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MACK<br />
Short Takes Canada: Vancouver GOLDSBURY<br />
saxes, guitarist Jared Burrows, Kerry Galloway electric bass, and Brad Turner<br />
keyboards. The Cellar will be hosting groups during the Van. International<br />
Jazz Fest. 6/21-7/1. Go to www.cellarjazz.com for info…Speaking of the jazz<br />
fest, Coastal Jazz & Blues will announce the full schedule around the end<br />
of April. The only group announced so far is Esperanza Spaulding’s Radio<br />
Music Society 6/23 at The Vogue. Go to http://www.coastaljazz.ca/ Cellar in<br />
its 12-year history. I can’t disagree. It seems to me that McBride is pretty much<br />
the Ray Brown of this generation in both bass chops, as a leader, and his overall<br />
stature on his instrument. And then there is Christian Sands who is only 23<br />
and impressed me more than any pianist has for many years. Mentored by Dr.<br />
Billy Taylor and Hank Jones among other, Sands has Oscarian blazing chops<br />
and ability as well as deep feeling for the blues. I could hear the influences of<br />
Red Garland, Bobby Timmons, and Junior Mance on the night’s soulful opener<br />
“Ham Hocks and Cabbage”. One of the night’s highlights was “Sophisticated<br />
Lady” was opened by McBride and then Sands took over with a gorgeous solo.<br />
Another highlight was “Cherokee” played very fast save for the bridge which<br />
was taken slower and in 3/4. Sands fingers were a blur as he took chorus after<br />
chorus, bringing the house down when he finished. Owens is one of the most<br />
fascinating drummers I’ve seen. He was here last year with Ted Nash. His<br />
brush work on Oscar Peterson’s “Hallalujah Time” was dazzling. The night<br />
ended with a lengthy soul tune by Johnny Taylor which morphed into several<br />
Michael Jackson tunes and had the audifor jazz fest. info. Capilano U’s jazz<br />
series concludes in April with Dave Liebman with the “A” Band and NiteCap<br />
vocal group 4/19 and the Brad Mehldau 3 4/29 at kay Meek Centre. In May,<br />
Blues singer appears 5/12 at the Electric Owl…Recent visitors to the Cellar have<br />
included trombonist Steve Davis, altoist Jim Snidero and Christian McBride’s<br />
3. Steve Davis appeared as a guest with Cory Weeds’ 5tet along with Tilden<br />
Webb piano, bassist Ken Lister and Jesse Cahill drums. The two sets that I<br />
caught included a mix of standards and originals starting with Ray Bryant’s<br />
“Tonk” followed by Lister’s “Something Blue” a Blakeyish funky tune, Ross<br />
Taggart’s lovely “Thinking of You” and “Let’s Go” a funky tune by Weeds and<br />
Webb. A highlight of the night was Davis’ solo feature on Day Dream”. Jim<br />
Snidero appeared in early February with Miles Black piano, Andre Lachance<br />
bass and Jesse Cahill. The first set started with “Apertivo”, a tasty bossa by<br />
Snidero followed by “Time After Time”, “Bye Bye Blackbird” and a smoldering<br />
version of “Oleo”. The second set included “Tranquility” a ballad by Snidero<br />
with the night ending with a burning “Love For Sale”. Bassist Christian<br />
McBride trio was at the Cellar 2/21-24 with Christian Sands piano and drummer<br />
Ulysses Owens Jr. Some people have told me that this group was the best<br />
ever to play the ence clapping and smiling...For local jazz info and links go to<br />
www.vancouverjazz.com or call (604) 872-5200.<br />
Ron Hearn<br />
59 | CadenCe Magazine | april May June 2013
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