I found the melodic structures of the trumpet player and sax player from the Legacy Jazz Quintet paralleled the play exemplified in the US vs. Brazil quarterfinal game. Please bear with me as I very loosely give my observations of both events in sparing description.
The trumpet player for the evening strove to have a melodic and thoughtful improvisational style, as we are so used to hearing from Mr. Miles Davis, just as the US seemed to display a congruent string of passes and very fluid play through the first portion of their match. There was a distinct contrast in improvisational style between the trumpet and saxophone, with the sax player spending less time developing a melodic line and more time demonstrating his scalular prowess. Like the sax player running scales, the Brazilian team spent much time showing off many individual footwork skills but had trouble using this ability to create a harmonious fluency on the field.
Now we come to the series of unfortunate events. The US experienced a breakdown in teamwork and cohesiveness toward the end of the match, as a player was red carded and the goalie was yellow carded. Brazil scored a goal that tied the game 1-1. Back in the club, it seemed as though our ‘Miles Davis’ for the night tired quickly and lost focus a bit on the task at hand. Long breaks during his solos and cracked notes were uncomfortable focal points for many in the audience. The creative juices seemed to have stopped flowing for him.
A fortunate turn of events for both venues was soon to follow. Coming out of the back field, our piano player for the evening really stepped up play. He magnificently strung together wonderful melodies that were sprinkled with tasty technical skills. His solo was followed by an exquisite performance by the bass player who, up until this point, was not given much of an opportunity to shine. The trumpet player received a great chop break which allowed him to come back in with some fresh lips to blow through his Harmon mute on a sweet, slow ballad. On the other side of the world, the US trailed in overtime 2-1 but persevered to finished out the overtime play with a beautiful header by Abby Wambach to tie the score 2-2.
The subsequent shootout proved to be a tremendous victory for the US over Brazil while the evening at the Bistro was a lovely experience and a reasonable ‘reconstruction’ of a Miles Davis performance.
-- Kat Breitbach
