Music is a universal balm and it proved just so in our
household last night, where news of the death of Derrick Bell came with particular force. My wife, Anita, was
especially close to Derrick and his first wife, Jewel. Anita had worked with
and then succeeded Jewel as director of the African American Student Center at
Tufts University. So when Anita suggested we go hear some music after work
today, we headed over to Favor Bistro on Lee Road in Cleveland Heights, where Hubb’s Groove has a
steady gig on Thursdays.
We were finishing dinner as the band trickled in and began to
set up. Their demeanor suggested the easy familiarity of four guys who gathered
in the basement two hours before kickoff every autumn Sunday: you could see
these cats were friends.
The musical dividend of their effortless camaraderie was apparent
with the first notes as they quickly settled into an eponymous groove on what
memory tells me was a Stanley Turrentine standard. Their comfortably-paced two-hour
set also included songs by Stevie Wonder, Grover Washington and Herbie Hancock.
The quartet was an altogether sterling unit comprising Phil
Jones on electric piano, Gary Stevenson on bass, Tony Watson on soprano and
alto sax, and Robert Hubbard on drums. After a couple of straight ahead
numbers, Hubbard appeared to suggest the band would later get into some of the
smooth jazz that is also in their repertoire but that never happened. The
musicians were having so much fun doing what they love: finding a groove and
working it.
It worked for the rest of us too.
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