. AC: But it makes total sense, that’s the great part of it. If you were that tall and suddenly you’re in a frame … you know because Richard is 6’3”, 240 pounds; he’s a huge man. And John is, not. [As Gloria comes up to talk to Vince in Dave’s body] AC: Ah, I love Jayne Eastwood, I love Gloria. This is a combination I’d been dying to see together, just because of the comedic talent involved. These two, they’re comedic … we’ll I’ll say legends, in Canada. Both so funny, so I was really looking forward to that short interaction. AH: And it’s been fun, it’s the miscommunications and it’s very much a farce kind of episode. Besides the murder and death. AC: Besides the choking and murdering and psychiatric wards, you know. AH: And this is not the first time we’ve been to the Freddy. I look again to Brian Millikin who has moved down from the rafters. BM: This is the first time since season one, episode three. AC: Wow, you are a fountain of Haven knowledge my friend. BM: I have been here since the very beginning. AC: A veritable fountain. BM: I’m going to cut in though for a second, I’ll say this much; as someone who has been here from the very beginning, the body swap idea for an episode is sort of the low-hanging fruit for any genre show, any supernatural show will eventually get there. And we always knew that we were going to have to do it at some point in time. People were asking, they asked at comic book conventions and they asked on twitter. They asked in the street. When are you going to do it? Primarily because of Duke and Nathan. They have history with each other, they’re both great characters, strong actors. It just made sense that they would have to switch places at some point. Especially because Nathan can’t feel anything. But we just needed a time, like we needed the story to make sense. We didn’t want to do it just to do it, we wanted there to be a reason, so it did feel like we were just doing the thing. Like, our groundhog day episode is another low-hanging fruit of a genre show but it felt like it really fit in the moment because of the story we were telling. So we were super-lucky that this one came into play. We knew that we were going to do this Vince and Dave road trip, but we needed to tie what they were doing to what was going on in Haven. And that’s where we started thinking, now we can do the body swap. And then, we didn’t want to just do Vince and Dave, we didn’t want to just do Nathan and Duke, we wanted to somehow work in Dwight. We were like, who do we do? We can’t do Mara, because she’s immune to the Troubles. So who else is there. And then we were like; oh my god. We now have Jayne Eastwood, we added her last year. So we were like; what if we swapped Dwight and Gloria? And as soon as that came out of someone’s mouth, our showrunners Matt and Gab were like, So we’re definitely doing that; we’re doing this episode, and that’s happening before the Nathan/Duke swap. And as soon as we landed on that, there was no turning back. [As we see the swapped Dwight and Gloria walk up to each other, Gloria checking out her new face in the mirror] AC: This was an interesting shot, because Eric Cayla our DP was on a handheld and had to whip around and follow me, so the timing on that was really interesting. BM: You were so good in this episode. AC: This was my favourite ad lib. AH: I love that. BM: So funny. AC: That was an ad lib, no one knew that I was going to grab my crotch, but thankfully they went down with me and I saw they went down and I thought; OK good, I hope they use that take. And they did. BM: Now, I heard a rumour, I don’t know if it’s true but as soon as we heard it we were like; I hope it’s true. Because we heard that you went back and watched episodes of Haven that she was in, to sort of learn her tricks. AC: I did. I watched all of her scenes. I tried to stand like her and pick up her mannerisms BM: You can tell. AH: Yeah, all those funny little touches. AC: The way that she’s just kind of over it. And her kind of sarcastic nature. But after watching her episodes, I tried to relate her to a male actor who I could then watch and see how a man would do it. BM: Such a good idea. AC: And so she was De Niro from Meet the Parents. BM: Yeah! AC: So then I watched Meet The Parents, and I watched how De Niro acted. And I tried to take her stance with hands on hips and slouched forward a little bit, and tried to maintain that posture throughout, which was … I did forget sometimes. But this was a lot of fun when I found out this was going to be happening. I knew the comedic potential on this. Which up until this point as Dwight, I haven’t really had the ability to show. BM: Yeah, a couple jokes but that’s it. AC: Yeah, so I was really looking forward to sinking my teeth into this because I don’t know if anyone really knew if I had comedy in me. And in WWE initially my character was all comedy. So it was nice to be able to dip back into that. [As Nathan is getting Mara out of the bronco] BM: Well look and even in the background of this shot right there [Adam in his hands on hips stance] AC: Yeah she would stand sometimes with her hands on her lower back, so I really just tried to watch everything that she would do. BM: Well, we just got such a kick out of watching it. Or even writing it. Because this was the only one where it was a gender swap also. And a real age swap. You know, Duke and Nathan are the same age. So, this was really going for it. And you crushed it. I remember when the dailies would come in and we would just pause what we were doing in the writing room and we would just put them up and watch them. We were just having so much fun with it. AC: Well it was interesting because Dwight as a character is kind of reserved and close to the vest, so it was more of a challenge for Jayne to figure out how to pull of Dwight. Because he’s not very over the top in anything that he does, and that was by design, that’s how I always tried to attack Dwight. So it was a big challenge for Jayne I think because Gloria’s character there’s so much to work with, there’s so much to play with. And with Vince and Dave there’s so much to play with. [On screen Vince is checking the wound on Dave’s leg] That was pretty nasty. Great job by the makeup department. It looked really gross that day too. I was like; that looks disgusting. [As Vince is answering Dave’s phone] Is that a Blackberry? AH: Well this is taking place in the past. What year is this actually in Brian Millikin? BM: This would be the year 2011, going on 2012. AC: OK. BM: Despite the fact that it aired in 2014. AH: And this is something we would constantly have to remind ourselves when we were writing the show, like - wait a minute it’s not 2014, it’s actually … And we’d just all look at Brian. BM: It’s a real problem in serialised TV shows. Like Lost, the first three years took place over 90 days. AC: Wow. And that’s always a challenge too from the performance aspect for the continuity. And also just in each show, because everything’s shot out of sequence. So you’re always questioning, what did we just come from? What did we just do? Why are we here? And that can be a huge thing to keep track of sometimes. And thankfully there’s people on it, as well as you’re supposed to be on it too. But, it can get lost sometimes.

