JAZZ REVIEW : Explosive Henry Franklin Goes on the Attack

Bassist Henry Franklin’s Saturday night gig at the Overland Cafe is the kind of playing situation that most jazz musicians would covet. The room is cozy, the atmosphere is warm, and the musical menu calls for pure, straight-ahead, mainstream jazz.

Franklin, a veteran of bands ranging from Hugh Masakela to Archie Shepp, is working every Saturday in July with a series of different pianists. Last weekend’s featured performer was Cecilia Coleman, a recent winner of the Shelly Manne Memorial New Talent Award, and one of the many gifted young performers who are re-examining the resources of the be-bop style.

With little time for rehearsal, the set was structured on standards such as “I Hear a Rhapsody,” “But Not For Me,” “Autumn Leaves” and “Someday My Prince Will Come.” Despite the familiarity of the material, however, the interaction between the players--which clicked into place almost from the very first note--sparked new life from weary chord changes.

Much of Franklin’s work was strikingly reminiscent of Charles Mingus, especially in the explosiveness of his rhythmic attacks and the compositional character of his lines. His chorus on “If I Were a Bell” bristled with Mingus-like energy and drive. Coleman’s best attribute was the soaring quality of her melodic improvising, which rose and fell--especially during a soulful reading of “Every Time We Say Goodby”--with the urgency of a solitary horn.

Supporting and propelling the other players, Goldberg worked with a perfect blend of understatement and subtlety. In an era when brush work has become a virtual lost art for many drummers, he used his whisk-like implements for several vigorously articulate solos.

Franklin returns to the Overland Cafe on Saturday night with pianist Art Hillary as the showcased artist.