Jam’n Jazz SRO at the Shadow
On Sunday, July 29th, JazzElPaso Connection had their 2nd fund raiser which showcased the very talented saxophone player, Mike Hamilton at the Shadow Lounge. It was “standing room only”, but the music was so hot no one seemed to mind.
Mike Hamilton
The Jam'n group outside the Shadow Lounge
Dennis Woo
If you haven’t visited the Shadow you should. It’s trendy and very comfortable with great service. Marty Olivas was center stage blowin’ horn in that style that is all Marty, cool and edgy. On Marty’s right, once again, we were all wowed by the sax of Mike Hamilton, who was featured in last Friday’s edition of the “Tiempo”.
I don’t have enough adjectives to describe Mike’s performance, so let me say this…..watch out Dave Koz…there’s a new kid in town. Don’t believe me just ask someone who was there. And it doesn’t stop there. We were all thrilled by the ever exciting keys of Ruben Gutierrez. Ruben’s style and mastery of the keyboard is second to none. At far stage left on bass was “Easy E” Eric Unsworth, a native New Yorker who left the frigid north for the warmer climes of Texas. Since arriving on the EP music scene, Eric has become a jazz mainstay, enhancing the music of many local groups. Backing up all this great talent was another El Paso favorite, Demetrius Williams on drums. When “D” plays, it’s cool…and you know you are going to get treated to some great solo work…..thunder and lightning.
Then, Marty opened up the “jam session” and the students that participated were Justin Rodriguez (alto sax), Nico Perkins (drums), Ricky Vilardell (alto sax), Kirk Cooper, (bari sax) and Sergio Sanchez (drums). The student’s performances were very exciting and we’re looking forward to hearing more of them in the future. We hope the experience was as enriching for them as it was for us.
Also sitting in on a few tunes and kickin’ it cool was another EP favorite drummer, Ricky Malichi. Ricky is a great drummer who has worked with some big names in the industry, and we are very lucky to have him in El Paso. Other musicians that joined in the jam were Eric Cooksey (guitar), Tony Castro (bass) and Chris Merritt (piano).
All in all, the crowd was thrilled through several sets of awesome music. Let me just say this, the future of El Paso jazz is very bright indeed. These kids are so very talented, and Mike is anxious & ready to join the many talented El Paso musicians in our jazz scene. We welcome him and his family with open arms. - Ken Vaughan
Check out the “PHOTO GALLERY” for pics of this exciting event.