AH: There’s a lot of little humour things, just Mara reading the “Me, Myself & I” schizophrenia brochure. I think in a lot of ways these are probably our most humorous episodes of the season, which was a lot of fun. We can be very grim and gritty some days and just to take a step back and come up with some of the little goofs and gags for what everyone can do once they’re swapped was a lot of fun. AC: Well yeah Haven can be a pretty heavy place, so when you can kind of lighten that weight a little bit it’s nice. [As we see Nathan talking to Audrey in the Freddy] This was a really interesting change for Emily. And you can just see the switch in her eyes which was really great. AH: Yeah credit to her acting there. AC: Because you knew instantly; something just happened. Just from the look in her eyes. AH: Yeah; that’s Audrey not Mara. Which is not an easy thing to do, and she pulled it off. And it became very complicated on the page when we were going, OK so these people are in different bodies but now this is Mara, but Audrey’s come to the surface. And trying to keep that whole piece together was interesting. Brian do you want to tell the story here? Or just give a little insight into the behind the scenes scriptwork that had to be done on the formatting of the scripts here. BM: Oh my gosh, well maybe it showed our level of inexperience with bodyswap episodes from other shows that have done them before; we probably should have looked at them. But one issue that we ran into was that it happened with so many different characters, you know a lot of shows it’ll just be Sam and Dean Winchester from Supernatural or whatever. But we eventually got hold of the Freaky Friday scripts, the original one way back when, just to see how they did it. Because the problem we ran into was that you couldn’t tell from reading the script who was who. We got the script in, and it was great, but at no point could you ever tell what character was saying what to whom or why. And so it was impossible. A script is like a blueprint and you need to be able to read it and know what you’re seeing on screen. And when the actors read it at a table read, they need to be able to know who is who. And it was impossible. Because, when it was you speaking in the scene right now Adam, it would have said Gloria then parentheses Dwight. And then you’re talking to Gloria parentheses Dwight. And it was just like; I don’t know what’s going on here. So we eventually had it just say Dwight in quotation marks. It was important for it to say who it is that you’re looking at, so that you [Adam] knew you’re still reading the Dwight dialogue but we’ve got these quotes around it so you know that’s not quite Dwight. AC: And what was interesting was, Gloria in Dwight’s body, she doesn’t have bad eyes but she instinctively goes to squint. So those were little things that Dwight’s not used to wearing glasses, so just all of those little things that we tried to add in. Gloria’s always so bemused which, I knew it would be so much fun to play her. And it was. BM: That’s amazing. We kind of didn’t know how far to go with some of the gags. Like with the bathroom gag. How much … would she check herself out? What are we doing here? What show are we working on? So I think we went too far and then pulled it back.

