Soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom brings her quartet to the Falcon in Marlboro on Thursday, July 2 at 7 p.m. It is hard to believe that many hot concerns in the world of jazz are still able to make their first Falcon appearance, so thick with legends has the venue been for years now, but here’s one.
Bloom gets lumped into the “post-bop” category, which is another way of saying that she partakes both of jazz tradition and its evergreen revolutionary imperative, though these are revolutions in harmony and in the subtle trade language of improvisational mode and thus often easy for the non-specialist to miss. Bloom can be thanked endlessly for helping rescue the delicate reediness of soprano sax – one of Coltrane’s weapons of choice – from the hands of the smooth jazzsters.
Bloom’s definitive early release was 1982’s Mighty Lights (2014, Enja), a quartet session featuring the eminent jazz intellectual and frequent Bloom collaborator Fred Hersh, the Ornette Coleman-vet rhythm section of the late Ed Blackwell on drums and the late bassist and folk/jazz champion Charlie Haden. But Bloom’s unfailingly articulate and elegant soloing was the star of the session. Bloom’s latest release is Sixteen Sunsets, a set heavy on lucid ballads and the quietly radical interpretation of standards.
Bloom’s current live quartet features Dominic Fallacaro on piano, Cameron Brown on bass and Lou Grassi on drums. There is no cover at the Falcon, but generous donation is encouraged. The Falcon is located at 1348 Route 9W in Marlboro. For more information, visit www.liveatthefalcon.com.
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