Rufus Reid Quintet – Skinner Hall, Vassar College – October 2, 2010
Primo seating for this primo combo – second row, plenty of light. The up-close situation did present issues of perspective, and what exactly could fit on the page; so bigger heads and more overall attention to faces, this is trickier stuff. Plus, the music stands obscured a few of the musicians. Problem solved by lateral seat change after intermission. Rufus is magisterial in leading, and everyone is clearly having fun. Impressions from green room exchanges reveal all players to be gentle and soft-spoken souls. Once again I have thrown in an out-of-context sketch from last year of one of the players (Rich Perry – see pencilsblazing.com), which left me more time to work on the other four.
Rufus Reid
Sumi Tonooka
Freddie Hendrix
Tim Horner
Rich Perry