Bob Belden of Blue Note fame plays at Blue Frog!

Am I willing to eat crow? Not yet but Bob Belden and his Animation came pretty close to making me eat my words. Guitarist Al Street, Drummer Rocky Bryant, bassist David Dyson and DJ Logic performed at Blue Frog and I was there both the days.

For those who might not be aware of Belden, he’s an American saxophonist, arranger, composer, bandleader and producer. His sense of arrangement and compositions was quite evident on both the days, particularly the second night when he invited Mumbai artists to jam with the band. But to put things in perspective, one first needs to understand Belden’s credentials and his musical pedigree.

One of the most adventurous arrangers of the 1990s and 2000s, Bob Belden took the music of Puccini, Prince, and (with the most success) Sting, and turned it into jazz. (Remember in one my earlier blogs I did mention the jazz potential of Sting’s Probably me) In his formative years, Belden studied saxophone with Lou Marini Sr., father of famed jazz saxophonist, Lou Marini (Buddy Rich Big Band, Blood, Sweat and Tears, best known as "Blue Lou" of the Blues Brothers Band). Belden also assisted with Columbia Records' Miles Davis reissue program. He played in a duet with trumpeter Tim Hagans, issuing a live album on Blue Note in 2000 entitled Re-Animation Live!

But Belden will always be known for his 2001 release Black Dahlia. In 1947, a Hollywood actress called Elizabeth Short was murdered, It was covered extensively in the press and involved the entire Los Angeles police force. A young girl who moved to Los Angeles from Massachusetts to pursue her dream of fame, Short moved through a series of seamy encounters that eventually ended with her shudderingly gruesome murder. Police called it “The Black Dahlia Murder” because of the blackness of her hair and the attractiveness of her dresses. I think I have seen the movie as well. James Ellroy later wrote the novel, “Black Dahlia” that provided the inspiration to Belden.

It seems that the musical intellect of Belden merged with his interest in melodrama to spark a composition in 12 parts that captures Short's imagined state of mind. Starting with the “Genesis” section, Black Dahlia interjects an attention-grabbing exclamation before Belden develops a dreamy wonder described by Lawrence Feldman's alto. Alluding to Belden's fondness for Miles Davis' work, as does “Dreamworld,” “In Flight” then takes her from home, breezily depicted by muted trumpet and Ira Coleman's thrilling accelerated pace “City Of Angels,” as performed by Tim Hagans describes Los Angeles in serene, glowing harmonic ascents and descents with references to Jerry Goldsmith's stunning score for the movie Chinatown.

Black Dahlia, without a doubt, will be remembered as the most ambitious jazz recording of the recent past. Rather than a blowing session, influential though blowing sessions may be, Bob Belden's Black Dahlia is an extended story-telling, romantic and fatalistic suite that was three years in the making. In addition, over sixty musicians were required to fill the symphony orchestra that accomplishes Belden's vision.

The story was necessary to understand what Bob Belden was doing those days in India and at Blue Frog. He would start a tune, a melody , and let DJ Logic play magic with his hands and vinyl. Born Jason Kibler, DJ Logic is a turntablist active primarily in jazz and with jam bands. His own recordings are perhaps best described as contemporary soul jazz with a strong hip hop feel. An early interest in hip hop led to his using the turntables, but he was also interested in funk and jazz music, and began collaborating with various musicians. His own recordings are perhaps best described as contemporary soul jazz with a strong hip hop feel. Kibler tours often with his own group, Project Logic, and has recorded or performed with Vernon Reid, John Mayer, Medeski Martin & Wood, Bob Belden, Jack Johnson, Chris Whitley, Uri Caine, Christian McBride and others.

And he sure turned the tables that separated the men from the boys. One hand would pluck notes like in an acoustic guitar while the other one turned the vinyl. But the electronic sound tasted different. It had the finesse of avante garde jazz, rhythm of swinging dance beat, panache of jazzy improvisations and the maturity of knowing when to seek inspiration.

That inspiration was provided in no small measure by the bassist David Dyson. Unfortunately, there were only a few moments by Dyson but I was almost transfixed by his jazz-funk style of bass. At times, he let loose a two-minute slap groove that left my mouth in a perfect “o.” It didn’t lack for pyrotechnics, but what floored me was how the rhythmic and melodic content of the slap lines kept evolving, as if it were a simple fingerstyle R&B or blues bass line. His slap technique showed up as a flawless extension of his musicality.

I also felt that Al Street would play the blues as brilliantly as rock. He showed traces of both. And what a guitarist he is! A bit subdued at times, but once he gets the cue, man, you don’t need a wild imagination like mine to guess his potential.

Once again, I found the Sunday show at Blue Frog as the climax. In the second set, when Beldon invited our own Dhruv and Louiz, and Harmeet with his magical fingers (I can bet they had met earlier and kind of jammed a bit), the effect was magical. With DJ Logic and drummer Bryant keeping the tempo going, Dhruv, Street, Harmeet and Bassist Dyson were just magical. That Dhruv never ceases to surprise me with his repertoire. It was a class act in all senses of the term.

And when Beldon announced that his next album will have Indian sounds, remember my first blog. This is what Blue Frog is all about: a catalyst in the musical future. Last Sunday, the Frog leaped across yet another threshold of respectability.