Our newest JSJBF board member, Jay Sweet, and the band Vintage Vibe Tribe, brought their brand of what he labeled “three horn swing” to the long running Sunday night summer series Bands by the Beach presented by the City of Long Branch in conjunction with the Foundation. In addition to Jay on upright bass, the band consists of leader Casey Sky Noon on vocals, Ken Tam on piano, Bill Bang on drums and Greg Grispart on sax. For this gig, they added Vinny Borcelli on trumpet and Michael Ventoso on trombone.
After some early rain, it cleared up and the sun appeared, guaranteeing the show would go on. Prior to the show I spoke with Jay, who was grateful for the opportunity to play this event, and Casey, who was exited to debut the full horn section, was feeling lucky and bought a couple of 50/50 and guitar raffle tickets before the show, but more on that later. Things got off to a great start with the Irving Berlin chestnut, “Blue Skies,” that had Casey singing and waving her matching fan, which was probably a good idea given the temperature. They followed that up with the 1931 jazz standard “All of Me,” which included fine trombone and sax soloing from Michael and Greg respectively. They then did a jazz interpretation of Elle King’s 2015 indie hit, “Ex’s and Oh’s,” which was one of the few songs carried over from their Chubby Pickle set, which I wrote about awhile back, and it was a real crowd pleaser on this night. From the opening strains of Vinny’s trumpet, the Lerner & Lowe composition, originally written for the musical Brigadoon, “Almost Like Being in Love,” this was another tour de force by the band. Watching Michael play, Tommy Meares, one of the finest bone players I know, remarked that “he plays beyond his years.” The same could be said for Ken Tam, who through out the evening, demonstrated his mastery of the jazz idiom on the keyboards.
On Johnny Mercer’s “Goody Goody,” Casey vamped it up, to the delight of the audience. Then, on another 21st Century tune, Meghan Trainer’s “All About That Bass,” Jay’s strong playing on the upright bass was featured on this ode to one of music’s unsung instruments. After a couple of ambulances with sirens blaring passed, Ken played a scintilating intro to the Mercer/Mancini song, “Days of Wine and Roses,” from the 1962 film of the same name. The song most closely associated with Etta James, “At Last,” showcased some of Casey’s strongest vocals as she gave Etta a run for her money. Another number known for a fabulous but tortured vocalist, Amy Winehouse, was the tune “Valerie,” which was a full out swing number, much to the delight of the dancers who showed up that night. After a great rendition of a song made famous by “The Chairman of the Board,” Frank Sinatra, “Fly Me To the Moon,”Casey turned over the mike to her husband, singer Craig Lawlor, for a down and dirty take on a song popularized by the Black Crows, “Hard to Handle,” and he nailed it.
Back to Casey, the band struck up the chords to Stan Getz most famous song which when it was released, introduced to world to the Brazilian bossa nova, “The Girl from Ipanema.” Unlike Astrud Gilberto’s sensual reading, Casey did it somewhat tongue in cheek, which had me chuckling the end. Next, it was all business, with the band ramping up the tempo and Casey giving us a spirited performance of Louis Prima’s” “Jump Jive an’ Wail,” much to the delight of all in attendance. A faithful rendition of Cole Porter’s ballad, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” minus the strings, played to the musician’s strength and Casey’s voice.
At that point I went up to the stage to pull the 50/50 winner. Since Casey bought tickets, I asked Greg, who was standing on the other side of me, to pull the winner, and wouldn’t you know it, he pulled one of Casey’s tickets! As I turned to hand her the cash, she immediately announced she was donating it to the JSJBF, a magnanimous gesture on her part. They then began a song that was made popular to baby boomers, via the TV show of the same name, “Route 66,” which featured an excellent drum solo by “Shoeless” Bill Bang. The night ended with Sinatra’s most famous song about a city, “New York, New York,” and what an ending it was! For fans of the great American songbook, classic jazz musicianship, and terrific vocals, this was a night not to be missed.