Front Row, Center by Lynn, August 30, 2010

Thanks to Vinita Kothari and Tony Moore for a these freeze frames!

Monday, August 30, 2010
Special Event: Dinner and a Show, Eric Marienthal & Jeff Lorber
Spaghettini, Seal Beach, CA

Saxophone: Eric Marienthal
Keyboard: Jeff Lorber
Bass: Nate Phillips
Drums: Tony Moore

Lights up!
Owner, Cary Hardwick~
“Good evening, everybody! Welcome to Spaghettini! I’m one of the owners. I love Monday nights when we have ‘Dinner and a Show’ after a long day of work. Please, give a big Seal Beach welcome to Jeff Lorber and Eric Marienthal!”
The boys were on the hot seat, ready to roll it out. Lorber started a ball-o’-fire sizzle across the keys as only Jeff can. Eric joined in on soprano sax paired with Tony Moore’s perfect drumbeat. ‘Ah’ moments continued to surface when Moore gifted his pure, unfiltered licks without the ‘usual’ plex screen this evening.

I decided right away, it had been too long since I’d last heard Marienthal live. Shame on me! I knew this cat can blow, and blow he did! Then, it was back to key-crazy Lorber with his stand-up-sit down, foot-stompin’ vibe. Nate Phillips took over with an arch-backed bass solo that blew it out. A simultaneous ‘wow’ and ‘oh, my’ were ours already! From there, Drummer Tony and Bassist Nate teamed up for a thumpin’, bumpin’ jazzy-drum beatin’ duo that was off-the-chain! Cowboy hat poised just so and bass in hand, Nate laid it out. Eric slipped back in from the side pocket and handed us a mind-blowing finale for opener, Mysterious Traveler.
Saxophonist Eric Marienthal~
“Alright! Thank you very much, everybody! How’s everybody doin’? You’re listening to Nate Phillips on bass, Tony Moore on drums and we have a very, very special guy over here, Mr. Jeff Lorber!”
Keyboardist Jeff Lorber~
“Let’s not forget, Mr. Eric Marienthal!”
Eric~
“It’s great to be here with my wife for the Idyllwild Jazz Fest. I love it! I work for forty-five minutes and have a nice place with my wife. Now I’d like to feature a Jeff Lorber tune, Serreptitious.”
Jeff Lorber attacked the keyboard like a rabid dog. He was a wild man! His jazz frenzy lured Saxophonist Marienthal’s savored alto solo. Drummer Tony’s uncorked bubbly beat, uniquely his. Eric took the alto to the sky, wailing it Sanborn style. He sprinkled his charisma across the front pocket, sharing unstoppable energy with Lorber. They played off each other like magic. Marienthal’s finale was simply incredible!
Keyboardist Jeff Lorber struggled with his mic~
“Alright, I guess I can’t get the microphone out of here!”
Marienthal~
“Yeah!”
Jeff~
“I’ve been traveling overseas a lot. It’s good to be home with no money conversions! It’s just good to be home. Nate Phillips played on my first album. We worked in Portland at a record store. He’s probably the reason I got fired!”
The audience roared.
Lorber added~
“I also worked with Tony Moore in the studio. So, we all go way back. It’s like old home week here!”
Eric~
“We’re gonna play a song I wrote with the Yellowjackets. This is called Oasis.” Marienthal thwacked the soprano straight to the passion imbedded in the soul of Nate Phillip’s bass solo. Nate’s thick vibe drew every inch of the audience to his genius. A smooth carryover took it to Eric for a ‘few’, then off to the incredible Lorber finger work. His stand-up, sit-down style hooks clinched the deal. Drummer Moore’s tunnel vision led his drumsticks along Eric’s held-note finale. We shared a triple wow with two superstars!
Eric Marienthal~
“Thank you very much. We’re gonna do another Jeff Lorber tune. I’m gonna see if I can adjust the mic.” He chuckled. “They really do have these taped in!” He joked about musicians and missing equipment. “This next one is a very obscure song I redid. It’s called Chinese Medicinal Herbs.”
The intensity of Lorber’s keyboard attack had Eric in awe as he stood in the front, side pocket. Nate absorbed the tune, shaking his approving head. The solo felt endless. Tony’s drumbeat kept spectacular time. Eric took over on soprano sax with a perfectly-timed Moore-Phillip backdrop. Lorber and Moore tossed it back and forth while Eric hung back again. Suddenly, the fire-breathing rhythm of Tony Moore riveted Lorber and the tune out of control. The crowd went crazy over his spectacular drum frenzy. The band looped into a round off that ended in an Eric-Lorber Kodak moment! Wow!
Lorber stage banter~
“You got the chart on that one?”
Eric~
“Yeah.”
Marienthal turned to the audience~
“Alright, you guys havin’ a good time? This is a great Eddie Harris tune called Compared to What.”
Mr. Energetic Alto gave us what we came for on my favorite tune. Trillin, nailin’ and sailin’ through this one, Eric Marienthal hit it straight up. Lorber played a raindrop tickle of the keys, then whacked it hard, hard, and harder. Nate kept an even thump while Tony was poised in deep concentration with his cherished beat. The rare chemistry between Tony and Nate froze time. Lorber threw out another stand up, sit down solo that carried everyone there into the jazz click. Eric snagged a little limelight while Tony engaged the audience in a full overhead clap. Lorber and Marienthal meshed with undeniable synchronicity. The band was tight, the sound over-the-top crazy. Marienthal’s finale swiveled him across the stage, arched back, sidestepping. The crowd roared!
Eric~
“Thank you, very much! We’re gonna do another Lorber tune. We’ll let him introduce it.”
Lorber~
“This is called Water Sign. For those of you who follow astrology, everyone in the band is a water sign. This one goes out to all the water signs in the audience!”
Jeff delivered this one to the outer limits! The head shaking Phillip-bass spirit resonated a smooth slip to Eric. Marienthal snatched it, took it center stage and showed us how it’s done. Nate’s bump swirled through air as sax man ‘E’ skipped across the stage with Lorber’s riffs headed his way. Marienthal buried himself in his solo and the Nate Phillips thump.
Eric~
“Thank you very much!” He reintroduced the band. “Thank you! We’re gonna take a short break, then we’ll be back. Check out Lorber’s Now is the Time CD in the lobby!”
Thanks, Eric, Jeff, Tony and my newest jazz-fix recruit, Mr. Nate Phillips. You’ve given new meaning to my ‘Monday Music Appreciation nights’! I promise never to let this much time between my pen and your live performances again!
© August 2010 Lynn M. Olson ALL RIGHTS RESERVED http://lynnjazz.wordpress.com/