Groove Skool Band & Drew Davidsen
K2 Restaurant and Lounge
Woodbridge, VA
Friday, Sept. 16, 2011
In a word: Wow! I'd not had the opportunity to visit this small, rather quaint and earthy restaurant and lounge prior to this event. As such, I had no idea of the energy and good spirit it exudes. It was all so evident during this totally jamming show. The establishment might consider better stage lighting but, on this night, all of the light needed came from within the talented artists who graced the stage.
I had seen Groove Skool Band in concert before, and its stage presence and obvious skill were again most undeniable. They, in a word, "brought it" full throttle, with Christian De Mesones laying down the infectious bottom on bass, Mike Gamble cooking up pronounced runs and melodies on guitar, Keith Anderson displaying stellar skills on sax (even seducing the ladies on Billy Paul's "Me and Mrs. Jones" with his calling style by coming offstage and making his way through the audience), and drummer Nick Costa and percussionist Frank Lloyd calling up driving rhythms that were simply too much to resist.
The lovely vocalist, Yvette Spears, was, as usual, simply breathtaking. Her phrasing, her presence, her emotion, and her obvious command of the material (which, by the way, included a marvelously creative cover of the classic Bobby Hebb tune, "Sunny" and the islandesque "Blame it on Rio") all spoke to the professionalism and sparkling appeal of this nightingale.
Before the band exited, there was an emotional tribute to Wayman Tisdale on the band's "Brother to Brother," reminding us all to never forget the awesome contributions made by the late ray of sunshine who played bass as much with his smile and personality as he did with his hands.
Following this energetic collection of talent, renowned guitarist Drew Davidsen proved that his nomination as the American Smooth Jazz Award guitarist of the year was certainly no fluke. Anotherone with massive stage presence (even coming out into the audience to play behind his head, Hendrix-style), he came on in a blaze with "My Club Side" from his well-produced Spin Cycle CD and "Bounce" from Around (Again), bringing the audience to the verge of frenzy more than once. He kept the flame alive, returning to Spin Cycle with the track "Don't Delay," before jumping into a scorching tongue-in-cheek 12-bar blues number, based loosely on Hendrix's classic "Red House," with plenty of help from his saxman Dave Krug.
Seeing and meeting Davidsen for the first time, I was immediately taken by his personable, down-to-earth nature. He mingled and chatted and performed as if we were all family. If you confined your focus to his playing, you would have been mesmerized by his handling of rock-like runs of the Hendrix era, blues runs of any era, and, of course, the effectiveness of his own material. Accompanying the guitarist was a very effective support squad which included Chris Rhodes (bass), Craig Alston (keys), Cory Baker (drums), and a very present Dave Krug on sax.
Once the guitarist finished his set, there was a short break wherein all of the artists mingled and chatted with the ecstatic and appreciative audience. Such a comfortable environment, from the artists to the restaurant owner, Len Gillespie, who was quite accommodating and pleasant and to whom we owe much gratitude for a really befitting atmosphere.
When the show resumed, Davidsen joined Groove Skool on a fired-up "Fight Club" from Groove Skool's Limited Edition CD, "The Ghetto," and a rousing "Freddie's Dead"-like tune (again from the Limited Edition CD), "Dekalb and Flatbush," which the band actually did dedicate to the late great musical innovator, Curtis Mayfield. Needless to say, this was the final blow to an audience that vowed to return whenever these guys are willing to do the same.
An excellent Friday night showing—and a full-throated testament that contemporary jazz has an extremely long way to go to get to any deathbed prepared for it by its critics. — Ronald Jackson for SmoothJazzRide.com
