An Beal Bocht Cafe

Last night was my first gig as producer of Linda's Jazz Nights with Eric Alexander on sax, Joe Farnsworth on drums, and John Webber on bass. The guys were on fire playing to an enthusiastic, ripe, sold out crowd at An Beal Bocht Cafe.

The best art gets inside you and changes you, gives you a new way to experience your own life. That's what happened to me when I first heard these guys which is why I'm doing this and it happened again last night.

They opened up with a bluesey, swinging original tune. Then Steve Davis, who stopped by for the first set, lead a melancholy, beautiful "The Nearness of You." His trombone is smooth and subtle, and then the depth of it catches up with you.

Joe Farnsworth's solo on on the next tune was explosive and hypnotic. He has tremendous presence as a musician. He is enticing and commanding while simultaneously leading you into a song and taking care of his audience. His distinctive, wide-ranging, nuanced voice comes through on those drums creating a whole world suspending me in the moment.

They opened the second set with a screaming version of "Night in Tunisia." Eric's playing was right on the edge, huge, insistent, and undeniably passionate. Joe hit it with his ravenous appetite and then all three of them dug into the music and took off flying.

Eric moved into "The Man With The Horn," graceful, lilting, click here to listen.

John Webber played a solo that was stunning in it's complexity. Jazz moves in oblique and unexpected patterns beyond my conscious control. It dives past all my logical reasoning and I have no choice but to let it happen. When I watch John play I feel his composure and pure concentration while his fingers race across the strings responding to the impulses of that particular time and place. He embodies the contradiction of control and risk, and it is endlessly fascinating to experience.

The guys killed it at the end of the night with a bluesy, sexy "Parker's Mood." The crowd was loving the swing and hard drive. It was a great night of music and I am thrilled to say we will back at An Beal Bocht Cafe on Wednesday, September 7th.