I was lucky enough to see two nights of Larry Willis and Buster at Mezzrow last weekend, and in light of what i heard i just have to say, if you have a chance GO SEE BUSTER WILLIAMS! In the over 30 years i've been in New York it was some of the greatest bass playing i've ever heard. His sound in the room was incredible (he was moderately amplified and playing his Hawkes with the white Labella "Ron" strings), and his intonation nearly perfect, particularly considering that he was really stretching out and going for it, all night both nights. All the aspects of his style were there, the sliding up and down, the drops and rakes, his incredible quarter note and his ability to perfectly straddle the line between support and instigation, and it all sounded great. I once heard Ron use the phrase "safety net" bass playing in describing what he had no interest in doing, and that perfectly describes what Buster wasn't doing. He played an absolutely amazing solo that combined the Concierto de Aranjuez and Summertime that hushed the room, as well as playing the melody on All of You and lots of great solos with Larry. There were bass players in and out of there both nights (including George Mraz, for awhile everybody watched him watch Buster) and everybody i saw had their mouths open in astonishment. Two nights of fantastic music from two masters
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