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Ken Pachkowsky
09-25-2006, 12:31 AM
Julie and I had 9th row center tickets for Chris Botti tonight. It was a great show. I can't believe he would play such a small venue. The Port Theater holds 850 people of which only 350 seats were sold (sadly it's a redneck town for the most part).

Rest assured he will never play here again as they had to have lost money.

His band is so tight.....Billy Killson is one tasty drummer having his own signature style. Bill Child's was on keyboards and it's easy to see why he has won a Grammy for best jazz pianist. Initially I was disappointed that Anthony Wilson was not playing guitar but was blown away by Mark Whitfield who is now a permanent fixture in the band. The Bass player was a fill in and did a great job, don't recall his name though, sorry.

The mix was so so but Chris's horn was sweet. A compression driver got fried during the encore and sounded pretty awful for 30 seconds. They quickly shut it off.

He played a great cross section of Miles Davis, Leonard Cohen, Count Basie etc etc.

PS: When was the last time you left a concert and had the main act standing at the exit thanking you for coming. I kid you not, the whole band was at the main exit signing autographs and shaking hands.

A great Jazz night.:applaud:

Titanium Dome
09-25-2006, 03:59 AM
Got him coming up Feb. 2007 in Cerritos. Looking forward to it. :yes:

John
09-26-2006, 09:52 PM
Man you Cats Are way Kool. I have never heard of that Artist???:D

Ducatista47
09-26-2006, 10:24 PM
Ken, great night all right. How, you ask, can an old Peoria Dude like Sun Ra and Chris Botti both? Anyone smoking with talent and great sidemen is fair game for me, and boy do I wish I'd been there!

Thanks for the report, Clark in Peoria

Ken Pachkowsky
09-26-2006, 11:10 PM
It was a great night for sure.

Reminds me of walking into a little jazz bar in Moncton, New Brunswick back in Feruary 1986 and The Gary Burton Quartet were playing to 30-40 people.

Pat Metheny and Al Dimeola played quitar and Chester Thompson was on drums. What a treat!

Ken

DavidF
09-27-2006, 04:54 PM
I have tickets for a show Friday the 29th. Outdoor in a garden setting at some ole house that makes a great venue. My wife is looking forward to a show, me just some good music. She will be tickled if he makes the same kind of "thank you" on the way out as you mentioned.

DavidF
San Jose, CA

Ken Pachkowsky
09-27-2006, 05:51 PM
David, please post your impressions as your going to see the same show.

Ken

Ducatista47
09-27-2006, 09:33 PM
It was a great night for sure.

Reminds me of walking into a little jazz bar in Moncton, New Brunswick back in Feruary 1986 and The Gary Burton Quartet were playing to 30-40 people.

Pat Metheny and Al Dimeola played quitar and Chester Thompson was on drums. What a treat!
Ken
Treat? It sounds more like you died and went to heaven!

Clark

Ken Pachkowsky
09-27-2006, 09:34 PM
:D :applaud:

DavidF
09-30-2006, 10:15 AM
...His band is so tight.....Billy Killson is one tasty drummer having his own signature style. Bill Child's was on keyboards and it's easy to see why he has won a Grammy for best jazz pianist. Initially I was disappointed that Anthony Wilson was not playing guitar but was blown away by Mark Whitfield who is now a permanent fixture in the band. The Bass player was a fill in and did a great job, don't recall his name though, sorry.

The mix was so so but Chris's horn was sweet. A compression driver got fried during the encore and sounded pretty awful for 30 seconds. They quickly shut it off.

He played a great cross section of Miles Davis, Leonard Cohen, Count Basie etc etc.

PS: When was the last time you left a concert and had the main act standing at the exit thanking you for coming. I kid you not, the whole band was at the main exit signing autographs and shaking hands.

A great Jazz night.:applaud:

Ken, it seems I was at the same show with you…meaning I have the same overall impression from the show.

Botti had with him some very fine talent in a compact and portable quintet plus singer on two songs. Simple stage setup, no “costume changes”, good song selection and no sense of boundary between the stage and the audience. We even had a moment of silence to take in the cricket concert surrounding the venue.

The song set had some obligatory tight-groove “modern jazz” covers but thankfully the group used those sparingly and had some fun with them in the process. Typical with Botti he does not hog center stage. What was really appealing to me was his sincere tip-of-the-hat to Miles Davis.

Billy Kilson on drums is a standout. His kinetic style is obvious and his timing and dynamics are incredible. He also shows a remarkable delicate style. At one time he was using a flourish of cymbal rides with just a light tap on every cymbal with his arms and sticks just a blur across the drum set. With enough speed and repetition the cymbals had a wonderful sustain of brilliance unbroken by splash.

The only complaint was a too-heavy bass in the mix and I can’t say if that was the stage mix or the house sound system.

As good as the group was it may seem ironic to say that my personal favorites were the songs with just trumpet and piano including Miles’ My Funny Valentine.

Botti and company hung around but the size of the crowd required a receiving line kind of deal. My wife tried for some up-close with the Group but the line was just too long and slow. We had to catch a shuttle bus out the park otherwise I may have been there past midnight.

Says he was headed back to Canada!

DavidF

Ken Pachkowsky
09-30-2006, 10:25 AM
Yes it does sound like the venue was similar.

PS: Right down to the heavy bottom end mix.

I think we were lucky to catch him in such an intimate setting before his career really takes off.....

Glad you liked it..

Ken

John
09-30-2006, 05:33 PM
Well I could not wait for anyone to fill me in anymore, so I googled the name.:(

I did find out he is playing the "Peg" on Oct 4.:applaud:

I will be catching what is left of the "WHO" on tuesday so I am not sure if my ears will be in any condition to listen to some smooth jazz???:bouncy:

Earl K
09-30-2006, 06:29 PM
Thanks Guys ! :D

I love this type of stuff .

He's here in town ( next week ) and wouldn't ya know it / I'm out of town . :(

Here's The Chris Botti Official WebSite (http://www.chrisbotti.com/) where one can check his touring schedule .

:)

Ken Pachkowsky
09-30-2006, 07:32 PM
Make sure to pick up his Live DVD (only available at concerts) and enjoy. Its a great recording and excellent quality video. I have played it twice since last week.

He was just invited by the Davis Family to participate in a special award ceremony in the next couple of weeks. I gather Miles Davis is being honored posthumously for his contributions to Jazz yet again.

I was thrilled to have a couple of minute chat with him and the band after last weeks show.

Ken