AH: I remember the table read for this was a lot of fun. AC: And it was interesting at the table read to see everyone take on the other character and to see the reaction from the other person watching their character and their mannerisms be recreated at this table read. It was actual fun to be a fly on the wall for it. AH: And I don’t know if we’re doing the bloopers this year but some of the stuff between takes were just as fun. Like; I do that? What are you doing? I do that?

[As Gloria in Dwight’s body is finishing up her milkshake] BM: We loved the idea that she was put into like, Captain America’s body. Like a super soldier so she can now just do whatever she wants. At one point we were she was going to be eating doughnuts and stuff in every scene. AH: Every single scene. AC: Thank you for not doing that to me. BM: Pizza. AH: Yeah it was just non stop. Burgers. AC: I think that was actually ice tea that I was slurping because I wanted to do a nice long exaggerated slurp on it. This was a lot of fun to do this episode, it really was. As we’ve talked about because it was such a departure from the norm. And I think a chance for the audience to just take a breath. AH: Yeah because it was about to get heavy. AC: Yeah and you kind of need that small gap to take a breath, reboot, get ready for… AH: And just have some fun with the characters. AC: Yeah. And see a different side of them too.

AH: Now I remember Brian, and fill me in if you recall this stuff too, but in the room we also played a lot with the distance between Haven and North Carolina. BM: Are you asking to insert an apology to people who live on the East coast? Because we make it seem like they can get around a lot faster. The distance between coastal Maine and the outer banks of North Carolina, that’s … you so could not do that in a single day. AC: I’ve driven it. And it’s not a fast drive. There was also debate about how to pronounce Manteo *tries out different possibilities* AH: That’s right. But we had experts in the room, thankfully. AC: Yeah. But there were a few takes where the wrong pronunciation still snuck in. AH: And the other one was Croatoan that we had in this episode as well. Where there was a pronunciation issue. BM: That’s right. It’s a pretty popular local legend down in that part of the world, that’s where I’m from. I had not know that it was … There was a lot of people working on the show who didn’t really know about it. AH: I had not heard about it. And I remember being in the room and everyone talking about it as if it was something everyone should know about. And I think I pretended for the first hour and then opened up the Wikipedia … Ah, I see. BM: We were shooting the last episode before this one, when Croatoan first gets named dropped, when Sleepy Hollow had an episode where they also dealt with it. They go to the lost colony and everything else, and we all slapped our foreheads because we thought we were so clever. So that was very upsetting.

[As Duke and Nathan are talking while Mara is asleep] AC: By the way; Lucas Bryant and those cheekbones. AH: *laughs* full stop. AC: I always bust his chops. AH: The fans love his cheekbones. AC: They do. You could … It’s like climbing a cliff, those cheekbones. Essentially my job, besides being Dwight, was trying to bust Lucas Bryant’s chops BM: It’s an important job. AC: It is, someone had to do it. AH: You guys’re from really close to each other, right? AC: Yeah, we … for the Americans we grew up about 20 miles apart. AH: That’s crazy. AC: Yeah. Unbeknownst to us. We didn’t know. So we obviously hit it off pretty quickly because we both watched Polka Dot Door growing up as a child. All the Canadians will be going whoop whoop. AH: Yeah, the Polka Dot Door! Polkaroo! AC: Polkaroo! *The two Adams start singing what I assume is the theme tune* AC: Casey and Finnegan. The Friendly Giant. The Friendly Giant made us both cry as a matter of fact. Being both sensitive souls, and creative souls as Lucas and I are, we cried during the music for The Friendly Giant. AH: I remember when he passed away, that was very sad. It was a great show. AC: Yeah. *another snippet of song*. There’s so many people right now going; What the hell is he talking about? While we’re on the subject i also loved the Hilarious House of Frankenstein. You’d like it Brian. AH: You would actually. That would be right up your alley. BM: You guys are speaking a different language. AC: Yes. It’s southern Ontarian. AH: Now you know how it feels when you mention Croatoan to a Canadian.

