Magic
took place tonight. The vocalist we have tonight was contracted just a few days
earlier had to round up a trio to back her up. She did a masterful job of
collecting three seasoned pros. Each musician—piano/keyboard, stand-up bass,
and drums—are incredible. But the catch… they had never played together as a
trio. What was incredibly impressive was
to see them flawlessly play together. I was familiar with the keyboard player
since he has filled in with the house band where his talents are clearly
restrained. In the trio setting he opened up like an enormous firework filling
the summer sky. The bass player had such a competent, round-note sound that I
asked one of our regular customers who is an old jazz-music educator and
authority to tell me what I was hearing. He explained: “Oh, he’s classically
trained and sometimes fills in with the Symphony, in addition to having decades
of jazz experience.” No shit, is what I thought. He also said that the bassist
is a genuinely nice guy and he’s convinced that really good musicians that are
really good people have a way of infusing that positive energy into their playing.
I said, I know the keyboard player as a somewhat shy, reserved guy who I think
of as being a good guy as well. “What about the drummer,” I ask? He’s known as
a superlative jazz drummer… the go-to guy when you need an experience drummer…
a musician’s musician, is what he said. The vocalist is an old pro and sounds
good, but to be honest the magic took place behind her and when she took breaks
to rest her voice. Three top-flight jazz musicians who all are apparently nice
guys blending their talents together positively. Total magic.
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