Power trio. It’s a tag generally applied to rock acts like the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, or Rush. Piano trio. It’s a tag generally applied to jazz acts led by the likes of Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, or Chick Corea. Beast Mode Trio (beastmodetrio.com) is a South Florida collective that split the differences during its 70-minute show for a three-quarter capacity … [Read more...]
Florida drummer’s new fusion trio comes to Boca club
Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be drummers in South Florida. Miami-born Jonathan Joseph has toured and recorded with vocalists Ricky Martin and Joss Stone — two pop artists with oversized name recognition — but even that hasn’t made him a comparable star despite his own oversized technique, taste, and speed around the drum kit. The 58-year-old Port St. … [Read more...]
South Florida jazz duo has been ‘running toward the art’ for 30 years
Perhaps the preeminent jazz duo of all time, and definitely the top historic vocal-and-guitar jazz duo, was the pairing of singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996) and guitarist Joe Pass (1929-1994). The two larger-than-life artists primarily led successful separate careers, other than occasional live performances together, releasing only four duo albums between 1973 and 1986 … [Read more...]
Blues trailblazer Samantha Fish heads for Boca bash
It’s probably safe to say that the blues world never saw Samantha Fish (www.samanthafish.com) coming. The 35-year-old emerged from the historic Kansas City, Missouri, music scene 20 years ago with her ample vocal chops, heady songwriting and incendiary guitar playing, aided since by an attention-grabbing pinup gal sense of fashion. She’s appeared on a dozen albums, most … [Read more...]
Season Preview 2024-25: Stalwarts keep the flame alive for jazz fans
If all music forms encompassed a herd of prey animals, jazz might be the unfortunate member struggling to keep up at its rear flank. It’s unfortunate, and not the way it should be, but sadly the way it is in the modern music biz. South Florida has numerous music schools producing quality jazz musicians, yet many need to go into teaching, perform and record popular music, and/or … [Read more...]
Legendary UK band Squeeze marks 50th with performance in Pompano
Fifty years together as a band is rare, but the route toward such a golden anniversary isn’t often as circuitous as that of Squeeze (www.squeezeofficial.com). The heady British pop group’s celebratory tour of the United States started in Oregon in mid-August, and includes a stop at Pompano Beach Amphitheatre on Sept. 21. Best-known for late-1970s and early-1980s U.K. and … [Read more...]
‘Not Not Jazz’: Medeski, Martin & Wood doc shortchanges importance of jazz/fusion band
A new phenomenon emerged through the 1990s when keyboardist John Medeski, drummer Billy Martin and bassist Chris Wood (www.medeskimartinandwood.com) created what proved to be the most formidable jazz/fusion act without a stringed instrument since Weather Report. Director Jason Miller’s new Medeski, Martin & Wood documentary, Not Not Jazz (Oscilloscope Laboratories/MVD … [Read more...]
Veteran cover duo Twocan Blue a staple at Boca club
Certain musical gigs that were once frequent have become rare in South Florida. The area nightclub scene is now mostly dominated by open mics, jam nights, karaoke, trivia, stand-up comedy, and singing guitarists who are sometimes accompanied by pre-recorded backing tracks. In essence, anything that club owners and managers can think of where they only have to pay one host or … [Read more...]
Dead tribute band Crazy Fingers teams with Boca Symphonia for free concert
As the year 1970 approached, an up-and-coming British hard rock band called Deep Purple had a crazy idea. With a soaring new vocalist in Ian Gillan and a bassist/producer in Roger Glover replacing Rod Evans and Nick Simper, respectively, even fans forget that the new lineup’s first release wasn’t its 1970 breakthrough studio album Deep Purple in Rock. Rather, it was the … [Read more...]
Versatility pays off for South Florida musician Greenberg
When it comes to South Florida’s current music scene, area musicians know it’s a jungle out there. Gone are the 20th-century days when one could earn a living locally by exclusively performing within the realm of popular music. So modern success stories usually involve versatility — as in original songwriting plus cover-song acumen, multiple instruments played within … [Read more...]