I only had one show at the Jazz Fest Tuesday night — contrary to popular
belief, other types of music do still go on during the festival, and I’ll have
a full photo slideshow of Motion City Soundtrack’s Water Street show up on
City’s Facebook in the morning. But at least my one jazz show of the evening
was a good one.
Coming to us via Scotland,
Tommy Smith & Karma put out an enjoyable blend of styles,
cultures, and tastes. You could hear the varied world influences throughout the
songs, from Scottish and Irish folk tunes, to fiercer rock-heavy songs held
together by strong drum work, and I swear I heard some Egyptian sax lines
thrown in there as well.
The group had the extremes worked out quite well. It was soft and serene at
its sweetest moments, and strong, confident, and energetic during its bellowing
louder sections. It was a good variety and showed off the group’s dynamics, no
pun intended. The musicians’ range and skill was further showcased in the
feature solo sections. Not often have I heard a soft, almost weeping, electric
bass solo, but here one was, and Smith’s sax work went from whispery to wild
and back again.
Unfortunately for the slower and softer numbers, Xerox Auditorium was quite
quite echoey, to the point where even Smith called it a cave. It made me wonder
if amplification was even needed for this smaller venue. It wasn’t very
noticeable during the louder tunes, but some of the very intimate and on-pins-and-needles
solos were working against the acoustics of the theater. Regardless it was an
enjoyable show, wide in its scope and great in its execution, even if it wasn’t
quite as Celtic as I would have hoped.
Wednesday I’m back to triple duty for the festival, with Bill Evans
Soulgrass (which may be the group I’m most excited for this whole week), Rich
Thompson Trio Generation, and Shirantha Beddage. Where are you planning to head
Wednesday night?
Looking for more of City’s Jazz Fest coverage? Click
here for City’s 2012 Jazz Fest Guide, click here for
our Jazz Blog landing page, or Like City on Facebook or
follow us on Twitter @roccitynews.
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