The Riverwalk Jazz and Blues Festival
Here we go again. I'm on the Bus w/ GV and the band @ 6:10am. We are traveling back to Birmingham from Montgomery Alabama. Working and traveling with these guys the last 48 hours of so has been nothing Short of amazing. We came down here to headline and close The Riverwalk Jazz and Blues Festival. Guest artist with Gerald's Band: the great saxophonist, Kirk Whalum. I would end up joining these giants on stage. I learned the music in a night, I had to buy drum sticks, and then get my head together to play with some of the most amazing musicians ever. Let it suffice to say that this is the most demanding drum chair I've ever had to fill.
All of that aside, I had a job to do. When the music director, Chris Farr, counted off the top of the show, I had to strap in and hold on for the ride. All bets were off. It's band of professionals and I had to hang. I’ve listened to Gerald’s music forever in a day but before now, I had never had a chance to play in his band for more than a few minutes in rehearsal. The feeling is absolutely awesome. When you put your foot on that bass drum pedal, it’s as if you can move the world. We’re flying along. The music sounds almost as I remember it (which means I’m not really messing up). People are clapping, shouting, and dancing, all good signs that things are going according to plan. I look at the set list gaff taped to my monitor. It’s time for Kirk’s tunes. This is the material that really counts. He knows the scoop and things went well in sound check but to be able to pull off a guest artist’s music with barely any rehearsal is a real testament to my ability as a musician. People notice that kind of thing and will talk about it. I had no choice but to nail it…. I came pretty close. ;) We did the rest of the show including Gerald’s hit, Do I Do, the closer. When we got to the end of that tune, and played the hits to end it, there was a sense of relief and accomplishment like I’ve never felt before. The crowd erupts I have to jump from my “riser above the world” to join the band for a curtain call. Then it happens. The crowd wants more and they aren’t afraid to show it. They clap and scream and practically beg for another tune. Sound is almost deafening. I think that venue held like 4,000 folks and all of them were screaming for the band (with me in it! Yay!) to come back and give them more music. It’s dang near orgasmic.
Kirk connected with the audience so well. The people sang his tunes and shouted for favorites. He went out in to the audience and played. It was incredible. But what really blew me away was the spiritual nature of the experience. The people were ready to have some church on that hill. Kirk released a pair of CDs entitled the Gospel According to Jazz, Vol. 1 and 2. They are jazz records with spiritual and inspirational messages. On the latter is a tune entitled Falling in Love with Jesus. For our second encore we did this tune. Just off the cuff he started playing it. You could just feel the spirit moving from the stage to the crowd and back. It was possibly the best show I’ve ever played.
The whole weekend was an amazing experience and something I’ll never forget.
All of that aside, I had a job to do. When the music director, Chris Farr, counted off the top of the show, I had to strap in and hold on for the ride. All bets were off. It's band of professionals and I had to hang. I’ve listened to Gerald’s music forever in a day but before now, I had never had a chance to play in his band for more than a few minutes in rehearsal. The feeling is absolutely awesome. When you put your foot on that bass drum pedal, it’s as if you can move the world. We’re flying along. The music sounds almost as I remember it (which means I’m not really messing up). People are clapping, shouting, and dancing, all good signs that things are going according to plan. I look at the set list gaff taped to my monitor. It’s time for Kirk’s tunes. This is the material that really counts. He knows the scoop and things went well in sound check but to be able to pull off a guest artist’s music with barely any rehearsal is a real testament to my ability as a musician. People notice that kind of thing and will talk about it. I had no choice but to nail it…. I came pretty close. ;) We did the rest of the show including Gerald’s hit, Do I Do, the closer. When we got to the end of that tune, and played the hits to end it, there was a sense of relief and accomplishment like I’ve never felt before. The crowd erupts I have to jump from my “riser above the world” to join the band for a curtain call. Then it happens. The crowd wants more and they aren’t afraid to show it. They clap and scream and practically beg for another tune. Sound is almost deafening. I think that venue held like 4,000 folks and all of them were screaming for the band (with me in it! Yay!) to come back and give them more music. It’s dang near orgasmic.
Kirk connected with the audience so well. The people sang his tunes and shouted for favorites. He went out in to the audience and played. It was incredible. But what really blew me away was the spiritual nature of the experience. The people were ready to have some church on that hill. Kirk released a pair of CDs entitled the Gospel According to Jazz, Vol. 1 and 2. They are jazz records with spiritual and inspirational messages. On the latter is a tune entitled Falling in Love with Jesus. For our second encore we did this tune. Just off the cuff he started playing it. You could just feel the spirit moving from the stage to the crowd and back. It was possibly the best show I’ve ever played.
The whole weekend was an amazing experience and something I’ll never forget.
posted by thetruthspeaks at 11:03 AM
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