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Story and Photos by James Walker, Jr.
After spending the past few weeks in Canada, New York and Pennsylvania, touring
with the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, masterful trumpeter Corey Wilkes returned
home to Chicago to front a couple of his own ensembles at Andy's Jazz Club on
February 5th and 6th. The eclectic Wilkes performs in and fronts a variety of
jazz genres , including his quintet that primarily plays "good old
fashioned" straight ahead jazz standards. Corey's "usual suspects" included Kevin
Nabors on saxophones, Junius Paul on acoustic bass, Makaya McCraven on drums and
maestro Robert "Baabe" Irving III on piano.
(The Isiah Spencer group with Ben Paterson on organ ,
Chris McBride on sax, Marquis Hill on trumpet and Isiah on drums preceded
Wilkes with a excellent set.)
These guys have been playing so well together for several years and can fire up
an audience even without Mr. Wilkes. That was the case on Saturday night as the
leader arrived a few minutes late for the 9:30 gig. In his absence, Kevin led
the group in "Inner Urge" and Thelonious Monk's "Evidence." Wilkes arrived in
the middle of "Evidence" and calmly approached the bandstand, opened his case ,
and without missing a beat, leaped right in for the first of his many
exceptional extended solos. Without any warm up, he began passionate playing,
including his patented" triple ripple" note action.
One constant with all of Wilkes groups is the opportunity for each ensemble
member to share in the spotlight with extended solos that showcases their
skills. Maestro Irving is always such a thoughtful pianist and goes about his
business in such a calm manner. He had several highlight moments, but none more
meaningful than his lead on Horace Silver's mid-tempo "Nica's Dream." McCraven
distinguished himself on this number with Wilkes and Nabors alternating between
McCraven's solo.
What's a set without a Wayne Shorter composition? "Fe, Fi, Fo , Fom" featured
bassist Junius Paul. The gifted Paul , working out on the upright this
night,introduced this number alone and acted as a catalyst for his impressive
band mates. Although he noted for his fast, bright trumpet flourishes, leader
Wilkes produced sweet, serene, sounds with his muted horn on this number.
Other highlights of the evening included guest drummer Charles "Rick" Heath"s
sterling drumming on "Ping Pong" . Heath displays such a smooth stroke on the
skins unlike any other drummer. His rapid fire action reveals melodic ingenuity
which seems to whip up an interactive whirlwind behind him.
The night concluded with a couple of numbers from rising star vocalist Milton
Suggs. Milton has a beautiful silky smooth voice and wowed the boisterous
Andy's crowd with a cute bluesy song entitled "Rocks in My Bed." The audience
loved it. Finally, Milton concluded the evening with a sparkling vocal version
of "No Greater Love." This young man will be heard from in the future.
Welcome back CDub, and continue favoring Chicago with your golden horn!!
Andy's, one of Chicago's premier jazz club, continues to provide some of the
finest music seven days a week. Check out their website at www.andysjazzclub.com
for a detailed listing of events.
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