TriCity Jazz heats up a rainy Saturday Night!

Jazz Café at the Chubby Pickle

202501 Tricity Jazz

On a rainy Saturday night in the Highlands local resident Chris Andreach and his band, TriCity Jazz, returned to the Pickle to play board member Joseph Vincent Riggio’s J v ARCHER ENTERTAINMENT’s Saturday Jazz Café to start the year off right with three great sets of music!

Chris was joined this night by top-tier local Jazz guitarist and music educator, Doug Clarke on his vintage Guild Jazz box, Ian Howells on the Viscount Legend keyboard, and Frank Partente, another music educator, on his sweet Gretsch drumkit. Chris showcased his talent on both the Alto and Curved Soprano and luckily for the capacity crowd he had both singing into them all night long with crisp, warm, and resonate sound.

Set one Highlights included “Blue Train,” originally recorded by Johnny Cash but made famous to Jazz enthusiasts by Coltrane. Chris’ intro of the song rang throughout the venue, Ian’s left held down the bottom masterfully, and this version demanded attention. On Benny Golson’s “Killer Joe,” Doug soloed “on full form” to the delight of the crowd. Chris switched to the Curved Soprano for “Stolen Moments” with the band trading solos over a Blues sequence in the key of C which really allowed Ian to cut through the rhythm. The Herbie Handcock tune “Dolphin Dance” had Dough give everyone the pleasure of an extended solo where he snuck in a Wane Shorter riff bringing smiles to the faces of the band and those in the know. The set ended with the Oscar Hammerstein song “Softly as a Morning Sunrise”. 

After a short break where the band got to hang with Joe Peterson of the Weeks & Peterson Quintet (playing the next Jazz Café on March 1st) and James Popik of Supernova fame, they returned for a second eight-song set. After the opener “For Turia” by Charlie Hyden and Alice Coltrane the band broke into “Summertime” making us all forget about the foul weather. The set continued with Horace Silver’s “Song For My Father” that Ian hijacked and took the solo section to another level playing a quick syncopated and synchronized double hand run that seemed to never end keeping the band on its toes and the crowd looking up from their conversation. Chris stepped away from the stage after introducing the mega familiar “Take the A Train” featuring his band now as a trio. Dough absolutely crushed an extended solo playing in a way I have never heard before, it was a muted and plucking technique that had us all scratching our heads on haw he accomplished it as he smiled warmly as if it were an effortless simple bar chord progression. The set ended with the Coltrane tune “Equinox”.

Set three was short but more upbeat leading off with one of their signature songs, the Andy Sommers’ arrangement of “Afro Blues” this is consistently the best version of this wildly popular and often covered song and It has become their trademark at least at The Chubby Pickle in my opinion. The set continued with the rock-influenced Eddie Harris number “Cold Duck Time” that Frank Punched up to almost a dance like beat where he got to shine on a very fun and cymbal heavy solo. The night ended with a really fun version of the Mile Davis tune “All Blues”.  The crowd rewarded the band with a huge round of applause. Thanks to all who attended another great night of Jazz at the Chubby Pickle!  As mentioned previously the next Jazz Café will be on March 1st 2025 featuring The Weels & Petrson Quintet with special guest from major touring bands rounding out the band for rhythm section Joe Peterson and Tim Weeks.

More about TriCity Jazz on www.TriCityJazz.com

More about the Chubby Pickle on www.TheChubbyPickleNJ.com