This week Eric Alexander was there on sax, Joe Farnsworth on drums, and Phil Palombi on bass. These guys all live in Riverdale, and although they play in the best jazz clubs in NYC and tour around the world, they love playing in their own backyard.
The first song was "Speak Low." I sat down in the back of the room to listen, but within a couple minutes I was on my feet moving toward two of my friends. As Joe's drum solo built, the restrictions of day to day life were cut, the strings let go and snapped hard, and I stood there unmoored, connected only to that moment. Joe is a master craftsman, he knows how to do one of the most difficult things a performer has to do, trust himself and his tools and just be there. He was boundless.
At the end of the first set I walked up to the mic as I always do to thank the musicians, but what came out of my mouth was what everyone was thinking "Does anyone on earth play the drums like Joe Farnsworth?" We all knew we had witnessed something exceptional.
Eric Alexander is a true leader in every sense. What comes through when he is on stage is the man behind the horn, if you will, we feel his strength, his focus, his ease. He gathers the other musicians and the audience together and we sit back, relax and know we are in the hands of someone extraordinary. He played a stunning rendition of "Misty."
Phil Palombi, a Grammy Award winning bassist, recently joined the gig bringing us his warm sound and impressive solos.
They ended the night with a soulful, killer improvisation as Joe lead a young guitarist who came to sit in through every possible form of the blues. Check it out on youtube.
Joe Farnsworth - Linda's Jazz Nights - February 1, 2012
Photo by Luis Pons
