- Dick Metcalf Contemporary Fusion Reviews Live Show Reviews
- Paula Santoro exciting live concert Paula Santoro/Jasnam Daya Singh house concert at Dr. Wheelz’ pad
- True jazz stars I-5 Allstars at ArtHouse Designs in Olympia, Washington
- Montavilla Jazz Festival Day 1, Act 6 – Rich Halley 5 with Vinny Golia
- Montavilla Jazz Festival Day 1, Act 5 – David Friesen Quartet
- Montavilla Jazz Festival Day 1, Act 4 – Joe Manis Double Drums Quartet
- Montavilla Jazz Festival Day 1, Act 3 – PJCE with Jasnam Daya Singh
- Montavilla Jazz Festival Day 1, Act 2 – Trio Subtonic with Dan Balmer
- Montavilla Jazz Festival Day 1, Act 1 – Ron Steen Quartet
- Charlie Saibel Tipsy piano bar Charlie Saibel’s first gig at Tipsy Piano Bar
- Montavilla jazz festival forefront creative expression Montavilla Jazz Festival 2017
- * jazzcamp portland ryanmeahger * Ryan Meahger’s Jazz Camp 2017
- Smoocho Gusto at Cascadia Grill, 2017/06/21
- A Tribute to John Keeslar LIVE SHOW review by Dick Metcalf
- Breaks and Swells Olympia fall arts walk Breaks and Swells LIVE SHOW review, Rhythm & Rye, Olympia, WA
- Steve Bentley Ensemble Great Northwest jazz supreme Steve Bentley Ensemble at Rhythm & Rye LIVE show Review
- Rob Scheps supercharged dynamic quintet Rob Scheps – Gil Evans Legacy Quintet – Olympia, WA
- Enchantingly memorable musical magic with FLOW (the Group) – Live Show Review, Royal Room, 2018/05/15
- Exciting jazz house concert LaVon Hardison – Live Show review
- Superbly entertaining guitar mastery Eric Tingstad – Live Show review, Harbor Sounds concert series
Breaks and Swells Olympia fall arts walk BREAKS AND SWELLS LIVE SHOW REVIEW, RHYTHM AND RYE, OLYMPIA, WA: I’ve been following my sax-playing pal Jeremy Shaskus for a good long time now, ever since I met him a couple of years ago at The Olympia Experimental Music Festival… he wrote several reviews for Improvijazzation Nation magazine as well, so we got to know each other through that as well.
What I didn’t know is that he was part of a fantastically upbeat band, Breaks and Swells, that played at this year’s Olympia Arts Walk; of course, it was at one of my favorite venues in the magickland of Olywa – Rhythm & Rye… when I got the show announcement from him, I asked him if he could get me a “press pass”, which (of course), he did… the band is led by Marquetta Miller, with Dylon Tubb; Derrick Jones; Quinton Harris; Brice Ervin; Jeremy Shaskus and Mike Lundquist (visit their FB page to get all the details), and they weren’t the “jazz” set I had been expecting… what you’ll see in their band bio is “influences ranging widely across the spectrum of Soul, Rock, Funk, Jazz, and Pop, Breaks and Swells are hard to pin down“… never was a statement truer than that!
The one thing I can tell you before you watch the short video clips I captured of their live performance is that they KNOW how to have FUN…. & that IS what life should be all about… check out the performances before I continue my ramble, lol:
I loved the interaction of the horns & guitars with the singers, not to mention the Hammond just KRANKIN’ back there… & the ladies doin’ the vocal are ENERGY personified… a perfect set for the conclusion to the 2017 Arts Walk… not “artsy-fartsy” in the least – in fact, a very well-coordinated set with heavy & soulful beats. I give them my MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, and think it’s important that you catch them whenever they’re playing in your neighborhood. Rotcod Zzaj