Jazz Reviews : Violinist John Frigo Has the World on a String

John Frigo is not exactly what one might call a jazz rookie. At 71, he has had a long and illustrious career as a bass player in the Chicago studios. Yet, somehow, through all the years of making a “good living” as a steady, dependable professional musician, he has hardly ever gone public with his extraordinary skills as a jazz violinist.

Thursday evening, Frigo opened a four-night set at the Loa Club that should go a long way toward initiating the recognition he so richly deserves.

Working with the briskly interactive rhythm team of Ray Brown on bass and Herb Ellis on guitar, Frigo quickly established a dynamic rapport with his accompanists (he had, in fact, performed with Ellis nearly 40 years ago as the bassist in a group called Soft Winds).

Frigo’s soloing was--there’s no other way to describe it--masterful. Playing a familiar jazz repertoire that ranged from ballads (“In a Sentimental Mood”; “Sophisticated Lady”; “The Shadow of Your Smile”) to up-tempos (“Sweet Georgia Brown”; “Lady Be Good”) and blues, he made a convincing case for himself as the premiere violinist in contemporary jazz.

Attacking his instrument with fiery intensity, Frigo used every technique imaginable, from spiccato and collegno bowing to string muting, high harmonics and pizzicato. But every device, every off-the-wall method of producing sound, was directly at the service of his always-fascinating improvisations.

The most remarkable moment of the evening occurred halfway through “The Shadow of Your Smile,” when Frigo suddenly snapped a D string. Reacting with a slight gasp of amusement, but without missing a beat, he continued on as though nothing had happened.

A few moments later, Ellis, completely unaware of the mishap, kicked off a roller-coaster version of “Seven Come Eleven.” Frigo simply grinned and dug into the piece, easily covering its roving melody with a few finger adjustments, and knocking out a solo that was in no way limited by the fact that it was played on only three strings. One suspects that this remarkable musician could probably have delivered just as impressive a solo on two strings--perhaps even on one.

Frigo continues at the Loa Club through Sunday, with performances at 8:30 and 10:30.