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Bottom’s Out were, likewise, there to entertain. Fonda filled walking bass lines with double time, double stops and subtle variations. His accompaniment was more interesting then his own soloing, even. As in the Fonda Stevens groups [→ FSG], or his duo with Anthony Braxton (recently reissued by the Portuguese label Clean Feed) [→ Discography], Fonda is always an inventive support man. The unusual instrumentation (Joe Daley on tuba, Claire Daly on baritone sax, Gebhard Ullman on bass clarinet, Michael Rabinowitz on bassoon and Gerry Hemingway on drums) wasn’t just for show: the bassoon got the best solo of the night, and Rabinowitz insisted on melody in the midst of a stellar, scratchy-improv encore.
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Reprinted with permission. Copyright © 2007 All About Jazz and Kurt Gottschalk.
Read Kurt Gottschalk's full festival report.
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Concert Reviews