Trunino Lowe Quintet featuring Rodney Whitaker
Cliff Bell’s
Friday, Jan. 2
I'm hoping to make it a tradition to ring in the New Year with some Detroit jazz. So I made my way to Cliff Bell’s, which I’ve written about before after seeing an electrifying set from the jazz pianist Elew (one of my favorite shows of 2024).
That night was a sleepy Thursday at this Art Deco masterpiece of a jazz club in downtown Detroit. It’s a night that’s a bit more casual – for the musicians and the fans alike.
This time, I caught the late set on a packed Friday night with the vibes to match. Even the musicians commented from the stage how it felt like an early Valentine’s Day.
“How many people are here with their boo thang tonight?” Trunino Lowe asked from the stage.
Lowe was the bandleader, bouncing between the trumpet and flugelhorn.
He’s featuring the legendary Rodney Whitaker on bass during this run at Cliff Bell’s, which runs through Sunday. Whitaker has played Roy Hargrove, Terence Blanchard, Pat Metheny – you name it. He’s a storied educator, too, passing the torch to the next generation. And in this context, he’s doing just that with Ian Finkelstein (piano), Louis Jones III (drums) and Jeffrey Trent (saxophone) filling out the band.
I slipped in at the last minute and sat in the front row. The perfect spot to watch some of the best musicians in Detroit while slurping down oysters.
Perfect timing to catch two original compositions from Lowe and his saxophonist Jeffrey Trent, too. The back-to-back of these two numbers -- one a love song of sorts, the other a blistering blast off into jazz space -- showed off the range this band is capable of.
Lowe’s “Sarah’s Song” was a delicate groover that could’ve easily slid in as a B-side on a Sade album. As a trumpet player, Lowe has style and identity to his playing. He’s got a big personality on stage and he funnels it into his music, describing this song as one with a bit of heartbreak to its lore but a sense of a few fine memories percolating throughout the underbelly of the music.
“I had to get that out of my system,” Lowe declared at the end. His energy and banter are contagious. I’ve seen dozens of shows here and Trunino, by far, is the most outgoing musician when working the mic between songs.
And Jeffrey Trent on saxophone is by far one of the most powerful and raw players I’ve seen on the Cliff Bell’s stage. His composition, “Rocketship,” was a blistering presentation of jazz-funk teetering on the avant-garde, with Jones III and Finkelstein looking and sounding absolutely possessed on their respective instruments. Whitaker was the anchor, helping to keep the band from completely losing itself in the meantime.
If you see any of these musicians performing together again or with their own respective bands, I highly recommend checking it out.
It was a pleasure to feel Cliff Bell’s come to life on a Friday night with a packed crowd, and Trunino Lowe certainly didn’t let them down.
Welcome to the New Year. Here’s a few upcoming shows later this month I’d recommend, including Detroit trumpeter Allen Dennard (Jan. 16 - 18) and bassist Jonathon Muir-Cotton (Jan. 22 - 25). Check out the full run of shows here.
