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Wow, the Baked Potato was jazz heaven, a
teeny tiny venue, with three of four dozen seats, at the most. It shouldn't
come as a surprise to anyone who knows me or my writing that I wouldn't
be able to wait for the nine-thirty gig to start! I arrived early to
feed my love of sound checks. Talk about acoustics, they were unbelievable!
While I was waiting for the gig to start, I chatted briefly with an
employee who shared a few secrets about the sand-filled raised stage
and wood covered windows, amazing sound quality! I was told the venue
started out over forty years ago as studio musician hang out.
What an exciting night, Chieli's debut at the 'Potato'. For me, the
place was reminiscent of the forty-five or so person capacity, Lowville
Bistro gig I recently attended in Canada after the awards. There's nothing
like hearing live music in a living room atmosphere!
Here's a snip of sound check chatter: "How long of a fill do you wanna
play? A bar or two beats, at the end of the bass solo we're gonna have
a false ending."
Lao Tizer and company pounced on stage.
Lao: "You gotta clap louder than that if you're gonna get Philpot to
stand up! I'd like to welcome you to the Baked Potato. I'd like to introduce
you to a good friend of mine, Mr. Chieli Minucci. We're gonna play a
tune called, Cruise Control.
Chieli hit it and he was on fire, WOW. Steve Nieves nailed a stellar
sax solo rolling us straight to jazz euphoria! Nieves nailed the snare
drum with the sax still hanging around his neck. His 'it' factor in
full bloom! Back to Chieli on guitar, what an opener! Steve hopped back
on congas, and off-the chain was he! The band chemistry turned the place
inside out. Lao closed his eyes and gave it up on his stellar solo.
Steve was back at it on sax when Lao popped one hand up in the air signaling
a sax-guitar, back-to-back solo by Steve and Chieli. Talk about a jam,
these two had an incredible volley going on while the band was rockin'
it full speed ahead.
Chieli:
"It's really good to be here with Lao! I'm from a group called Special
EFX. We have a new CD called Without You."
Lao: "This is the first time Chieli's played here or been here! This
one is called, Fire and Ice."
They took a little Latin flavor a long way on this one! Steve threw
a few hot peppers into his percussion rhythm and glowed in the dark
on this tune. Every band member was in bliss, all eyes closed, blissfully
emanating their jazz! Raul offered a fiery drum solo and reinvented
his back corner of the stage. The crowd loved him! He passed it off
to Lao on keys, who got down with his bad self, Tizer-style! Steve offered
up some congas and lead us straight to Chieli on his well-worn black
acoustic guitar. Another wow goes to Minucci for an amazing solo!
Lao: "The secret is red beans and rice-and you can play drums like that!
I wanna bring up my good buddy Jeff Marshall. He's kinda become a mainstay
here at the 'Potato'. This song is called, Uptown."
Jeff Marshall (Big Red) turned it out on guitar. Steve brought out the
tenor sax, scooted up to Lao and what a jam it was! Steve was blowin'
like crazy as a lead-in to Lao's awesome solo. A nice slice of Rufus
Philpot on bass rounded out this great song perfectly!
Lao: "Please, give it up for Steve on sax and Rufus Philpot on bass!
This is the title track called, Diversified. We call this kind of music
world fusion."
Steve and Lao were on vocals, when Nieves picked up a set of car keys-and
developed a unique percussion vibe, clever! Chieli gifted us some insanely
good electric guitar. I can't believe the talent on the spud stage tonight!
Lao ended the cut with one hand in the air.
Lao: "Hey Chieli, you wanna hold up my CD?" He joked, "Rufus, can you
sing on this one?"
Rufus quipped: "I can't work under these conditions!" He walked off
stage chuckling to himself. The audience belly laughed.
Lao: "This is off the second CD and its called Touch The Sky. We produced
it in New York with Jeff Kollman, who is not with us tonight. He's in
Hawaii! Again, this tune is called Touch the Sky."
Lao reintroduced the band before they came together for an amazing jazzy
vibe with awesome vocals. Every one of them sparkled! Lao ended it with
his swanky keyboard and the light percussion of Steve Nieves.
Chieli exclaimed: "Lao Tizer!"
Lao: "Steve Nieves and Chieli Minucci on vocals! As soon as the good
ole boy is ready, we'll get started on St. Stephens Green."
Steve came in on soprano sax with an alto hanging from his neck. Rufus
on bass joined the band, thumpin' and bumpin. Steve edged up to Lao
and immediately entered the Nieves-Tizer Zone. Chieli was electric on
electric. We had a hot potato at the potato on this cut! Triple wow,
again guys! Steve was still lit up on sax and made his way back to the
Steve-Lao duo. They were smokin'! What a crazy jam. The house was on
its side! Nieves energy was unplugged! He volleyed from alto to soprano,
mixing it up with Minucci for an unforgettable finale.
Lao: "Steve Nieves! Chieli Minucci! We're gonna play one more song,
then we'll take a short break. But, we'll be back! I wanna welcome 'Big
Red' back to the stage. Remember, we have CDs for sale!" He pointed
proudly, "Our merch table is right here! This is called It Is What It
Is."
Chieli hooked us up with some insanely good electric while Steve blew
a little tenor. Raul added his licks to a brilliant solo by Rufus Philpot.
There's nothing like the thick thump of a great bass player wriggling
under your skin! Minucci and Jeff 'Big Red' Marshall volleyed back and
forth while Lao led the pack front, center. Screamin' guitars eased
into the finale with a studio-session vibe. Lao popped one hand into
the air signaling an almost-end, just as Steve hit the tenor sax. Lao
reintroduced the band and said, "We'll be back in just a little bit.
Stick around and we'll be back in just a few!"
Second Set:
Chieli: "How's everybody doing, alright? How about Lao Tizer?!"
Lao: "Chieli's traveled the furthest, from New York!"
Rufus: "He doesn't get out much, but he's a great chap! He almost leads
a normal life!"
Lao: "Who says we never give him the mic again?! This is a tune of Chieli's
called Body Heat."
I set my pen down for the second set. From Body Heat, Olivas Adobe to
Hui Hou, these guys kicked it out! We had a 'Potato' party goin' with
full-audience claps, solos to-die-for and some unforgettable jazz-crazy
moments. Thanks guys, for a cozy, jazzy night I will not soon forget!
© May 2010 Lynn M. Olson ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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