A trombonist takes the lead
Trombonist Michael Vlatkovich’s recordings are musical journeys. He writes and works in many different modes of ensemble expression: Pieces and passages may float weightlessly, roar like fire trucks through a busy intersection, or converge with layers of instrumental counterpoint. True to form, “missing C” on his latest CD, titled “ask 7,” slips into a New Orleans second-line rhythm, tapped into the funk zone by Chris Garcia’s tasty drums. Who says new music is austere and cold?
The quartet that Vlatkovich brings to the Open Gate Theatre series Sunday night reunites the rhythm section he regularly fielded in the 1990s at the Alligator Lounge in West Los Angeles and at L.A. Harbor College. Bassist Anders Swanson and drummer Chris Garcia had a tough tensile strength to their rhythm with flexibility that allowed for metric disembodiment. “If I don’t hear a part for myself,” Garcia noted in 2008, “I think it’s better to stop and listen, rather than just make noise.” Of the role the music affords him, Garcia said: “When I don’t play time, it allows me to hear the colors in the other instruments.”
Vlatkovich is known for his idiosyncratic compositions and subliminal band leading. Guitarist Tom McNalley, a longtime collaborator who rounds out the quartet, says: “He’s amazing at giving you all the information you need and nothing you don’t need. He lets you find your own way through the music.”
Albuquerque poet and broadcaster Mark Weber read on the “Elasticity” album of 2012. He sees Vlatkovich as an original who “plays honestly and immediately. He never repeats himself, never relies on a personal bag of tricks.”
Of his writing, Vlatkovich will only say that he hopes “it will inspire people to do something interesting and elevated. You have to leave it up to the players to make it happen.”
As with guitarist Nels Cline’s Alligator Lounge series, Vlatkovich has been a regular feature of twin brother Alex Cline’s Open Gate concerts, which celebrates 18 years this Sunday. Open Gate’s longevity, Vlatkovich believes, “is a testament to the fact that people want to play there. The audiences might not be big but they’re enthusiastic. I’ve never understood why the teachers at the colleges don’t encourage their students to come out more. Open Gate is an excellent opportunity to hear new things — some you’ll like and some you won’t.”
Saxophonist/composer Vinny Golia was getting his musical feet on the SoCal ground when he first heard Vlatkovich — leading an octet at the old Cellar Theatre on North Vermont. “I thought I had a handle on the new music that was being played here,” he says, amazement in his voice. “But this guy had an eight-foot elephant mute in his trombone! Everybody in the band was a musical eccentric and they were playing the music of an eccentric — it was unreal!”
When Golia eventually convened his ever-growing Large Ensemble, Vlatkovich was a first-round draft choice. “Once he’s in the section,” Golia contends, “it’s anchored. He brings a composer’s authenticity to the music and the band. He subtly organizes the brass section — that’s a third of the Ensemble. And when he plays, you know the music is going to go into other places.”
Like many local trombonists, Vlatkovich played in Latin bands for many years. As a result, he spoiled bandleaders like Golia. “I’d go to other cities,” Vinny recounts, “where there wasn’t a Latin scene, and the trombonists would look at my music and say, ‘You want me to play what — way up there — and hold it for how long?’ I found out that they don’t always have Mike’s iron chops.”
Having experienced some rare extended exchanges with free jazz avatar Ornette Coleman in New York City, McNalley considered relocating a few years ago. “I looked around at what I was hearing there,” the guitarist offers, “and none of it was as interesting as Michael’s music. So why would I want to give this up?”
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What: Open Gate Theatre Series, with trombonist Michael Vlatkovic, bassist Anders Swanson, drummer Chris Garcia and guitarist Tom McNalley.
Where: Center For the Arts, Eagle Rock, 2225 Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock.
When: Sunday, March 1, 7 p.m.
Admission: $10
Contact: (323) 226-1617, www.centerartseaglerock.org
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KIRK SILSBEE writes about jazz and culture for Marquee.