By George W. Harris (Reprinted from jazzweekly.com)
As part of the Jazz Bakery’s "moveable feast," or as Nathan Detroit used to call “longest established permanent floating crap game in LA” Ruth Price has now started using Disney’s acoustically perfect Redcat Theatre to host her musical presentations. This evening, she sponsored LA’s own Billy Childs, who has put together a uniquely successful chamber jazz ensemble that mixes the best of classical and modern sounds.
The core sextet of Childs leading the impressive congregants Larry Koonse/g, “Smitty” Smith/dr, Bob Sheppard/reeds, Hamilton Price/b and Carol Robbins/harp delivered music from Childs latest flowing and panoramic album Autumn: In Moving Pictures. The band graced “Waltz For Debby,” by emphasizing colors and dynamics that brought intriguing insights to this chestnut. The duo of Childs with the gentle and romantic guitar of Koonse delivered an exquisitely impressionistic “Red Wheel Barrow” that felt like a conversation between long term friends.
The Eclipse String Quartet joined the stage for the remainder of the set, adding a touch of Late Beethoven and early Bartok to to tunes like the panoramic and pulsating “The Man Chasing The Horizon” and the funky and flowing “The Path Among The Trees.” The former had the trio of Childs, Smith and Price weave in and out of the ferocious string quartet, with Sheppard’s soprano adding penetrating light through the forest of sound. The latter had Smith’s impeccably nimble drumming bring the band up and down like a collection of crashing waves, splashing as they’d hit the Malibu shore, with Childs’ boogie boarding piano riding the crest like a Hawaiian vet. The thrilling mix of ensemble energy and virtuosic soloing made the whole audience wish for more, and wish even more for Ms. Price to find a permanent home for her music and its fans.