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LIVE REVIEWS
Jetset Getset
Hard Rock Café
Nashville, TN
Contact: fandersonmedia@aol.com
Web: http://jetsetgetset.com
The Players: Tori Little, vocals; Avery Eliason,
vocals; Sadie Loveland, vocals; Jason Owens,
guitar; Justen Jette, guitar; Duncan Mullins (filling
in for Paul Kelley), bass; Gillian Bowman, drums;
Terry Ranck, keys.
Username: jetset_getset
Material: With a full band behind them, this
trio of girls aren’t even old enough to drink, but
they draw on the influence of women who ruled
country pop when Jetset’s vocalists were toddlers.
The pop country stylings of women like Dixie
Chicks and Faith Hill are poured into a kitschy,
sparkling mold and come out as girlpower pop
for the teenybopper—fun and sticky teen Disney
schmaltz about love, life and friendship.
Musicianship: The vocal harmonies of Little,
Eliason and Loveland are good enough to have
pulled renowned radio name Jack Gale out of
retirement to offer a recording contract to Jetset
Getset nearly a year ago. That’s saying something,
considering Jetset Getset were formed back
in 2011 just for the fun of it. Their vocal harmonies
are good enough to have attracted Jim Pierce
(Johnny Cash) to coproduce their second record,
Saturday Night, and have a slew of Nashville
session musicians as well as songwriters, like
Tom Paden (Kenny Rogers), get involved. In
Nashville, that’s more than enough said.
Performance: The Hard Rock isn’t as much of
an exclusive hangout as other Nashville venues;
Shoshana Bush
Catalina Jazz Club
Hollywood, CA
Contact: Betsyann Faiella, bafaiella@icloud.
com, 310-283-2415
Web: http://shoshanabush.tumblr.com
The Players: Shoshana Bush, vocals; Isamu
McGregor, piano; Larry Koonse, guitar; George
Young, alto sax, flute; David Robaire, bass,
Gene Coye, drums.
Username: shana.bush@gmail.com
Material: Shoshana Bush and her band offer
arguably some of the best and most popular
music performed over the span of nearly a
century. The list of composers is exactly what one
would expect at a jazz club: Gershwin, Porter,
Ellington, Strayhorn, Jobim, to name the most
recognizable. The band generally keep the songs
intact as they perhaps were originally written, not
deviating much from the form or melody, and
keeping the style choices safe and familiar rather
than reinventing the wheel. One particularly fresh
moment in the set includes two slightly more
“modern” songs, “It’s All Right,” (Sam Cooke) and
“For Sentimental Reasons.”
Musicianship: Bush clearly demon-strates that
she is a studied singer. She does very well to
assemble a polished and sophisticated band.
Isamu McGregor on piano is also credited with
helping arrange and direct the music and is
therefore a valuable collaborator. Guest soloist
George Young is a solid veteran of the jazz world,
and the rest of the group appear to be well within
the top tier of standard professional jazz players.
Bush herself, though consistent and fairly
precise with melody and timing, does little to add
creatively as a musician. The most successful
Jetset Getset: Mixing bubblegum pop with sprightly country twang.
you’re more likely to see any and everybody
there. There was very much a teen talent show
vibe on this night with camera-toting parents
moving around doubled over and crouched down
to snap photos.
Onstage, the girls were theatric, interacting with
one another, even pulling a boy from the audience,
seating him in a chair onstage and singing at him.
They were personable, warm and bouncy, albeit
mannered in stage presence—they would do just
as well if not better sans choreography—as they
moved through a 40-minute set that pivoted from
cheery to emotional.
Shoshana Bush: A beautifully soft, smoky vocal tone in a slightly academic presentation.
vocalists within the jazz world tend to be those
who make their voice an equal or greater lyrical
instrument of the ensemble. Bush shies away
from improvisation (or “scat”) and her creative
choices for individuality become redundant.
Her dynamic expression is predictable and the
moments of dramatic height, her go-to straighttone
belt, can push her voice out of pitch without
the connection of her spirit and soul to draw the
listener past the point of scrutiny. The result is
a detached sound with the intention of dynamic
drama, but seeming forced and unnatural.
Bush has a beautiful soft, smoky tone that suits
perfectly for the Jobim classic “How Insensitive,”
a highlight of the evening.
Performance: The singer performed with a clear
and cool confidence, though her personality
was subdued and mild. The entire production
was of a high musical and professional level,
Also: heed the budding chops of 14-year-old
drummer Gillian Bowman.
Summary: Not to say a few outliers couldn’t get
on board, but Jetset Getset are set to entertain
a fairly narrow demographic of young girls, and
they’ll surely get far within that niche. Mixing
bubblegum pop with some sprightly country
twang, and having three youths deliver it rarely
fails to induce some sort of teenage cultural fever.
––Jessica Pace
and admirers of this style of music would likely
find it generally pleasing though not particularly
memorable or unique. Bush spent a great deal of
time throughout the night in explanation, at times
in rather lofty discourses on her philosophy and
choices. In this case the emotion and experience
didn’t translate in her expression of the material,
making the lengthy dialogue less relevant. The
result was a slightly academic presentation, rather
than a unique, inspiring emotional experience.
Summary: Jazz music is so loved because it presents
the opportunity to be taken somewhere new
while in the comfort of a familiar place. Soshana
Bush appears comfortable in the familiar place.
The next step is to make the material her own,
living the music rather than analyzing it. By
connecting her soul to the song, Bush’s voice has
the potential to inspire.
––Tim Reid, Jr.
MarkMoseley.coM
TiM ried, Jr.
February 2013 www.musicconnection.com 55