BM: I’m going to add one other comment here. Since we’re looking at Emily Rose as Audrey/Mara. She was one of the other reasons why we did this bodyswap episode. She in a sense for this entire season, got to do that. I think it’s a nice thing to be able to deliver to one of your actors that they (especially in the fifth season of a show) get to play a different character. And we sort of felt, almost a little bad that it was just her. And even the year before with the Lexie/Audrey of it all. And so I think emotionally we wanted to deliver a bodyswap two parter just so that you and Lucas and Eric got to do some of that too. We didn’t want her just to have all the fun. AC: Well it is fun to throw on a different skin after you’ve worn that skin for four or five years. But there’s something uncomfortable about that too, but it’s a nice challenge. And I know Emily had fun with it too. AH: Absolutely, she killed it. AC: Because Mara was so different, and so evil, and so vile. BM: And big, you know? AC: Yes. BM: And she did a great job. AC: Yes. And I know she had a lot of fun with it. And it’s interesting too, although also the challenge of how she was so evil - I think that was a part of the challenge. Because, you know Emily in having to take on this evil character had to say things that were just horrible. Like talking about Dwight’s daughter and all of those things, I know it bothered her. And to be able to step up to the plate and do it, there’s something to be said for that.

AH: And there’s a doughnut! How many doughnuts did you eat? AC: It was about four. And that was the one where I got so deep into it, I knew that ... BM: It’s not easy to get the perfect amount of schmeer. AC: Well that was the one where it was so deep and I was like, I’m going to have to do the rest of the scene with chocolate all over my face. *much laughing over Gloria and Dwight in their swapped bodies* BM: We should have just kept you guys. AC: I think Nathan slash Lucas had a really good time being the straight man for it as well. Because he was the straight man for their interactions a lot of the time. BM: We so wanted to send you guys off to the crime scene. But there was just going to be so many people in those scenes it would have just taken forever, schedule-wise. But we wanted to get you guys in on the action. We wanted it so bad but we couldn’t do it. AC: Well in the morgue we got into some of it, with the mitts fitting the gloves and feeling like she could punch through ceilings. BM: And we wanted her to … or you, but Gloria’s body … to have to chase after a perp, run him down, you know, like an action sequence. Or you have to punch somebody and not know how strong you are. There could be an entire show. AC: Well and then the interesting aspect is, does she know how to throw a punch? Or does Dwight’s body just automatically know how? And there as a performer you go, well which is it? AH: It’s a good question. BM: I think it’s the former, not the latter. I think she would know what to do. It’s a different brain in there. AC: Right? Because it’s a different brain but instinctively, like with the glasses Dwight doesn’t need them but Gloria thought she did so she squinted but then realised she didn’t need to. So I think there would still be a moment of … um BM: I think we just came up with the Haven spinoff by the way. You two swap again; can’t switch back; solve crimes. AH: I would watch that. AC: I could work with Jayne Eastwood for the rest of my life without a doubt. BM: But you have to be swapped with her. AC: Yes. BM: But, we also like you as Dwight so maybe, go back and forth. AC: Yep, but the majority of the time if I got to play that, that would be a whole lot of fun.

[As Gloria and Dwight are on the video call with Vince and Dave] BM: I imagine this was a tough scene to shoot because there was nothing on that screen, right? AC: Yeah, it’s an empty computer. AH: And they add it in in post AC: And your eyeline on the computer has to be right, and all of those - sometimes those technical things are the most difficult becuase you’re acting to nothing.

