It was a cold and blustery Saturday night in the Highlands when local resident Chris Andreach and his band, TriCity Jazz, returned to the Pickle to play board member Joseph Vincent Riggio’s Jazz Café. The weather didn’t seem to be a factor, because when Joanne and I arrived from an afternoon of music at the Wonder Bar for Light of Day Asbury Blues, the place was packed. Luckily, Joseph’s squeeze Tammina had saved us a spot and a place for our new Fender Telecaster raffle guitar.
Chris was joined this night by his childhood friend and top tier local jazz guitarist, Steve Bryant on his Ibanez Pat Metheny model, Ian Howells on the Viscount keyboard, and Tom Hyland on the house Gretsch kit. Steve, who fronts his own band, Red 123, told me they will be opening for the world-renown sax player, Joshua Redman, at the Vogel on February 9th. Chris, who plays Alto and Curved Soprano, had both with him, but the Alto was not what I remember him playing previously. It seems he was playing a new Yanagisawa AW02, not the Selmer Mark VI, a beautiful instrument. I was curious as to why the interior at the opening was a different color. He explained that it is a mix of brass and bronze, designed to give a warmer sound than all brass. To my ears, the sound was warmer and resonant, as well as being crisp and clear. This made for a noticeable difference between it and the Curved Soprano, which was also made by the same company.
Enough talk about instruments, it was what they did with them on this night that made it so special. Highlights of the first set included “Blue Train,” originally recorded by Johnny Cash but made famous in the jazz world by John Coltrane. With the new Alto magic in Chris’ hands, Ian’s left hand holding down the bottom, and Tom “metronome” Hyland right on point, this version certainly held the listener’s attention. On Benny Golson’s “Killer Joe,” Steve was in Chris’ words “soloing on full form” to the delight of the crowd. Oliver Nelson’s “Stolen Moments” saw Chris switch to the Curved Soprano with stellar results. The set ended with Chris watching on as the trio performed a beautiful version of Glen Campbell’s “Wichita Lineman,” highlighted by Steve’s fretwork.
After a short break, they returned for a second set of six songs, which included a terrific rendition of Miles Davis’ “All Blues,” with Ian making a solid contribution. Chris talked about sitting out on the patio having a drink in the warm months, and although no one was out there on this night, hearing Gershwin’s “Summertime” certainly conjured up thoughts of things to come. The set ended with Horace Silver’s “Song For My Father,” a tune that takes me back to 1965, sitting in the Expresso House, several steps down in the old Kingsley hotel after a summer night of working on the Asbury Park boardwalk.
Set three was a short one, leading off with a Steve Bryant original, “Cameron Place,” which fit in nicely with surrounding tunes and showcased his mastery on the guitar, along with some outstanding Curved Soprano sax from Chris. Next up was one of their signature songs, the Andy Sommers’ arrangement of “Afro Blues”. The band again displayed some inspired soloing, which has become their trademark. The night ended with the rock-influenced Eddie Harris number “Cold Duck Time,” which left those in attendance on an upbeat note and earned the band a big round of applause. Another great night of Jazz at the Chubby Pickle!
More about TriCity Jazz on www.TriCityJazz.com
More about the Chubby Pickle on www.TheChubbyPickleNJ.com