Keep Your Friends Close: Joe Fonda Quartet Plays Northampton

Bassist Joe Fonda is a working jazz musician, defined as someone who earns most of their income from gigging. For all but a chosen few, that’s a tough row to hoe. A handful are gainfully employed on Broadway, late-night TV, in military bands and a variety of commercial work; a small-percentage have achieved commercial success. But Joe Fonda is an independent contractor, chasing down gigs where ever they appear. Because he brings good energy and virtuosity to every musical situation, because he is open minded and open hearted, and because he is flexible and has a ton of experience, he is constantly working and often gets invited back.

Joe Fonda made his latest visit to the Pioneer Valley on April 18, when he brought his Quartet to the Parlor Room in Northampton. Alongside Kenny Wessel, guitar, Sam Bardfeld, violin, and Rob Garcia, drums, Fonda shared his joy of music making with 70 lucky souls.

This was Fonda’s 11th Jazz Shares appearance, and his first as an outright leader. (He has co-led performances by the NU Band, Conference Call, New Origin Trio and the Satako Fujii/Joe Fonda Duo.) He keeps getting the return call because he’s deeply musical, never fails to lift the bandstand, and has become a friend.

The 90-minute set was filled with Fonda originals that gave the band room to swing and fully express themselves as mature musicians. He told me that for some time he has wanted to write compositions “in time” and work them out with a band of his choosing. This Quartet fulfills that wish. The band knew the material from the inside out and nailed the exacting heads and endings. They soloed with distinction and created a group sound that was a thing.

Fonda is a long-time fan of keyboardist and bandleader Joe Zawinul. “Syndicate” was inspired by the great fusionist and provided Fonda the opportunity to expand his technique by playing endless series of 16th notes designed for the electric bass on its bigger acoustic cousin. Fonda’s funky bass line, clearly heard and articulated, was one of the evening’s many highlights.

Another memorable moment came when Wessel saved the day by catching Fonda’s bass after he lost control of it. Fonda will occasionally rake his strings, then shake his instrument to increase its resonance. As he was jiggling, the neck slipped from his hand, and Wessel, who was situated slightly in front of the leader, averted catastrophe with a nice grab. The crowd gasped, the band laughed, and hardly a beat was missed.

When not rescuing errant instruments, Kenny Wessel was creating conditions for the band to thrive. His mood-creating guitar fills offered delicate curlicues and massive sound washes, and his solos and twining statements with Bardfeld were expressive and bold. On the groove oriented pieces, he brought to bear his 12 years of experience with Ornette Coleman’s free-funk juggernaut, Prime Time. He and Fonda are touring Europe this fall with Thomas Heberer and Lou Grossi as the NU Band.

Like Fonda and Wessel, Sam Bardfeld is a graduate of Wesleyan University, known for their strong music focus. The violinist has gone on to perform and record with a dizzying array of musicians, including: Bruce Springsteen, Willie Colon, Anthony Braxton, Red Clay Ramblers and Steve Bernstein. In his Downbeat review of Bardfeld’s The Great Enthusiasms (Kris Davis, Michael Sarin), Bill Milkowski characterized Bardfeld’s playing as “combining a touch of Stuff Smith's playfulness with a Charles Ives aesthetic.” An accurate summation. Bardfeld made a key intervention during soundcheck, when he suggested that he move to the other side of the stage, away from the guitar. That allowed for proper sound separation and a satisfying listening experience.

I wish I had read Rob Garcia’s bio before he arrived, so I could have talked to him about his role in creating a thriving, community-based Brooklyn jazz scene through Connection Works, Brooklyn Jazz Underground and the Douglass St. Music Collective. I would have also liked to ask him about being an ordained minister and his holistic healing practice. Looking forward to next time. Garcia kept the Quartet tight all night. He read down meaty compositions with lots of tempo shifts and mood changes, all while propelling the band higher and higher. He gifted me his latest recording, his 10th as a leader, Works, (Michel Gentile, Daniel Kelly), which sounds fantastic.

Because he has spent much of his 40 year career engaging with some of the world’s fiercest improvisors, Joe Fonda has been typecast as an avant-guardist. So it was great to hear this crowd pleasing Quartet play “in the pocket” for much of the evening. We responded to the music because everything about it was life affirming. A number of people, including members of the band, encouraged Fonda to record this project. Perhaps another visit is in the offing.