Joey and I ended up at The Brink right on time, show started at 3 and we were walking in at 2:45.
I was stoked.
Then I was bummed, because when we got in and I gave them my name at the ticket desk, and they said I wasn’t listed as having purchased a ticket. Ugh! Actually they were going to take me at my word and let me in, but I eventually found the confirmation e-mail on my phone and showed it to them. Turns out, Cindy had purchased the tickets so they were under her name. DURRR. So… we were cool.
In fact, they hadn’t even let people in yet because there was an issue with the sound check.
Once the doors were open we filed in and Joey and I got chairs along the left side of the lounge in nice close proximity to the stage.
Our view.
Actually they were perfect. We were on a raised section so we were above everyone and no beams were blocking our view. It’s very nice in The Brink. Very quaint.
When the show started Marquis Hill and the band came out and there was a bit of a conversation with the show host before the music began. Then off they went.
The saxophone guy (Chris McBride) was the same I had seen Marquis play with at Andy’s Club in Chicago. The other guys were new to me. The music was hot. I love the way the song starts, everyone solos and then comes back to the start and rounds it out. So much exploration and personality.
Marquis was killing it.
His tone was so smooth and the band was tight. Everyone’s solos were awesome. Even the Vibes! They played tracks from his new CD “The Poet” and older stuff too. There were faster uptempo songs and some slower soulful songs too. They were all terrific.
During the break Marquis and Chris were out walking around saying hello to people in the crowd. It was a very laid back respectful scene.
I of course bought his new CD. As I was coming back to my seat with it Marquis came out of the back band room and was passing me. I asked if he could sign it which he did with a smile.
Then the second set started.
It was amazing. Now I haven’t seen a lot of jazz, but I love the fact that I stumbled onto the advert for this show. It was great. Even Joey thought it was good, though he was dog tired (sodas at the break helped). I might have to investigate more shows at The Brink.
During the bass vibe and drum solos, Marquis and Chris would actually step far offstage to let the focus be on the rest of the band.
All the solos were great. I really liked the drum solo and what I took to be the world’s smallest bass drum.
Simple drum set, but he coaxed a lot of sound out of it.
I tried to get a show flyer, but the ticket desk lady said she only had one.
The show will be podcast for MadToastLive. It’s not up yet as I write this, but hopefully soon. I will love to have a copy of the show. Here is the link to the MadToastLive site
and if you search for Marquis you will find an older session that was recorded. Hopefully since he has been here twice now, he may come back again.
It was an awesome show!
The Aural Retentive 