Improvisations on Reality

Lo! It has begun.

Jazz is everywhere, and I’m determined to be right there with it, and I have come back very sleepy, happy and sore-footed from the first show of the season.

You may have read my excitement on this blog for a while about the Spirit of New York Smooth Cruises. And when I booked, I kicked myself a little bit because I didn’t get the ticket for the group that made me fall in love with jazz music to begin with: Down to the Bone. Call it a slip of mind and a misjudgment on my part; I wanted to get the shows that were apt to sell out first: Spyro Gyra. Guitars & Saxes. Mindi. The Rippingtons. But I digress.

For those who don’t know, the beginning of my love affair with smooth jazz happened when I was 15. I was shopping, and just accidentally paid attention to the song on the radio. This was while CD 101.9 was still on the air as NY’s smooth-jazz station. As it so happened, I started to listen…and immediately just stopped whatever I was doing because of what I was hearing. It was good. It was driving. It was well-paced, with a heavy and engaging bass line, piano-driven melody. It was Down to the Bone’s Brooklyn Heights.

Or, as I call it, love at first sound.

So of course, when I didn’t get tickets, I kicked myself something solid. But all was not lost!

Enter Facebook’s largest smooth jazz group and a contest to win a pair of tickets to DTTB. Of course, I entered. What I didn’t expect was that I won.

Thinking quickly, I invite my friend and editor, The Lovely Nikki, to come with, and she obliged. This was her first jazz show, never mind first time seeing this particular band. She was psyched. The weather was beautiful, sun bright and skyline waiting.

The band did not waste time by opening with an explosion of funk, featuring Rufus Philpot as the bandleader on bass, with the signature driving lines that are unique to DTTB. I don’t remember the title of the song, unfortunately, but it was a hell of a way to set the pace; there were people on the dance floor almost immediately, yours truly included.

Next up, a track also near and dear to my heart, and if you know me, then you will get why: Long Way from Brooklyn. Again, a DTTB signature, much like Brooklyn Heights: driving rhythm, strong bass line, but Long Way is accented by kicky horns that, when mixed well, are an open invitation. The dance floor on this track? Full. LOVE it.

Katisse Buckingham, the token tenor saxman for the evening, showed his chops in rap on Vinyl Junkie, and I was honestly surprised to hear a segue into that during a jazz show. I will be the first to say, I am not a rap fan. Katisse, though, did not let the rap detract from the overall flavor of the evening, which was yea-and-verily funk.

What followed was Staten Island Groove. Now, having been all over New York City, I’m of the opinion that Staten Island has no groove. But the song is easily my favorite “walk all over the place” playlist.

I should also take note that most DTTB songs from what Rufus dubbed as the East-Coast Suite, and what I very affectionately call the Trans-Atlantic Special, is very heavily piano-driven. Brooklyn Heights’s main melody is horn-free on the CD version – and in live show, Dennis Hamm on keys more than delivered. Chris Bautista on trumpet and Katisse on the tenor sax gave the accents, but the band still let the song be driven by the keys. Nothing but magic, that.

I needn’t even say it, but Nikki and I had an absolute blast. What made the night even better was actually Rufus Philpot himself, by inviting us to stay on board for the second sailing. In addition to some new numbers on the second sailing, the real treat was the incomparable view of New York City at night. Coupled with Down to the Bone’s Trans-Atlantic Special (which you, my dear readers, should know as the album From Manhattan to Staten, which once featured my buddy Shilts on the tenor sax), it reminded me of why I love my city, and why I love my music.

And ten years after I fell in love with jazz, Brooklyn Heights remains my favorite of all time.

With special thanks to Ken Levinson and Sam Kimball for making this night possible; to The Lovely Nikki for being my date that evening (because you’re awesome!), and of course, Rufus Philpot and the rest of DTTB’s US Lineup.

K.G.