Concert Review: Connie Han @ Universal Preservation Hall, 05/06/2023

It’s interesting to me that pianist Connie Han and sax monster Lakecia Benjamin played at Universal Preservation Hall within the last month. To Han, a 27-year-old Los Angeles native, “Lakecia and I are the only women in jazz with a look!” This is undoubtedly true: If any traditionalist’s comfort zone was shaken by Benjamin’s gold-and-silver jumpsuit (with matching kicks), that same traditionalist’s brain was imploded by Han’s Emma Peel-meets-Judas Priest catsuit (with matching spiked platforms).

But here’s the thing: You have to treat both Benjamin & Han the same way you’d handle David Bowie during his Ziggy Stardust period: If all you do for the entire show is bug out about the costumes, you just wasted an evening and some (hopefully) hard-earned cash. With Benjamin, you miss out on an artist that wants to take her instrument (and everyone else) to another universe; with Han, you have a stone-cold student of the game who has learned the lessons of the past but is not shackled to them.

The first legend to flex his musical DNA was McCoy Tyner, who ran all the way through the opening numbers “Mr. Dominator” and “For the O.G.,” two tracks from her 2020 Mack Avenue disc Iron Starlet. “Dominator” gave us straight-up mid-tempo blues that had Han setting sail right from the outset, while “O.G.” was a percussive groover Tyner himself would have wholeheartedly approved of. During her remarks, she called Tyner “the pinnacle… the Original Jazz Gangster!”

Tyner’s aggressive vibe would return throughout Han’s dynamic 75-minute set, but John Coltrane’s longtime foil wasn’t the only icon to show up on the setlist. There was the late great Chick Corea: Han related Corea’s thoughtful Return To Forever classic “Desert Air” to Innana, the Sumerian goddess & inspiration for Secrets of Innana, Han’s latest death-defying studio date. Han said Corea had “a very unique insight into composition and construction. The decisions he makes are very subversive!”

The other Hall Of Famer to invisibly strut the stage was Herbie Hancock: While Han didn’t name-check Hancock, his fingerprints were all over “Young Moon” (inspired by Innana’s formative years, Han told us) and “Captain’s Song,” during which Han bewitched us all with a sweet mini-set on a Fender Rhodes that definitely had seen its better days but sounded like cash money from beginning to end. Ryan Berg’s bass resonated throughout UPH, both throughout the night and during his evocative solo on “Captain’s Song.”

Listening to her own compositions makes you understand why Han digs Corea. She wants to be a chaos agent in jazz, and not just from a fashion standpoint. Han’s medley from Innana showed she has no problem with going where most Earth creatures have not gone before, and she’s dragging you with her whether you like it or not – though, in the end, you will. Her hard-charging lines and percussive chords are the rock & roll Han uses to take the piano-trio format out of the hushed concert hall it’s been predominantly hiding in and bringing it into the 21^st century. The engine at the heart of it all is drummer / producer / composer Bill Wysaske, who could easily be mistaken for Tedeschi Trucks’ road manager until he starts ripping it up behind the kit, as he did during his final solo on the chaotic set closer “Southern Rebellion.”

Anyone who knows me knows I’m all about jazz’ future, mainly because too many people are too fixated on its past. A good future of any type takes the lessons of the past and builds on them, not puts them in a glass case and says, “That’s the way it is.” Badass young players like Connie Han not only entertain the hell out me, but they give me hope for this genre going forward. And if that means some of us get a sartorial education they didn’t expect, I hope they just go with it so they won’t miss a thing.

Photo Gallery by Rudy Lu