Guitars and Saxes rocks. That sums it up. This group in its various configurations has always been the essential Smooth Jazz party band. What you get for the price of one ticket is four of the genre’s brightest stars backed by a "who‘s who" list of sidemen, a huge dose of showmanship, and a wild ride through each artists greatest hits, and rock and funk covers guaranteed to keep the crowd on their feet and yelling for more.

This year’s version features two G&S veterans, Jeff Golub and Warren Hill, and two newbies to the tour, Euge Groove and Marc Antoine.  Antoine was not with them on the November dates. Guitarist Randy Jacobs filled in seamlessly on some of the acoustic spots, and although he didn't have a solo set, the Jacobs/Golub duo may have been a different route to Guitar Heaven, but it was Guitar Heaven nonetheless. The band was rounded out by Dave Hooper on drums, Ron Jenkins on bass, and Ron Reinhardt on keyboards; a group of seasoned musicians who have backed up every well-known artist in Smooth Jazz at some point in time.

What Guitars and Saxes delivers that separate sets don’t is interaction and the chemistry that provides. Each artist has a solo set, but you never know when one of the other guys is going to step onstage for a solo or a jam, or show up in the middle of the crowd, get hit by the spotlight, and start playing.  Euge Groove started things off with some mid-tempo burners and a dose of Tower of Power schooled stage presence. He knows how to work the crowd and wrapped up his part of the show with two songs that defined the performance verbally and musically, "Take You Higher" and "From The Top."  Warren Hill hit the stage in overdrive with a rousing funked up version of "Come Together," followed by his Rock’n’Latin hit, "Mambo 2000," as Golub and Randy Jacobs joined him for some searing guitar tradeoffs. Jacobs provided a beautifully subtle acoustic guitar intro for Hill’s new power ballad, "Still In Love," and a comedic interlude on being a Caucasian Canadian saxman led into "Play That Funky Music (White Boy)."

Jeff Golub onstage is a different animal from Jeff Golub on CD. His CDs are great, but cut loose onstage, Jeff Golub is a rock star. He has the stage persona; the energy and the charisma without the garish theatrics some rockers adopt.  He doesn’t need them.  His musicianship and stage presence put him in the same league with some of the greats.  Jeff Beck is the first that comes to mind.  Golub’s bluesy rock-tinged "Stockholm" sounds like Beck at his finest during the fusion era. Heard live, his mellowed out-take on "Always There" sounds bluesy-cool.  He wrapped up with two fan favorites, "Pick Up The Pieces" and "Cut The Cake," joined by the Groove and Hill for a rousing finish. And what better way to wrap up a JazzRockFunk party than to segue from AWB to TOP with the entire band scorching it on Tower Of Power’s trademark song, "What Is Hip," complete with a heavy dose of wailin’ and blowin’ and some slick horn section choreography on the side. It makes ya wanna shout, which is exactly what the audience did on the "What Is Hip" call-and-response with some resonant whoops and hollers from the balcony added on.

This G&S tour will reincarnate in January on Warren Hill’s Smooth Jazz Cruise as all of these artists are playing solo sets and joining each other onstage throughout the cruise. Euge Groove is doing some solo dates and hitting the road as the opening act for Joe Cocker. Golub is working on a new CD for a new label. The next G&S tour will probably be announced shortly with more old and new favorites coming aboard. It’s always two guitarists and two sax players and a knockout backup band. The lineup may change, and with it, some nuances may shift, but Guitars and Saxes concerts always sum up all that is wonderful and fun about contemporary instrumental music in one 90-minute package, and since it’s inception in the mid 90s, one thing has remained true: G&S Rocks!

Shannon West

Photography by Cindy Adams