Last night I went to see Col. Bruce Hampton and the Codetalkers, with special guest Jimmy Herring. Hampton of course was the brainchild behind the unit who rescued the aquarium, where Jimmy first came to acclaim by literally dozens of fans. The crowd at historic State Theater last night was also pretty sparse, around 150 at the most, but those of us who made it caught a real treat. The State bills Codetalkers as “eclectic,” which was right on: selections ranged from bluegrass to standard jazz progressions, all mixed in with the band’s great stage antics. (At one point, on cue from the colonel, everyone began playing with their instrument behind their head. Including the bass player. Who was playing an upright string bass.)
I’ve raved about him before but I have to say that Herring once again reinforced my conviction that he is today’s best unknown guitarist. He effortlessly plays in, around, and outside the changes, at times with a Allman-esque pentatonic simplicity, at others with blistering arpeggios and bebop riffs. Also contributing was local Ron Holloway on the sax. I thought I had seen him play before, and after poking around on his website, I’m pretty sure he sat in on a DTB show at the Birchmere once.
Codetalkers aren’t what I would consider “serious” music, but they are all serious musicians, just having fun on stage. And if you don’t have a good time watching them, you suck.