AC: What’s interesting too is to see how over the seasons and years how everyone has grown. And not just from a character perspective but from a personal perspective. AH: You get to grow up a bit as a family, it’s nice. We were just talking before we came in here about how much older everyone’s kids are getting and everything. AC: Yeah. And well I mean Emily, they had their son. Beth and I we had our daughter. Lucas and Kirsty’s daughter has grown. And just all of the families that have grown or have started since the beginning of this show, it’s pretty incredible. AH: And it’s always interesting when you look at a show that lasts this long, with the crew sometimes relationships have formed, or there are kids because of relationships that have formed, and it’s just amazing to see the community that grows up around a television show. AC: Yeah it always felt good walking on set too. Because there was just a sense of comfort to it.

AC: Jayne really played straight so well. Because playing that straight when you’re someone that’s usually so animated, it’s hard. And she pulled it off, she really restrained her natural kind of … I guess her natural charisma.

[As Duke and Nathan are swapping bodies] AH: And I’m sure everyone at home was just waiting for this to happen. It just had to at some point. AC: And then at this particular moment as well. [As Duke in Nathan’s body realises he can’t feel] AH: And just a little tease of what’s to come with the Troubles not transferring with the soul. AC: This was a really interesting swap to watch, because Eric, Duke, has the same job as Jayne and Gloria had, in that Nathan is a very reserved character. So pulling back, because Duke is very animated, as you’ll see from Lucas’s portrayal of Duke, so it was pretty hilarious. On both sides. AC: The hands, that was what I really noticed. AH: The pointing is my favourite. AC: Yes, and the hands on the hips. And I know for Lucas that was a lot of fun. Because Nathan is a very reserved, stoic, contained character. And Duke is the opposite of that. BM: Yeah. Well, Lucas Bryant is also the opposite of that. AC: Yeah. Yes, Lucas is a complete moron *laughter*, so the fact that he gets to be more animated is much closer to his actual personality. It also goes to show that having acted and worked with someone for that long, how much you just inherently pick up from just spending so much time together as those characters. Even just those things like the delivery … AH: The delivery, the timing. And this was a good idea to have this early conversation between the two of them, just so that you can really see the difference. AC: Yeah, it was fun. And this was actually fun at the table read too. It was also really interesting because you get so used to seeing Duke as Duke, or Eric as Duke and Lucas as Nathan, it was interesting to see them play completely different characters. Like, there were times when I would go out to dinner with some of the crew and they’d see me without the bullet proof vest and be really surprised - because you get so used to it. You know, like; wow you wear real clothes, you don’t walk around in a bullet proof vest, I forgot. So when you inhabit those characters for so long it’s interesting to see all of that get flipped on it’s head. How about that orange house back there by the way? [Behind Eric’s head outside Audrey’s apartment]. AH: It’s kind of a scene stealer. AC: Yeah, right? That’s one of the great things about Nova Scotia too. You’ll have a purple house with seafoam green shutters. Which on paper sounds disgusting, but it works. BM: They pull it off. That house, we actually finally shot outside of it in …. Hmmm I don’t remember. AC: You don’t remember?! *surprised noises from both Adams* Woah. Hold on, record scratch. BM: Was it season three, at some point?

[As Vince in Dave’s body starts to get affected by the thinny] AC: I love that part! Because Vince does that! He would kind of do the tasmanian devil spin to get his mouth going sometimes, and John picked up on that. These two were so needed to the show. And always brought a sense of levity, but every time they popped up on screen I would smile.

AH: Well, thank you for listening and we’re going to be right back doing 506.

#it might not be the most promising start talking about pancakes #but i found this one really interesting #recommended reading if you've ever wondered how Adam Copeland felt about playing Gloria #short version? he absolutely loved it #haven syfy #haven dvd commentaries #5.05 - the old switcheroo I

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jazzviewswithcjshearn · 5 years ago

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Gig Review: The David Matthews Trio at Birdland, NYC Wednesday August 14, 2019

David Matthews Trio at Birdland Jazz Club: August 14, 2019

David Matthews: piano; Eddie Gomez: acoustic bass; Steve Gadd: drums.

Set 1: SIR, Come Rain Or Come Shine, Comin’ Home Baby, Round Midnight, Get Over It, A Felicidade. The Meaning Of the Blues, Funky Groove, I Love You.

Set 2: Identical to above.

