“Jazz On The River”
September 10, 2005

What we expected to see was a day of drizzle and overcast predicted by the local forecasters. To our delight, we arose to a beautiful morning with the sun brightly shining; a great day for a concert on the river.

Bassist Wayman Tisdale was the first onstage. His considerable size alone captured the attention of the crowd.  As he began to play he called out, “Are you ready to hang?”  We all cheered with excitement as he hit the first notes of “Ready To Hang,” a funky tune from Wayman's latest CD, Hang Time.  Wayman was truly in the moment as he moved about the stage connecting with the other musicians.  At one point he began to sing as he played. The audience loved it, acknowledging his non-verbal lyrics with applause and whistles. Not only is he a pro at slam dunking on the courts, he's proven he can slam dunk on the stage as well.  You can tell he loves what he's doing by the huge smile on his face.

Wayman made his way off stage as Warren Hill entered, starting his part of the show with his immediately recognizable version of "Come Together." Warren put a funky jazz spin on this classic hit and it rocked! He grabbed the mic and began singing “We've got, we've got to come together.” As he sang out, the crowd repeated his words. Warren slipped beside Andre Barry and Randy Jacobs and the three of them jammed. 

During “Mambo 2000,” a song with a Latin flavor that makes you want to get up and do the Mambo, Warren introduced the band members: Michael Whittaker (keyboard), Dave Hooper (drums), Andre Berry (bass), and Randy Jacobs (guitar).   Each member took their share of the spotlight as they were introduced.  These guys have performed together numerous times and it was like watching brothers getting together for a fun afternoon of jamming. 

As Warren exited, Jeff Golub made his way to the stage and dove right into “Dangerous Curves.”  Jeff really knows how to unify funk and jazz, and this is a perfect blend of both. This song gave Michael a chance to let it rip on the keyboards during his solo. Jeff made the rounds, acknowledging each of the musicians and jamming with them before transitioning into “Simple Pleasures,” from his latest CD, Temptation. Jeff has mastered his technique and this was a stellar performance. The audience just couldn't get enough as they cheered for more.

Mindi Abair strolled on stage looking radiant, playing “High Five” from Come As You Are, a bass-driven song with a whole lot of sax. Mindi really powered this up for her live performance.  She grabbed the mic and asked if Jeff was backstage. She said what better person could join her for “Save the Last Dance,” than a rocker guy like Jeff?  His acoustic guitar and her sax were the perfect match.  Next was "Lucy's," her #1 hit and an audience favorite.

Wayman, Jeff and Warren all joined Mindi on the stage and Jeff introduced “Cut The Cake.”  Wayman and Jeff started it off, then Mindi and Warren joined in.  This song brought the crowd to their feet and had most of them dancing.  Each artist soloed, first Mindi, then Wayman, then Warren and Jeff.  As they made their exit, the crowded yelled for more. Even Andre Berry did his part to draw them back but to no avail.  One hour of Mindi, Warren, Wayman, Jeff and the band was just a tease. It was too short a time to spend with this group of extraordinary performers.

- Rochell Letasi