On Saturday night at the Iridium in New York, Alan Hampton referred to his band of the night as his “dream band.” It was a dream band, consisting of immensely talented musicians – bassist Meshell Ndegeocello, drummer Mark Guiliana, and vocalist Gretchen Parlato. The entire first set in fact, had a dreamlike quality to it. This is perhaps unsurprising, given that Hampton’s musical material is largely ambient, pleasantly elusive and undeniably cerebral. His songs are well-articulated songs of the interior world.
Hampton is intensely musically active. He began his career as a jazz bassist, has worked in the studio and on the road with countless musicians, including Sufjan Stevens and Andrew Bird, and has released two solo albums, the most recent being 2014’s Origami for the Fire.
During Saturday night’s early set Hampton’s musicianship was apparent as he played multiple instruments on material from his own albums and that of Parlato’s as well. Also apparent was his compositional ability; songs like “Elevator Ride” and “It’s You” from Hampton’s recent release brought to light how well the songs stand on their own as songs of quality, songs that have the potential to be covered by a variety of musical artists and still maintain their basic excellence. They are at once jazzy, low-key and modern, while perpetuating a mysterious and unpredictable quality in their melodic routes.
One would be hard-pressed to imagine a better vocal pairing than that of Hampton and Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Gretchen Parlato. On songs such as “If it Was” and “Still,” it became apparent that the two voices were so very similar: subtle, soft-ish but piercingly audible and thus rendered powerful. They were full of the aforementioned “restraint,” representative of a controlled emotional climate that suggested much turbulence beneath the surface. At some moments during the song renditions, it seemed almost a struggle for Hampton and Parlato to get the notes and words out. It was not a technical struggle of course, just an implication of great might and the longing for a satisfying conveyance of authenticity. Parlato’s voice was at its best in her rendition of Jobim’s “Ela e Carioca,” which she covered on her debut self-titled album in 2005.
One would be hard-pressed also, to not watch drummer Mark Guiliana in any performance that he might be involved in. In approaching Hampton’s material, Guiliana knew just when and how to hold back in his drumming, doing a lot with a little, refusing to take over each song though it was clear that he could have. This was presumably an act of collaborative loyalty, given that restraint makes up an ample part of Hampton’s musical creed. Guiliana’s musical timing was ideal and his steady interaction with bassist Ndegeocello created a reliable foundation for each piece; both players rarely did what would have been sonically expectant to the listener’s ear.
Written by Jude Warne
Jude Warne earned her BA in Cinema Studies and Art History from New York University. She recently earned her MA at NYU’s Draper Program of Humanities and Social Thought, where her thesis focused on American characters dealing with disappointment in the works of Sherwood Anderson and Bruce Springsteen. She has written numerous reviews for The Vinyl District, Film Matters, Senses of Cinema, Journal of Popular Music & Society and Scope. She is also an In-the-Field writer at Film International and a content writer at CMUSE.