Bethany Pickens

Museum of Contemporary Art
Chicago,IL
August 11, 2008

Bethany Pickens

Story and Photos by James Walker

Pickens star continues to soar...... Sounds like a great headline. Actually, it's pianist Bethany Pickens status as a bona fide rising star that we are referring to. Following her critically acclaimed successful engagement at the recent Jazz Unites 27th Annual Festival at the South Shore Cultural Center on Chicago's south side (see James Walker's review date August 2-3, 2008), Pickens was still "sky high' at the weekly Museum of Contemporary Art(MCA) on Tuesday August 11, 2008. Surrounded by her exceptional band mates of Verve Allison on drums and Joshua Ramos picking the upright bass, Pickens demonstrated that the Jazz Unites set was only a sampling of her evolving keyboard skills. Much of her repertoire on that evening was taken from her self entitled debut CD which is a must for all discerning jazz enthusiasts. If one thinks that she's living off of the name of her maestro father's reputation (veteran pianist Willie Pickens), just check her out in the near future. You won't be disappointed.

A Pickens original that highlighted the first set was "Seven Questions. Throughout this selection, one could easily discern the rapid fire background chords coming from Ramos' bass without it being overbearing. By the way, young Ramos recently completed a very successful gig with the Afro-Latin Ensemble at Millennium Park on July 31st. This young bassist continues to demonstrate his talents while performing with some of Chicago's finest veterans.

Miles Davis's "All Blues" was next on the agenda. This is one of those selections that's part of many jazz artists songbook. Pickens version was somewhat unique in that she used her electronic keyboard's synthesizer to simulate the trumpet sound. Pickens quipped about not playing the organ, but being able to use the synthesizer for that purpose on this Miles classic. Drummer Allison(who also is the drummer for legendary R&B singing group the Dells) also had a nice extended solo on this number. Allison continued in that mode on "Straight Ahead." He was in "overdrive," banging away on his drum kit using every piece of the kit in rapid fire action.

Of course , the studious Pickens paid homage to the Master, Duke Ellington with his "C Jam Blues." Duke's compositions are always nice to hear and should live on forever. Pickens and Allison engaged in friendly "call and response" during this segment.

The group concluded the first set with another Pickens original, "Brazilian Breeze." This song had a sweet Latin tinge and was quite appropriate on this cool summer evening.

The second set was peppered with a variety of tunes from divigerent genres. One such number was a reggae tune entitled "Front Street." Bethany talked about playing in a reggae band while in college. They also played a Chick Corea's "5,000 Miles High." A number that also deserves special mention was their rendition of Thelonious Monk's "Well You Needn't." Ramos and Allison again produced well-executed solos on this classic Monk selection.

Before concluding this wonderful evening of music with Ahmad Jamal's "I Can take You There" Bethany took charge with her spellbinding keyboarding on Oscar Hammerstein's "Softly As A Morning Sunrise." Pickens seemed to be in a "zone" on this number as she closed her eyes and fired away on the 88s. This was a challenging number for her bandmates as they had to work overtime to keep pace with her. No problem, they were up to the task.

Another successful Jazz set at MCA. With the weather cooperating, and an array of some of Chicago's finest, this popular Tuesday evening series on the Terrace has been delightful. And don't worry, it's not over and continues through September.For details, refer to their website: www.mcachicago.org.