What happens to students after they learn the nuts and bolts of music studies and receive their bachelor’s degrees in jazz performance?
If the students are smart, they would put into practice all of the theory acquired at school and find a setting to develop musical relationships with other like-minded artists. To do this effectively, some would want to form a permanent duo or trio committed to different ways of playing music.
In 2006, three New School University alums — saxophonist Patrick Breiner, drummer Max Goldman and bass player Jeff Ratner — found an underground venue — literally — for rehearsing and began to develop a serious performing rapport and a no-nonsense repertoire. Their result — a tight jazz trio known as Basement Magic — now juggles gigs up and down the East Coast and will be performing two shows this Friday night at An die Musik.
“In this band, we play the standard jazz repertoire,” said Breiner. “We do a lot of Thelonious Monk, Nat King Cole and Chet Baker, songs like ‘Old Devil Moon’ and ‘Sweet Lorraine.’ And of course, we go off on our improvisation.”
Breiner reiterated the group’s adherence to the melodies that were written 50 years ago, before the three were born. But at the same time, he said, they work “to bring the last 50 years of freshness to the music and make it relevant to the time.”
As for all the background training, he and his fellow musicians agree that knowing the fundamentals make them better players. That, and life’s fast-mounting experiences to draw upon.
“Jazz is a style of music where mistakes are sometimes the best thing that can happen to you,” Breiner said. “[They] give you new ideas.”
Bassist Jeff Ratner’s take on the fundamentals is a bit more head-on, with a nod to the dynamics of the trio.
“There’s something to be said about the straight-ahead jazz standards,” he said. “It’s not easy to find people doing innovative things within a traditional idiom.”
Clearly, the magic in this former basement trio lies in their professional respect for the work, coupled with the breakaway feel of on-the-spot creative playing.
“Jazz isn’t a museum,” Ratner said. “If you’re not innovating, you’re not adding to the legacy of the medium.”
