PAUL BEAUDRY & PATHWAYS - MESSENGERS OF JAZZ

     Paul Beaudry & Pathways are musicians on a mission. Part of the Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad tour. They spread the message of music and unification everywhere they go, imbibing and fusing music from the world and turning it into jazz, the classical music of the US, and share it with the world. Messengers of Jazz!

     And what a quartet they are! Piano, Saxophone, Bass and Drums; tight, close, full and empathetic, there are no side-men in this unit. Each musician is an integral part of the quartet; the leader, Paul Beaudry on Upright (double) bass, in complete command of the bass, playing it with great musicality, sometimes like a lead instrument, taking up the melody and improvising, otherwise, being the foundation, leading from the rear as it were.

     The drummer, Tony Jefferson, who also sings, more than keeps perfect time, he is a great technician, swinging, subtle and tasteful, an ideal accompanist, never imposing himself - yet on his solos –takes the music forward by being in exactly the right place and sound in the music. 

     The saxophone player, Tim Armacost, a versatile musician, played the tenor saxophone on all but one tune, and on that one, he played the soprano sax. Tim has a brilliant, hard-yet-shaded tone on the tenor sax, his playing fluent, organised, spontaneous and superbly controlled.

     Bennett Paster on piano plays music with complete conviction. As a Jazz pianist he was right up there at the top, playing with his mind and heart, playing transparent yet dense chords with his left hand and nimble fingered melodies with his right. An intelligent musician! But, ‘intelligence’ is the word that would describe all the musicians in the band - and the music they played was intelligent… with feeling!

     The band played a mix of their own music and standards - and tunes that they had picked up on their travels - giving those tunes a unique twist and swing, turning them into swinging jazz tunes.

   The band started with a composition by Paul Beaudry called 84/14. The bassist explained - 84/14 was his view/musical picture of New York City. 84/14 is a modal composition, based on a scale, like a raga in Indian classical music, and not on a sequence and structure of chords, that is why, though it was difficult to figure out in the beginning, was easy to access by the audience.  

   The next two compositions, ‘Blueslike’ and ‘Harmonium Mundy’, were by saxophonist Tim Armacost, and by Bennett Paster, the pianist, respectively. Tim Armacost and Bennett Paster are accomplished composers. Their tunes were well-designed and arranged and structured to showcase every instrument in the band.   

    A Brazilian touch was added with the song ‘O que é Amar’, by Johnny Alf, the Brazilian composer who as Paul explained, preceded Jobim.  The next song amused the Indian audience because Paul Beaudry & Pathways had reworked and turned into Jazz, a popular Hindi film song from the early seventies, ‘Yeh Dosti - Hum Nahi Thodenge…’. And what a work-out they gave it! Who would believe that the song could sound like that?! It was hot, creative and it was cooking! 

    ‘Brown Skin Girl’, a calypso from the Caribbean’s was next; this was Paul Beaudry’s bass outing. The whole melody was played on the bass. His fingers, like agile spiders, spinning out a web of rhythm and melody on the bass, conveying the joy of the tune; Paul was supported on percussion by Tony Jefferson; it was a virtuoso performance on the upright bass. 

     Tony Jefferson revealed his vocal ability on the song Billie’s Bounce, a Charlie Parker composition. He sang this difficult ‘vocalese’ of this Bebop tune with finesse, a beautiful voice and great vocal improvisation. He could be a full time singer! Of course it would be a great loss to the world of drums. Another great performance!

     The last song was called ‘Maria’, a composition from Surinam. This was also made into jazz even though it had started out as a Surinamese folk melody. Tim Armacost, it was nice to hear, played the Soprano sax on this tune.

     It was a privilege for us to hear Paul Beaudry & Pathways! They love jazz. They swing. They steam. They sizzle… and they link together music and experiences from all the countries that they visit. They are evangelists of unification and pluralism through jazz. 

For the Hyderabad Western Music Foundation - 26^th October 2011