On Sunday, August 3rd, the Santa Barbara Jazz Society’s monthly concert at SoHo featured the New West Guitar Group, a trio of virtuosos who met while studying music at USC. The players: Perry Smith, John Story and Jeff Stein, captivated the audience with their theme, “The History of Jazz Guitar.” Each piece was dedicated to a jazz guitar great. Here’s the list:
Django Reinhart – It Don’t Mean a Thing; Les Paul – Train Bump; Herb Ellis – Pacific Blues; Joe Pass – All The Things You Are ; Grant Green – Blue Notes; Wes Montgomery – Four on Six; George Benson – Stormy Weather (sung by John Story); Kenny Burrell – Sophisticated Lady; Jim Hall – I Hear a Rhapsody; Pat Metheny – Mission Creek; John Scofield – Every Big City; Bill Frisell – Wichita Lineman, and as an encore, Dave Brubeck’s Blue
Rondo a la Turk.
The knowledgeable musicians told stories and filled in information about the various guitarists and the musicianship was consistently high, demonstrating chops and warmth. It was another win for the Jazz society and the audience.
-Stanley Naftaly KCSB-FM, Jazz Straight Ahead
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