Ron McClure - Soft Hands

Steeplechase 31615

Double bassists aren’t normally known for their delicate digits. Calluses come with the territory, the product of innumerable hours spent plucking strings in the pursuit of premium technique. In this regard, Ron McClure isn’t much different from his peers, having spent the better part of a half century in devotion to his instrument. Seemingly incongruous in title, Soft Hands signals his 31st session for Steeplchase as either leader or sideman. That’s an impressive run and this session contains new evidence as to why the Danish label holds his prowess in such high esteem.

McClure took the occasion to reflect on an important part of his professional history, specifically the period that he spent playing duo engagements due to a New York cabaret ordinance banning the presence of drums and horns in clubs located in residential areas. That particular legal solecism is news to me, but it sounds feasible in light of other anecdotal evidence as to how musicians were and are often treated by urban authorities. Drums are conspicuously absent on this date, but neither are they missed. Pianist George Colligan and tenor saxophonist Rich Perry tackle the tunes, all from McClure’s songbook and specially arranged for the “sans-percussion” setting, with creativity consistent with their own extensive Steeplechase credentials. Perry’s fondness for Wayne Shorter is prevalent via a tissue dry tone and occasionally oblique phrasing that jibes with the leader’s deceptively intricate compositonal style. Colligan plays the frequent part of crack filler, his contributions flittering from foreground to rear with nary a note wasted and a strong Hancock by way of Evans influence apparent.

Bass is predictably prominent throughout, its presence enhanced by McClure’s rich articulation and nimble sense of note placement, but the other instruments share commensurate footing. The three players swap roles constantly and rarely does one corner the action for very long. That sensation of perpetual motion makes even languorous tracks like the title piece and the through-composed “I Never Knew” sing with activity. Other pieces are pliant and open-ended enough to allow for duo and solo passages of every possible variation and the players sleekly combine and diverge while sustaining strong structural continuity. McClure’s finger work high on the strings is slightly suspect in spots when it comes to pitch integrity and he occasionally overshoots a solo with an overabundance of flashy tricks. These are minor complaints in the larger scheme of a session that asserts the talents of all three men and successfully argues the veracity of the project title in spirit, if not letter. A “mainstream” mantle fits, but only in the best possible connotations of the term.

[Steeplechase titles are available directly through Stateside Distributors: Stateside AT prodigy.net]

~ Derek Taylor