Steve Just Grooved!!!

[Pocketime]

I have'nt posted in quite some time so I thought that I would say hey to everyone and mention last nights show. I went to see James Taylor at Blossom Music Center (an outdoor ampitheater) here in Cuyahoga Falls Ohio. It was an awesome summer night of sitting on sand chairs in the grass, eating some frozen grapes, some good cheese, and enjoying some wine on a well deserved night out with my wife. Rare, for us with three kids and both with day gigs. Anyway, JTs' line up on this tour is very impressive. Luis Conte, "The Master" Steve Gadd, Mike Landau on lead guitar and Jimmy Johnson on bass. Talk about a blow away groove section!! This tour also features the usual line of background vocalist that have been with him for years (they are incredible). Also, Walter Fowler on trumpet and a sax, alto flute, clarinetist (name escapes me) that were really wonderful. I just want to say that Steve was just INCREDIBLE!!. He played with such groove, power, finesse, taste and his time was just impeccable! On the tune "Steam Roller Blues" he did this New Orleans style shuffle which he perfectly set and held the tempo just a hair behind the beat to make the groove so thick that you would have had to have been dead not to have had your boppin. The lock between him and Jimmy Johnson was something from another planet. When they played "Mexico" it opened with an unbelieveable percussion intro by Luis, that had the audience on its feet! Then they set the tune to this Afro-Cuban groove the likes you've never heard. Steve drove this band with such style, grace, and mastery of his instrument that when JT introduced him he called Steve a "True Legend of the Drums". Not a truer phrase was ever spoken. One of JTs' background vocalists also is an incredible fiddle player. She did this Irish folk ballad as a duet with Steve that was just riveting. Steve played with that wonderful dark very corp style dissonance that was reminiscent of the Paul Simon snare, bass drum and hi-hat grooves.
What a night!!! This was the 16th time that I have seen JT and trust me there will be a 17th! If his tour comes through your town, RUN DONT WALK!! You won't be dissappointed, guaranteed!! PT.

[Henry II]

SG is one of those rare musicians (like BR [img]wink.gif[/img] ) that just never plays a wrong note. Every note, phrase, groove is perfect. You can listen to a SG song 100 times and not be able think of a way to improve on what he did.

It reminds me of that movie "Amadeus" where Salieri (F. Murray Abraham), who at one time believed that his musical talent was a gift from God, until he met Mozart (and later out of jealousy pots to kill Mozart - the creature sent by God to mock Salieri), gets a glimps of some of Mozart's original manuscripts, and in a state of utter awe says to himself - "Displace one note and there would be a diminishment. Displace one phrase, and the structure would fall. This was no composition by a performing monkey. This was a music I had never heard. Filled with such longing, such unfulfillable longing. It seemed to me I was hearing the voice of God." (Yes, I did a Google search to find those quotes [img]biggrin.gif[/img] ).

OK, so maybe SG's drumming isn't the voice of God . . . but it's pretty damn close. [img]eek.gif[/img]

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ June 23, 2005 08:37 AM: Message edited by: Henry II ]</font>

[peter c]

PT,

I know your joy!! What a great show!!

I will be there too!!

To Steve!!

[img]cool.gif[/img]

[Schreck]

I just want to correct the impression about Salieri, one could get,
if he just saw the movie amadeus,
because this kind of history"MAKING" with the intention of just fish for effects,
is really not very serious.
to use salieri for these effects, just to push the story is not just not serious,
it's even more ...

Salieri is until these days a very accepted composer.
He was always a promoter for mozart.
he was a very acceepted teacher. even mozart took lessons with salieri.
it's really ridiculous, how some businessmen try to write their own MONEYhistory
for the price of a FAIR estimation.

I know, you didn't mention this story to insult salieri.
I just want to correct the picture.