wenospeak

The show was fantastic. The performance was extremely cohesive and thanks to Mitch Forman had a great vibe. the crowd was small, but they got to see some fantastic fusion. A rare treat for SF fans. Because of our efforts, it looks like we may be able to bring the SKG to SF in August. SKG Scott Kinsey - keys Scott Hendeson - guitar Gary Novak - drums Jimmy Earl - bass

Well, I'm not going to disagree with anyone because it's all true. Donati is a guy with a gift in his feet and has made some serious music and a lot of noise. It's certainly not what I'd call groove oriented in any way - such as Kilson (who probably has the best control of dynamics today) and Williams or DeJohnette. It is of some significance that he's being compared to some pretty amazing drummers. Personally, I don't think he ranks high on my list, but that's not the point of this post. The point of the post was to encourage folks in the Bay Area to support live Jazz Rock concerts. This is the first collaboration with myself and the promoter. If it goes well, we can bring other great Jazz Rock artists up from L.A. (that usually never venture far from home, unless on an EU or Japan tour). Such as Jeff Richman, Scott Kinsey, Gary Novak, Scott Henderson, and a lot of folks that regularly appear at the Baked Potato, etc. CAB by the way is Bunny Brunel's group that is normally comprised of Bunny on Bass, Dennis Chambers on drums, either Patrice Rushen or Brian Auger on keys and occasionally Virgil on drums. I'm not a wank-a-thon fan at all, however, like anything else you want see blossom, you have to start small and work your way up. This is the first effort to make SF a destination for Jazz Rock bands. (outside of the small roster of regulars at Yoshi's). Maybe these guys are not your cup of tea, but they certainly have what it takes to make good music - Mitchel Forman is an amazing keyboard player and his Cd's "Mr. Clean" and "Patience" are two of my all time favorites. My position is that this show is critical to the well being and growth of Jazz Rock concerts in the Bay Area. Ok, so the first offering isn't the original Mahavishnu Orchestra, but I'll bet everyone has gone to a "Jazz Festival" and seen some real crap and then gone back the next year. In summation, this is not about me, the promoter, or Virgil Donati - it's about supporting Jazz Rock. I know all that sounds quite defensive, but really, what can I do, just roll over? In honesty and passion for Jazz Rock, Rick Calic www.jazzrockworld.com

Cool, Don't forget to print your coupon for $5.00 off the ticket price at the door. http://www.jazzrockworld.com/images/virgilsfcoupon.gif see you there!! Rick

I don't want to sound defensive, but here goes: Virgil Donati is a world class drummer (I saw him with CAB last year and he's pretty amazing) Mtchel Forman is of course Mitchel Forman and played with John McLaughlin Tony MacAlpine is a a shredder type guitarist and played with Planet X Rufus Philpot has played with the SKG (Scott Kinsey Group) and Planet X Yes, I took liberties with "super group" to help promote the show. The promoter is Music-East West. The main significance of this concert is the fact that these musicians all play regularly in Los Angeles, tour EU, Japan, etc. and rarely come north to San Francisco. Bay Area Jazz Rock fans are spread far and wide on the Internet and have no real community locally. I apologize to Organissimo for such a blatant plug, and was only thinking there may be other Jazz Rock fans here from SF (besides me) that would have missed the opportunity to see this show otherwise. I appreciate your understanding. Rick

Hi folks, I just got the word from the promoter that put the show together and The Virgil Donati Band is coming to San Fransisco June 11th. Details: Virgil Donati Band Virgil Donati (Drums) Rufus Philpot (Bass) Mitchel Forman (Keyboards) Tony MacAlpine (Guitar) June 11th Red Devil Lounge 1965 Polk Street San Francisco 8p-10p Tickets available at Ticket Web $20.00 21 and older only If you visit http://www.jazzrockworld.com you can print a coupon for $5.00 off the ticket price at the door. Hope to see you all there!!! Rick Calic www.jazzrockworld.com

deeply profound and excellent aim - you nailed it. Fortunately, the beast's bones are producing offspring as well. Thanks, Rick

Jazz Rock Fusion is a tough subject to approach in any music forum. I recently wrote an article about Jazz Rock Fusion with contributions from John McLaughlin, Billy Cobham, Dave Liebman, Adam Holzman, Peter Erskine, and John Scofield. I found their perspectives today about the music they created so many years ago to be interesting indeed. Being a die hard Jazz Rock Fusion fan since seeing Miles Davis, Weather Report, and The Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1972, it has always been a dream of mine to ask these musical masters a few questions about the genre. Hopefully you'll find the article as enjoyable to read as it was to write. You can download the article at www.jazzrockworld.com (in the downloads section). P.S. I used to be a member here, but it's been a while, so I had to re-register. This is a great music site!! Please note: Less than half the article is text, the rest are cover pictures and personnel from Jazz Rock Fusion albums. Also, a direct link is http://www.jazzrockworld.com/jazzrockarticle.pdf