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Check out Larry’s latest live performance review by Dan Bilawsky of All About Jazz. And take a listen to a clip from the show!
From Jazz at Kitano, NYC on Saturday, November 21, 2015.
Larry Fuller Trio at Jazz at Kitano
Published:
Jazz at Kitano
New York, NY
November 22, 2015While jazz is a music founded and fed on innovation, it’s also an art form steeped in tradition, forwarded through the passing of the torch to the next generation(s) in order to keep the life force of the music in good and capable hands. That fact was never as obvious as it was during Larry Fuller’s appearance at Jazz at Kitano on a crisp autumn evening. The fifty-year-old pianist—the last person to man the eighty-eights in bassist Ray Brown‘s trio—showed that he’s upholding his former employer’s vision, swinging with gusto and seducing with heartfelt balladry. He also made clear that he’s following Brown’s lead via his adoption of bandstand mentorship tactics, sharing his hard-earned knowledge with two rising star rhythm players—bassist-vocalist Katie Thiroux and drummer Matt Witek.
Album will be released on September 16, 2014
SEE WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING:
“Whether playing rapid-fire, intricate passages or subtly interpreting a tender ballad, Fuller is always totally in command and engaging.” — JazzTimes, November 2014
http://jazztimes.com/community/articles/146879-larry-fuller-larry-fuller
“Here’s the thing about Larry Fuller–he’s not just a stellar straight-ahead jazz pianist. He’s also one of those guys who acts as a sort of walking encyclopedia of jazz styles, shifting without apparent effort from fleet-fingered bebop to stride and boogie-woogie approaches.” — CD Hot List, September 2014
http://cdhotlist.com/2014/09/01/september-2014/
“Ray Brown may be gone, but the legacy of his trio is safe in the hands of people like Larry Fuller.” — All About Jazz, August 2014
“The self-titled CD from pianist Larry Fuller…is simply marvelous….For fans of swinging mainstream piano, Larry Fuller’s self-titled CD comes highly recommended.” — Audiophile Audition, August 2014
http://audaud.com/2014/08/larry-fuller-capri-records/
“Larry Fuller swings like a beast!” — Bop-N-Jazz, August 2014
http://www.criticaljazz.com/2014/08/larry-fuller-capri-2014.html
“An exceptionally talented pianist…Larry’s deft and always imaginative solos build upon a repertoire of the best of popular music.” — Jazz Mostly, August 2014
http://jazzmostly.com/jazz-cd-reviews-september-2014
“No wonder Ray Brown liked playing with him so much at the end of his life.” — Buffalo News, August 2014
http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/listening-post-brief-reviews-of-select-releases-20140815
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/blogs/sounddiego/A-Tale-of-Two-Trios-272940281.html
A Tale of Two Trios
Chase Morrin and Larry Fuller lead very different units.
By Robert Bush | Saturday, Aug 30, 2014 | Updated 12:59 PM PDT
(L-R) Matt Witek, Katie Thiroux, Larry Fuller. Photo by Jon Whitledge
The Chase Morrin Trio: The ASCAP-award-winning piano prodigy Chase Morrin was back in town (he is attending both Harvard and the New England Conservatory) to celebrate his 21st birthday with a concert at Dizzy’s, accompanied by bassist Justin Grinnell and drummer Charles Weller.
Hunched over the piano, with his ear parallel to the keys, Morrin began “The Pintacree Ferryman,” by creating layers of straight-eighth diatonic harmonies as Grinnell charted an independent course over the shimmer of Weller’s cymbals. Hyper-melodic pastel colors also dominated “Through the Echo,” while classical flourishes dotted the landscape of “The Little Pear,” which also served as a launching pad for a fleet, probing bass solo.
In an evening characterized by Morrin’s originals, the excitement quotient didn’t really crank up until the trio launched into the flamenco groove of Chick Corea’s “What Was,” where Weller’s insistent cross-stick jabs and uppercuts egged the young pianist into his most animated work of the evening. Grinnell then proceeded to steal the show with limber filigree. Morrin’s got chops galore, challenging compositional ideas, and a rich touch at the piano. At this stage in his development – a little more emphasis on risk-taking and tension-building could catapult him to the next level.
The Larry Fuller Trio: The very next night, NYC pianist Larry Fuller dropped into the Pacific Beach venue with an entirely different aesthetic. Years of experience in the bebop ethos (the 49-year-old Fuller was the last pianist in bass-legend Ray Brown’s band) and a repertoire heavy on standards and jazz classics led to a night of heavy, ebullient swing.
Fronting a crack unit comprised of bassist Katie Thiroux and drummer Matt Witek, Fuller came out swinging for the fences on Cole Porter’s “At Long Last Love.” Over Thiroux’s thick, grounding pulse and the feather-dusting brushes of Witek, the pianist unleashed long bluesy phrases with startling velocity. Witek’s hands-on-skins percussion under languid arco primed Fuller for blues-rococo and deft block-chord ornamentation, and Thiroux kept her solo real with raw, primal chunks of meaty fundamentals delivered in synch with her own voice.
