Morgan's Map

From 713 to 212: Houston jazz stars invade the New York scene

Jason Moran, a pianist from Houston’s Third Ward and a student of Morgan's
Robert "Doc" Morgan, right, with Kendrick Scott, one of his many students
92Y TriBeCa on New York's 92nd Friday and Saturday nights, an event organized byMoran called “713 to 212: Houstonians in NYC”
The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts

The New York Times' Ben Ratliff gave Houston's own High School for the Performing and Visual Arts considerable recognition in an ArtsBeat article this week, specifically spotlighting former HSPVA Jazz program director Robert Morgan.

Twenty five of Morgan's former students who are now making their livings playing jazz in New York City gathered Friday and Saturday nights at the 92nd Street Y in TriBeCa for a concert series-cum-high school reunion.

Morgan caught up with CultureMap shortly after returning from NYC and gave us the skinny on the show and some reassurance about H-Town's obvious talent bleed:

CultureMap: How did this concert come together?

Robert Morgan: (Houston jazz musician)Jason Moran — it was all his idea. He was in town back in the fall and mentioned it to me then, that he had this idea to get together in one weekend all the HSPVA graduates that were in New York that were doing so well.

At the time, the 92YTribeca was a fairly new performance spot, and they were looking for new thing that may be of interest. What's amazing is that for all those kids, this seemed so important that they all kept the weekend open. Mark Kelley, a bass player that was there, could have been out of the country but turned it down so he could be there.

CM: What did this weekend mean to you?

RM: There were about 25 graduates of HSPVA scattered over two nights. It was incredibly good and very high energy. The first night Jason concentrated on two or four people who are more singer/songwriters, and as the Times review put it, it was almost like folk jazz.

The second night was more straight-ahead, modern jazz starting with the older guys, then Jamire Williams' group and Kendrick Scott's group and then ending with Robert Glasper and Jason Moran with two keyboards and two drummers, and they just started playing. It was just one of those magic moments that I, for one, will never forget.

CM: How did the New York Times get involved?

RM: The New York Times has two jazz critics — Ben Ratliff, who wrote the review, and Nate Chinen, who actually visited HSPVA after I retired [in 1999]. I know they're both very aware of HSPVA and very aware of the students. I subscribe to the NYT daily and have read any number of laudatory reviews. I did meet Ben Ratliff last year when he was on a book tour and was amazed that he knew who I was.

CM: So many of your students have ended up in New York City — should we be worried about losing local talent?

RM: New York is the place to go. Among professional reasons, several of the major universities for studying jazz are in New York — the main one is called the New School, and a lot of our kids are recruited very heavily. It's almost like a football situation. I know Robert Glasper went there, and Jason Moran went to the Manhattan School of Music. Of the 25 students that played these weekend concerts, virtually every one went to New York for school or to Berklee in Boston and invariably, once they graduate, they move to New York.

And, I mean, I encourage that. Before I retired, some parents would get upset with me. You can't beat the University of North Texas [where Morgan graduated] but the thing is, once you graduate, you pretty much have to move to New York to get established. Even now, with airports everywhere and the ease of communication, it's still hard to find a successful jazz musician who didn't spend their formative years in New York.

All of the 25 are out of school and in NYC making a living making jazz music. I'm prejudiced, but I'll say it's extraordinary. I kind of get misty eyed every time I read that.

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Movie Review

New movie Friendship pairs Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in a bizarre bromance

Photo courtesy of A24

Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in Friendship.

Comedian Tim Robinson has gained a cult following thanks to series like Detroiters and I Think You Should Leave, in which his brand of cringe comedy is on full display. The former Saturday Night Live writer/performer has had a few small movie roles over the years, but he’s now getting his first starring role in the off-kilter Friendship.

Robinson plays Craig, a mild-mannered suburbanite with a wife, Tami (Kate Mara), and son, Steven (Jack Dylan Grazer). Craig has a boring life that involves little more than going to his middle manager job while wearing the same clothes day after day, anticipating the next Marvel movie, and helping Tami out with her at-home floral business.

He gets a jolt of energy when Austin (Paul Rudd) moves into the neighborhood. The two men seem to hit it off, with Austin — a weatherman at a local TV channel — even taking Craig on a couple of impromptu adventures. But when Craig commits a couple of faux pas at a group gathering at Austin’s house, their bond starts to fracture.

Even though the film is written and directed by Andrew DeYoung, it’s clear that Robinson had a big influence on the style of comedy it features. There are no big set pieces with a slew of jokes coming one after another. Instead, the film forces the audience to try to vibe with the very particular type of wavelength it’s giving off, one that could almost be called anti-comedy for the way the laughs come out of left field.

The 100-minute film is full of random comedic moments, like Steven kissing Tami on the lips, Craig being obsessed with his plain brown clothes, a group sing-along, and more. More often than not, it’s the way Craig reacts to both normal and abnormal situations that gets the laughs. The character is needy and oblivious, two traits that combine to make many of his actions cringeworthy.

Perhaps most importantly for this type of movie, many things in the story go unexplained or don’t make sense. Seemingly crucial elements are brought up only to fade away just as quickly, while other parts that appeared to be throwaway sections get callbacks later in the film. DeYoung and Robinson are determined to keep the audience on their toes the entire time, never knowing what to expect next.

Robinson has the perfect face for a story like this, one that’s bland enough to blend into the background but memorable enough to sell the jokes. His demeanor is also excellent, never becoming too expressive, even when he gets angry. With long hair, a mustache, and a certain swagger, Rudd is a great complement to Robinson. Only in a film like this would an everyman like Rudd be considered the suave and cool one.

There will be some that will see Friendship and come away wondering what the hell they just watched. But anyone who goes in knowing that they’re about to witness a comedy that challenges their sensibilities will likely have a great time.

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Friendship is now playing in select theaters.

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