The Times-Picayune
Friday, July 29, 2005

HOME BASS

Part-time New Orleanian and full-time jazz man Neal Caine steps up to the plate with 'Backstabber's Ball'

By Keith Spera
Music writer

As a sideman to Elvin Jones, Diana Krall, Betty Carter and now Harry Connick Jr., bassist Neal Caine has worked the most prestigious halls in jazz.

But the former New Orleanian, now based in New York, is also a regular at Smalls, the tiny Greenwich Village club famous for its all-night jam sessions.

"It's a really hip scene, a lot of great musicians hanging out, great energy," Caine said recently. "When I wasn't on the road, I'd hang there. You could go at four in the morning and there'd be a room full of people playing bebop tunes. You never knew who'd be hanging out."

Appropriately enough, Caine has released his first CD as a leader, "Backstabber's Ball," via Smalls Records, the record label founded by Luke Kaven, one of the club's patrons.

"He felt like a lot of musicians there were underappreciated," Caine said. "He took it upon himself to start recording guys. One thing led to another and he started this label. And it's growing at a pretty good rate now."

Caine composed all 65 minutes of music on "Backstabber's Ball," a diverse, highly listenable progression touching on swing, groove and even free jazz. He's joined by Jason Marsalis on drums, Stephen Riley on tenor sax and alto clarinet, and Ned Goold, a fellow Connick band member, on tenor sax. Marsalis, Riley and Goold will back Caine tonight at the Funky Butt for a CD release party.

Caine grew up in St. Louis playing violin with the St. Louis Youth Orchestra. He eventually switched to the electric, then upright, bass. After high school, he enrolled at Tulane University in the early 1990s to study political science.

But he soon realized that jazz was his true calling. He transferred to the University of New Orleans, even as he spent many nights in the city's clubs, often working with pianist Ellis Marsalis and Marsalis' sons.

At the end of his freshman year, Caine confronted a crossroads: Should he take his final exams, or join trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis' quintet for a European tour? He hit the road and never looked back.

An invitation to join the Elvin Jones Jazz Machine prompted a move to New York. After four years with Jones, Caine joined vocalist Diana Krall's band for a year. He then accompanied Carter until her death in 1998.

Since 2000, Caine has anchored Connick's large and small ensembles both on record and on the road. The past two years were busy ones for the Connick band, culminating this spring with tours of Australia, the Far East and North America.

Even as he's backed Connick and the others, Caine tinkered with his own ideas. Listening to singers phrase melodies affected the melodies Caine composed.

"It had to," he said. "And also knowing the emotional intent of songs. Ellis Marsalis always talks about that."

Caine also applied one of Betty Carter's philosophies to the quiet moments of "Backstabber's Ball."

"She always used to say, 'Don't forget to play for the ladies.' She'd complain about 'macho jazz,' guys playing super-loud and super-fast. I agree with her there. I call it the rock 'n' roll-ization of jazz. There's nothing wrong with playing quiet, and subtlety. That's where it's at, as far as I'm concerned."

He returned to New Orleans to record "Backstabber's Ball." Caine wrote all the melodies, but trusted his longtime friends and collaborators to sketch in their solos.

Of the two saxophonists, Goold hails from the bebop tradition, while Riley tends more toward the avant-garde.

"Their two musical personalities balance each other out," Caine said. "They're both super original sounding. They've both studied all the great tenor players in jazz history, but they don't sound exactly like Wayne Shorter or John Coltrane, which 90 percent of the saxophone players on the scene today do."

As for Marsalis, "he has a whole variety of colors and textures on the drums," Caine said. "A lot of it is understated on my record, which is exactly what I was looking for. It's implied. He can do anything, but he doesn't. Which is even hipper than doing it."

Caine dreamed up the melody for "Crescent City Reflections" while running in City Park. He sublets an apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, but still owns a house in Faubourg Marigny.

"I'm definitely torn between New Orleans and New York," he said. "I've learned so much from the musicians in New Orleans. New Orleans has taught me about using space. The rhythm section players do their jobs really well, as opposed to New York, where everyone just solos all the time. Guys know their roles in New Orleans.

"The overall vibe, the funkiness and mysteriousness of New Orleans pervades 'Backstabber's Ball.' 'Crescent City Reflections' is tribute to it in title, but New Orleans is throughout the whole thing."

So, too, is Caine's history.

"I spent so much time backing up all these great musicians, which has been fun," Caine said. "But I finally felt ready to put out my own statement and my own music. I always felt like I had something to say.

"On the other hand, I'm glad I didn't rush it. I'm glad I didn't put out a premature record. A lot of guys my age were getting record deals really easily about 10 years ago, and a lot of them put out mediocre records. But I feel this one is strong, and I'm really proud of it."

_________________________

NEAL CAINE

What: The modern-jazz bassist celebrates the release of his new CD, "Backstabber's Ball," with a show tonight at 10 p.m. at the Funky Butt.

With: Jason Marsalis on drums, Stephen Riley on tenor sax and alto clarinet, and Ned Goold on tenor sax.

Where: The Funky Butt, 714 N. Rampart St. Call 588-0872.

Modern jazz bassist Neal Caine, best known as a sideman for Harry Connick Jr. and others, has just released his debut CD as a leader, "Backstabber's Ball."