by Mike Engle
Upon entering the Jazz Standard last Sunday night, with its classy décor and superior acoustics, it was easy to see how this basement room on East 27th Street has established itself as one of NYC's best clubs over the past 10 years. As part of their ongoing tenth anniversary celebration, many of the venue's most popular musicians have been scheduled for weekend-long engagements.
According to saxophonist Steve Wilson, his Superband is named after "'Super Bad,' in the James Brown sense of the term." The all-star group is entirely deserving of its boastful name: alongside Wilson was a group of his favorite rhythm section players: former Dave Holland colleague Billy Kilson on drums, childhood friend and current SNL band member James Genus on bass, and critically-acclaimed pianist Patrice Rushen.
The group played masterful originals and standards alike, from Thelonious Monk's "I Mean You" and Duke Ellington's "In a Sentimental Mood," to Wilson's "And Eye You" (which he dedicated to Billy Childs) and Rushen's "Shorty's Portion." They also spanned a wide variety of sonic palettes: not only did Wilson play alto and soprano saxophones, but Rushen alternated between the house Steinway grand and her own electric keyboard, and Genus even picked up an electric bass for one song. Meanwhile, Kilson's masterful drumming provided an awesome combination of technical flair and rock-solid support, living up to his Spoonerism nickname, "Killy Bilson."
The electricity in the room was palpable – as was Wilson's enthusiasm, thanking the audience more than once for our interest and support, as well as the Jazz Standard staff for "maintaining one of the best – and one of my favorite – places to play live jazz in the city." For me, at least, the feeling was mutual.