The Siné Qua Non Quintet consist of L-R: Steel Pan Instrumentalist Victor Provost, Drummer Mark Prince, Woodwind Instrumentalist Lyle Link, Bass and Bandleader Michael Bowie, and Percussionist EKendra Das.
By Danny R. Johnson
WASHINGTON, DC – Michael Bowie, the Washington, DC based founder and bandleader of the successful five member quintet Siné Qua Non, completed a rousing and thrilling March 14, 2014 performance at DC’s famous Bohemian Caverns Jazz Club with a unique and distinctively polished powerhouse sounds of World Music mixed with jazz, funk, Brazilian, Afro-Cuban and African.
The group entertained the sold-out and standing room crowd with some beautiful selections from its latest CD titled Simple Pleasures. Bowie had all-hands on deck with a talented group of musicians consisting of Ekendra Das – percussion, Lyle Link– woodwind, Mark Prince – drums, Victor Provost – steel pan, with Bowie on electric bass guitar and double bass.
Rarely do you hear a live ensemble that quickens your pulse and elicits a smile of anticipation from the playing of the first note – this is what the crowd got when Siné Qua Non opened the set from the opening bars of the classic tune Speak Low, written by Kurt Will. In this tune, Bowie is seductively low-key on double bass while spotlighting the multi-saxophonist Lyle Link, who admirably displayed himself as a remarkable technician, altissimo virtuoso and creative musician. Lyle has played with artists Patti Austin, Christian McBride, Larry Willis, George Duke, Curtis Lundy and Ralph Peterson, to name a few.
The Speak Low selection provided an excellent cross-section of Lyle’s saxophonist talents. For example, there were blistering sax versions with bass and drums, which were offset by Lyle’s tranquil and reflective sax sounds. The selection had many sides and brilliant arrangements by Bowie that featured a moving improvised solo spotlight between steel pan expert Victor Provost and bass man Bowie to effectively complement Lyle’s gentle fade out at the end. The selection ends with the steel pan ringing wondrously with the rest of the ensemble.
SIMPLE PLEASURES CD COVER PHOTO CREDIT: Travis Vaughn Photography
Listening to the Simple Pleasures CD and listening to Bowie’s Siné Qua Non Quintet perform live proves that Michael Bowie is not shy from stepping outside the musical idiom of traditional jazz and trying something exceptional. Bowie is to be commended for the bold discipline of blending and interacting with a steel pan instrument, which is very rare in any jazz ensemble these days. It is so refreshing and rewarding to see the pursuit of distinctively unique and impeccable musicians with a common goal working in close proximity to one another, thereby, fulfilling Bowie’s objective to create and perform compositions and recordings which exemplify the ensemble-oriented focus and sensibility.
My favorite selection of the evening was the Beautiful Land piece, an original composition written by Bowie, which can also be found on the Simple Pleasures CD. At the Bohemian Caverns performance you have the quintet rendering a superb performance, especially the excellent percussions solo from Ekendra Das. The CD provides a much better flavor of this piece more so than the live version. In the CD version you have percussionist Sam Turner conducting an extraordinarily difficult feat by blending all the elements of Afro-Cuban, Brazilian and African sound into a magnificent unison.
What makes this selection so unique is how Bowie arranged the piece to flow effortlessly and smoothly into the Qumba track, with its slow and graceful beat in which you can hear the drums and percussions interweave around each other; and without skipping a beat — there is the gorgeous chant from Qumba in which different solo leads are answered by the chorus, evoking a powerful African feel from the homeland!
Michael Bowie’s special quality comes from his versatility both as an instrumentalist and as a purveyor of diverse musical styles and settings. The bass is his main instrument, but he is astute in various musical idioms he learned from the Masters such as bassist Keter Betts and guitarist George Benson.
The Simple Pleasures CD clearly highlights Bowie’s smooth and jagged edged trajectory interpretation of the melodic lines of World Music while blending a relentless linearity and a slightly harder, robust tone with a distinctly more modern edge — has brought together old and new in a highly individualized way that is distinctively Siné Qua Non.
For additional information on the group and how to purchase a copy of the Simple Pleasures CD, check out their cool website at: http://www.sinequanonband.com/
Danny R. Johnson is San Diego County News’ Jazz and Pop Music Critic.
