Before we kick off into this evening’s festivities I forgot
to tell you about the Sauce Boss and his set last night on the Jazz
Street stage. Well, he was on fire and I’m not just talking about his
kitchen shtick where he’s rockin’ while a big pot of
gumbo is cookin’ which he serves to the crowd like
that loaves and fishes tale in the Bible. The Sauce Boss plays some hellacious
and greasy slide blues while operating the drums with his feet. It was hot and
spicy and satisfying … the music that is; hey, I ain’t
a food critic.
The line to see Grace Kelly’s 5:30 show at
the Harro East Ballroom wrapped around the parking
lot and down the street. I went inside to see what’s what. Suffice it to say,
it wasn’t for me. She was bubbly and fun, and though dressed like a roller
derby girl with a sax, Kelly was entirely too smooth for me so I evaporated and
headed to the Little Theatre for Chet Catallo.
Lately he’s been picking the blues at jams around town, but tonight’s set
was boisterous and boppin’ with Catallo
leading a stage full of musicians themselves full of precision, groove, and
polyrhythm. The dynamics were impressive and hairpin as the band quickly found
its legs.
Who would have known that a few short hours later I’d be
singing with Herb Alpert. Alpert and his wife, Lani Hall, and his excellent band created a beautiful night
full of reminiscence and song. Alpert wondered aloud where had
melody gone before digging in to the melody he has graced the world with
for years. At 80, Alpert was limber and spry as he effortlessly sent brassy and
classy salvos to the rafters. His tone was baby bottom smooth and jazz cool. He
was reluctant to sing “This Guy’s In Love With You”
but relented as long as the audience joined in. What a sweet treat. The show
was full of big band swing, jazz standards, pop, and Brazilian jazz-pop. Hall
was spot on and equally charming as her trumpet-wielding ball and chain, as she
intoned in English and Portuguese. The whole show — and its three encores — was
truly a taste of honey.
This article appears in Jun 17-23, 2015.