Power trio. That is the word to describe the heady threesome of pianist/arranger David Matthews, known for his work with James Brown and staff arranger at CTI Records from 1975-1978, bassist Eddie Gomez, and the man who changed the game in rock, pop, and jazz drumming, the legendary Steve Gadd. The group entertained a packed house at Birdland on Wednesday, August 14th, 2019, the second night of a week long engagement. Very rarely do all star trios deliver on the level exhibited this evening. With nearly 5,000 recordings (!) shared between the three men, it's a shining example of how musicians both known for making music regardless of stylistic concern can offer the precision from years honed in the studios to create engaging, chance taking performances in the moment.

David Matthews (not to be confused with Santana keyboardist David K. Matthews, or jam band idol Dave Matthews) may have been the least known of the three, but his work is well known and regarded among the die hard music public. Born in Sonora Kentucky, his mother was a piano teacher, his father a minister, and the eventual keyboardist grew up playing trumpet, and French horn. The young Matthews had a casual interest in piano fascinated by harmony however due to a birth defect, his right hand and leg never developed fully and realized years later his natural aptitude for the instrument. He gained fame for being James Brown's arranger during 1970-74, and replaced Bob James as staff arranger at CTI, where he scored a massive hit with an adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune in 1978. For the past six years, Matthews has resided in Japan where he has garnered massive success on his own as a film composer, and musician, leading the Manhattan Jazz Quintet from the mid 80's that also included Gomez and Gadd. Among the many credits Matthews has garnered; composing the music for the classic anime Battle Ship Yamato, as well as for commercials and film.

What was most remarkable was how in tune the trio was with each other. Very clearly many eyes in the room (yours truly included) were there for Gadd, because seeing him in a jazz club setting is a rarity. The drummer spent most of the evening playing brushes, and the dynamic control was something to behold. Even with brushes, his sound filled the room. As the first set kicked off shortly after 8:30, Matthews gingerly made his way to the piano sat down and commenced with “SIR” the title track of their new album. His right hand lay supine on the keys, fingers vertically resting against the ebony near the Yamaha inscription occasionally only accenting chords with a pinky or thumb. His left hand tore into it's sinewy funk, darting blues drenched phrases. Gomez followed suit with a solo equally in the cut as it was acrobatic. Gadd took the final solo turning the club into a masters' level clinic in groove, his phrases perfectly shaped dashing off cross sticked signature para diddles with the flair of a daredevil. The jovial Matthews remarked between tunes what a pleasure it was to play in New York with two fantastic musicians, and that he was so used to addressing audiences in Japanese it felt odd to speak English! He has toured the country countless times, before moving there in the past half decade.

As they came down to a simmer for the classic standard “Come Rain or Come Shine”, the pianist dove into the tune's rich harmonic possibilities underneath the drummer's pillowy brushes. Mel Torme's “Comin' Home Baby” offered the chance to get deep in the funk once more, both sets' had versions just as engaging, but in the second Matthews' debt to the gospel tradition really showed with some rolling Bobby Timmons like figures. The true highlight of the first set was a composition the pianist explained was something he came up with while watching videos of Gadd on Youtube and simply titled it “Funky Groove”. Not only did Gomez have an explosive solo, showcasing his guitaristic post Scott LaFaro technique, but Gadd once again demonstrated why he inspired several generations of drummers as an innovator: the relative brevity of his solo summoned an entire drum corp, completely in the pocket-- everything completely meaningful.

Nuance was something all three men shared, the joy of making music. Hearing Gomez live is a much different experience compared to on record. His tone is much fuller and bigger in person, and no matter how dazzling his solos became, it was all in service of the music. The bassist was well featured on “Round Midnight”, richly leaning into every phrase. The famous interlude being inserted only at the close of the piece. Gadd's gargantuan swing with sticks on Cole Porter's chestnut “I Love You” brought things to a satisfying close, his endlessly inventive solo brought forth a roar from the crowd. Every note Matthews played was filled with meaning, with joy and gratitude for life. The amount of resourcefulness beyond limitation was especially inspiring, specifically from the vantage point of a fellow disabled person who has similar right hand limitations and also primarily uses their left hand to achieve tasks. This is a band not to be missed.

Photo credit (c) Mayumi Nashida.

#david matthews jazz #eddie gomez #steve gadd #drums

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