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When Portland group greaterkind hit the stage at below-ground venue The Get Down last Wednesday, they knew the drill. Tasked with warming up the crowd for the much-anticipated appearance of Virginia-bred ensemble Butcher Brown, the modern jazz quartet set the tone for the night, got bodies moving, and then quickly got out of the headliner’s way.
Led by keyboardist Charlie Brown III, the group had less than an hour to make an impression and did so with a confidence and ease that belied their youth. The four men slipped behind their instruments with zero fanfare and barely stopped to catch their breath for the next 40 minutes. They pumped out song after song, many of them to be released on an upcoming album, with no pauses for tuning or bantering. (Who has time for that?)
That might make it sound like the music was all velocity and impetuousness. Instead, greaterkind worked in cooler shades akin to the deep pocket grooves of Herbie Hancock’s Head Hunters or The Meters. All four musicians were clearly capable of flying off into flashy solos, but they leaned into their group dynamic and a collective thump.
The spotlight turns they did take came about subtly, with the shrewdest of the bunch being bassist Ian Lindsay. At times, a barrage of notes came flying from his instrument, but it looked as though his right hand was barely moving. Drummer Cory Limuaco wasn’t quite so understated, but even his splashy fills seemed to arrive at odd angles and occasionally threatened to push him off beat. True to form, he found his way back every time.