THE NEXT BAND . . . LIVE AT RYLES JAZZ CLUB!

So . . . last night the jazz combo I play in took to the bandstand in one of our 3-times-a-year “battle of the bands” sessions at Ryles Jazz Club in Inman Square in Cambridge. An ensemble housed at the John Payne Music Center in Brookline, we call ourselves The Next Band . . . because that’s who we are at these battles: “the next band” to take the stage . . .

Of course, it’s not really for me to say . . . but that will not stop me from saying it anyway: I think we played a pretty good set—5 tunes that showcase who we are and what we are capable of musically. We led off with “Grooveyard,” a really fine tune—catchy melody, good chord changes for soloing (I’ll take credit for suggesting it!)—penned back in the 1950s by pianist Carl Perkins. We went around the bandstand for solos—Noam on baritone sax, Joe on trumpet, Amelia on piano, yours truly on guitar, Greg on bass—all held together by our guest drummer, Bruce.

With our groove established, we turned the mic over to our vocalist, Julie, for the “North American nightclub debut” of “I Believe in Rhubarb,” a witty love song written by Oren, the brother of our bari player. Noam (on flute), Amelia, and Joe took solos . . . and Oren took a bow!

Then we shifted gears and played “Simone,” a Frank Foster tune written in 3/4 . . . and I guess we performed it in 3/4 too! (I’m pretty sure Amelia chose that one: she likes those jazz waltzes . . .) Joe, Amelia and Greg soloed. . . .

Then we had another vocal feature—Julie silencing the hubbub of conversation in the room with a compelling version of Eden Ahbez's “Nature Boy,” a song introduced to the world by Nat “King” Cole in 1947. We had a nice arrangement, with Greg walking the bass behind Julie for a half chorus before the rest of us joined in. Noam and Joe soloed.

Our closer was a great Lou Donaldson number, “Cookin’” (Joe’s recommendation—lots of dots on the page!). Again we went around the bandstand for solos on this one, and Julie took a turn too with some scat-singing: a rousing finish to a fine set.

I guess that by the time we took the bandstand at 8:10 p.m. as the penultimate combo of a “battle” that started in the afternoon, there were still about 125 people in the audience. Many of them were groupies of our trumpet player, Joe—including his 85-year-old mother who rode a bus all the way from Baltimore just for the occasion! They seemed pleased with what they heard . . . which is more than enough incentive for us to do it all again: in May, I think . . .