BERNARD SAMUELS TRIO AT NOMAD JAZZ BAR

This past Friday, May 3rd, I was fortunate to catch a 90-minute set by a lively regional jazz group: the Bernard Samuels Trio. Performing for a late-night crowd at Wilmington’s Nomad Jazz Bar, the group gave what I will describe as a dramatic performance.

 In nimble style, the trio made a statement with their approach to onstage performance. The group, along with a string of special guests, presented an inward-looking act that drew its inspiration from a host of sources including Southern Gospel and Chicago blues.

Marshaled by the composed and athletic Bernard Samuels on the piano, the speed with which the band dictated the volatile series of chord progressions proved an elegant interpretation of ’40s bop. Getting into this bygone sub-genre in animated fashion, the group jumped into a wild rendition of the Bronislau Kaper classic, “On Green Dolphin Street.” Well-syncopated and arrayed with the skillful use of poly-rhythms by drummer Mike Carty, the speedy and tom-tom-driven iteration of this iconic standard came off as impressive and organic.

The group also did an excellent job of incorporating the soulful vocals of singer George D. Johnson Jr. Alternating between rapid solo pieces glued together by the ascending bass lines of Kenny Kellem, Samuels didn’t hesitate to let Johnson interlace his self-examining brand of Gospel with the primal sound projected by the rest of the collective. Echoing the famous lyrics from the Coltrane modal classic, “A Love Supreme,” the group burst into a medley of traditional Gospel tunes that included a trumpet solo courtesy of James Dixon.

Gliding on the wake of Kellem’s bass lines, Dixon’s trumpet swooned as it fired a hail of atonality that exploded in violent and rapid bursts of impressive chromatics. The way Dixon and Samuels rode around the blues-driven turnarounds, was a trademark of the group’s depth and substance, as was the sizzling hybrid of spiritual submission and carnal wantonness.

Samuels and Company proved the right candidates for wrapping up a night dedicated to artistic integrity and class. Combining the sounds of New York bop with those of Southern Gospel, the trio and guests signed off with a mild-tempered swing built on the same quiet depth and grace that emanated from the band all night.