In a genius change of pace, Fuller’s long, two-chord improvisation began with swaths of Duke Ellington’s “Reflection in D,” and traversed into a neatly reimagined look into Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now,” which showcased his rather voluptuous sense of harmony. Then it was back to the races with Clifford Brown’s “Daahoud,” at a tempo somewhat shy of the speed-of-light but faster than one can legally travel on the Autobahn. The trio locked into a wicked 4/4 with gobs of unison accents as Fuller quoted “Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise,” before yielding to Witek’s stick-ignited fireworks.
Two nights, two piano trios, two different worlds – equally viable – that’s kinda the beauty of jazz.
Robert Bush is a freelance jazz writer who has been exploring the San Diego improvised music scene for more than 30 years.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 2014: TOLEDO BLADE
Fourth of July fireworks are behind us for another year, but, that won‘t keep jazz piano star Larry Fuller and his trio from lighting some musical explosions at 7 p.m. Friday in a benefit concert at Degage Jazz Cafe, 301 River Rd., Maumee.
Sponsored by the Toledo Jazz Orchestra with support from Jazz Spectrum 91, the evening promises to bring Toledoans the liveliest keyboard inventions from Fuller. He’s a Toledo native who has built a stellar reputation from coast to coast as a brilliant sideman who knows how to connect with his audience.
“I just like to swing and play and make people feel good,” said Fuller from his New York home during a recent interview with The Blade. “I think you can play jazz at a very high level but still have it accessible to an audience.”
Fuller, modest in person but aggressive at the keyboard, never forgets anyone who helped him along. He grew up during the heyday of Toledo’s own lively jazz scene, mentored by the late Floyd “Candy” Johnson.
In his early 20s, Fuller moved into long-term partnering with top performers, from singer Ernestine Anderson to bassist-bandleader Ray Brown to guitarist John Pizzarelli.
Now, he’s striking out on his own, ready to move from sideman status to greater visibility – and responsibility.
This concert is part of an Ohio-Michigan tour, a chance to take his career to the next rung on the ladder of success.
His discography is lengthy and star-studded. It includes three albums with Pizzarelli, five with Hamilton, several with Anderson, and more.
He’s especially proud of Easy Walker, his first title album, made during his years playing and touring with Brown and percussionist Jeff Hamilton.
Two album cuts are Fuller’s own compositions.
One, “Candy’s Blues,” is a tribute to the late Johnson, the internationally renowned saxophonist who retired to Toledo and taught in Spencer-Sharples schools. In the 1970s he started the All-City Jazz Ensemble, fertile ground for Toledo’s blossoming jazz talent.
Then, Fuller, one of five kids of a North End glass factory worker, was learning to play on a piano his older brother had hauled off the curb.
With determination and basic instruction, Fuller soon discovered ways to use 10 digits to bring 88 keys to life.
After winning the audition for Johnson’s group, while just into his teens, he also gained a talented mentor. Johnson was still in demand and shared some of that privileged view of the professional jazz world with young Fuller.
“Candy took me on my first gig,” said Fuller. “I was 14. I could play the standards.”
That relationship continued until Johnson died suddenly, just before Fuller’s entry into junior year at Central Catholic High School.
“To have that kind of mentor,” Fuller says, kick-started his career.
“After high school I played with the Murphys, and studied piano with Mark Kieswetter.” He became a regular at Rusty’s Jazz Cafe and started building a regional rep as a pianist who could really swing.
While on a gig at Ann Arbor’s popular Bird of Paradise nightclub, Fuller was discovered by Anderson.
“I was playing with a local rhythm section – the drummer was George Davidson – and we played three nights with Ernestine. She liked my playing so much she asked me to tour with her,” recalled Fuller.
Anderson was in her 60s; Fuller was 23. She was his ticket out of the Midwest.
“It was kind of like my first break in terms of busting out of the local scene,” he said.
“She liked the fact that I would swing when I play, could generate a certain rhythmic feel,” said Fuller. Through Anderson he met other top players and the rest is, well, history still being written by Fuller.
He’s readying his first album release since cutting the musical cord. Due around Sept. 1, the eponymous Larry Fuller, on the Capri label, also will feature drummer Greg Hutchinson (another graduate of Ray Brown University), and bassist Hassan Shakur, who worked with Duke Ellington.
In Toledo he’ll play with percussionist Pete Siers and bassist Paul Keller. They’re also booked into Kerrytown Concert House in Ann Arbor and Steinway Hall in Detroit.
he show is actually to be in Langley Hall, upstairs fromDegage, said Scott Potter, a longtime trumpeter with the TJO and a board member. “The hall can seat 120 and we hope to have a sell-out.” The concert timing was set to enable listeners to finish out their evening at Degage, where house music is always on hand to accompany fine dining.
Tickets are available through the Toledo Jazz Orchestra Website, thetoledojazzorchestra.org, or by calling Brian at 419-297-5972. Tickets are $25 at the door.
Post gig with the inimitable Jeff Hamilton, Christian McBride and Christoph Luty.
Recording my new CD with two incredible musicians Hassan Shakur (bassist for Monty Alexander and the Duke Ellington Orchestra) and Greg Hutchinson (drummer for Ray Brown, John Scofield, and many more).
In my hometown of Toledo, Ohio with the Art Tatum sculpture.
Larry with Tom Browkaw at The Carlyle.
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