Jacksonville Beach, FL

Why isn't Greg Adams a star? I don't mean a People Magazine type of star or even a top of the charts with every release type of star, although the music certainly merits that. More like when I say I'm going to see Greg Adams people would say, "Wow" instead of "Who." After last Sunday night he is a star to a group of people who were lucky enough to be within hearing distance. The regulars agreed that this was one of the best concerts so far in a series that has brought some of the biggest names in smooth jazz over the last five summers. Adams kept the crowd so entranced that they didn't even think about running for cover during intermittent and sometimes heavy rainfall. Toward the end the area in front of the stage had turned into a dance floor. People always stand in front of the stage and move but this time there were people actually dancing with each other, including a couple of expert Carolina Shaggers who know great songs when they hear them regardless of era or genre.

It seems like most smooth jazz trumpet players go for mood first and song second. Adams, on the other hand, is the master of the infectious hook. His songs catch your attention immediately and are both catchy and interesting enough to keep you locked in. He has the skills and command of the stage you would expect from someone who spent 25 years with Tower of Power and has toured and done sessions with everyone from Madonna to the Rolling Stones. His band is one of the tightest I've seen. Guitarist James Wirrick has co-written some of Adams' most memorable songs.  His name doesn’t show up as often as some of the more high profile sidemen, but he is one of the best guitarists I’ve seen and the self-proclaimed “guitar geeks” sitting behind me agreed. Joey Navarro was on keyboards, Brian Allen - bass, Evan Stone - drums, and Johnny Sandoval - percussion.

The songs he did would be the perfect selection for a "best of" CD. It was a great introduction for the large segment of the crowd that came for free live music by the beach but were not necessarily smooth jazz fans. The set was a mix of hits, highlights from his previous CDs and songs from his soon-to-be-released gem, Cool To The Touch. Adams made every song a highlight, and even in that setting there were some outstanding bright moments: the tone of his Flugelhorn during the lyrical ballad “She Still Waits,” Wirrick’s Santana-ish guitar work in “The Crossing,” Sandoval’s percussion breaks in “Hermosa” and “Time Is Of The Essence,” and the big horn section effects at the end of “Moon Over Palmilla”. The highlight of the evening for the crowd was, of course, “Smooth Operator.” As the audience recognized the opening notes couples started slow dancing in front of the stage and the hypnotic grace of that song with the sound of the ocean in the background was magical. For me, though, his extended and larger than life version of “Burma Road” was the stunner. It started out true to the meditative theme of the original, then the band just kept building momentum turning it into a jazz-rock tour de force.

There are two ways to really please the North Florida crowd. Give them the blues or give them something hot and Latin-flavored. He did both. A blues song with a chameleon-like name that changes from city to city featured Greg tearing into some Tower of Power type licks over B3-sounding keyboards and Wirrick’s sizzling guitar. The final song, “Bongo Baby” from the new CD, was a salsa-flavored jam that got everyone on their feet and moving. It was obvious he won over a lot of new fans because so many people went straight to the autograph tent to buy some of this music, caught up in the excitement that comes with discovering new music and ready to take more of it home and hear it again.

- Shannon West