Friday, September 9, 2011

Last Night of Summer

Wednesday night Eric Alexander, Joe Farnsworth, and John Webber took the stage and opened their set with a driving piece they call "Bronx Jazz Session Blues," born out of the last year and a half of doing gigs up here in our neighborhood. This was our second gig at An Beal Bocht Cafe and we are so pleased to be there. The acoustics are brilliant.

On "They Say Falling in Love is Wonderful" Eric's sax started with that big, rich sound of his and then he artfully threaded himself through the song -- sweet and seductive. Joe gave us one of his eclectic, precise, dazzling solos on "The Song is You." (See the video below.) John played a solo piece, filling the room with his voice, vibrations, tones, moans, murmurs, and hums -- an entire band in his hands.

I loved their rendition of Bluebird, with penetrating, irresistible swing. Click here to hear it.  These guys are dedicated, masterful, and love to play.  Their individual decades of experience, along with their intimate knowledge of each other's musicianship, makes this trio incredibly tight, but also free to move to unexpected heights.

They closed the night with a ripping "A Night in Tunisia." The guys will be back at An Beal Bocht Cafe on Wednesday, Oct. 5th.