Feb. 07--As birthday parties go, this was about as good as it gets: a capacity crowd, an array of superb musicians and an unmistakable sense of occasion.
If anyone wondered how Chicago feels about blues-and-boogie pianist Erwin Helfer, the answer was apparent during the first of two sold-out shows Saturday evening at the Old Town School of Folk Music's Szold Music Dance Hall. The ovations were huge (and often standing), the singalongs robust and the encomiums richly deserved.
"Don't make me feel so good," Helfer said early in the night, when the avalanche of praise had just begun. "I won't be able to play."
No worries there, for Helfer -- celebrating his recent 80th birthday -- sounded just as he did last year and the year before and, really, the decades before that. Always more musician than virtuoso, Helfer didn't have to attain great velocity or produce thunderous crescendos at the piano. That never has been his stock in trade.
Instead, he played vintage blues, old-school boogie and standard jazz tunes in straightforward fashion, cutting to the essence of melody lines and dressing them up a bit with the occasional right-hand flourish. As always, Helfer chose his notes carefully, giving each the depth of sound and roundness of tone it deserved. Nothing was thrown away; every pitch mattered.
The most meaningful music came last, when Helfer played alone, offering a beautifully crafted version of Avery Parrish's historic "After Hours." Here was the essence of Helfer's art, his phrases unhurried and allowed to breathe, his tone more golden than one might have thought a humble upright could yield. When he occasionally played ornate lines in his right hand, he evoked not only a long tradition of Chicago blues pianism but also referenced the nocturnes of Frederic Chopin. Helfer's knowledge of music, in other words, obviously encompasses not only sounds invented in his hometown but also their classical forebears.
Through most of the show, though, Helfer shared the stage with longtime colleagues, to striking effect. In Jelly Roll Morton's "Sweet Substitute," Helfer's softly stated opening captured the distinctive rhythmic lilt of the tune, setting the stage for raspy, blues-drenched oration from tenor saxophonist John Brumbach (bassist Lou Marini's lyrical bowed solo suited the mood).
When singer Katherine Davis appeared, the intensity level shot up a few thousand degrees, her blues-shout approach to "On the Sunny Side of the Street" volcanic in scale and impact. This had a palpable effect on the other musicians, Helfer bringing added bounce to his touch and Brumbach breathing fire on saxophone.
Few musicians have worked more closely with Helfer than Barrelhouse Chuck, a Chicago pianist who clearly has learned a great deal from the master but conjures more sonic power and technical bravura at the instrument. He proved it in solo performances of several tunes by Leroy Carr, combining all-over-the-keyboard pianism with lamenting vocals.
When Helfer and Chuck played piano four hands, they generated enough sound and rhythmic thrust to suggest three pianists at work. And when Rev. Dwayne R. Mason joined the fray -- three men addressing the keyboard at once -- the barriers that allegedly separate blues, gospel and jazz were jubilantly obliterated.
Now that's how to celebrate an 80th.
Jazz Record Mart update
The Jazz Record Mart, which owner Bob Koester put up for sale late last month, remains in play.
"Several parties have expressed interest in the business," says Koester, whose famous store at 27 E. Illinois St. attracts an international clientele.
"We don't know when we'll be moving or closing. If I can't sell it, I will move."
In January, Koester told the Tribune that a hike in rent was forcing him to put the business on the market.
Howard Reich is a Tribune critic.
hreich@tribpub.com
