| Universal Studios City Jazz
Orlando FL
October 13, 2005
The perfect way to hear Craig Chaquico is
outdoors under the stars and as far away from a city as you
can get. If that's not possible, no problem, because that's
where he'll take you regardless of where you actually are.
City Jazz at Universal Studios doesn't exactly have a
sitting around the campfire atmosphere. After all, it
is in the middle of a theme park, but it is a great place to
hear live music; casual, intimate and classy. Craig did
two shows, and as he always does, he rocked the room. He
hit the stage with the opening notes of "Cafe
Carnival" and immediately veered into Led Zeppelin's "Whole
Lotta Love" adding a few Hendrix riffs for good measure,
all on acoustic guitar. That is the essence of his performances.
He may have switched from electric to acoustic in the
early 90s and brought that tone and texture into his work, but
he didn't quit playing rock guitar. He just does it with
wood and steel now.
The tone and texture are what has brought him into the smooth
jazz realm, though. After a rousing segue back into an
extended Latin-flavored jam with long time collaborator Ozzy
Ahlers on keyboard and Kevin Palladini on sax, he went back
to the song that defined this phase of his career, "Acoustic
Highway," each note pure, clear and haunting. "Dream Date" had
him rockin' again and making some blistering speed lead work
look totally effortless. Introducing "Autumn Blue," he
spoke of his father, who played sax, and his parents’ romance
which was underscored by the classic song "As Time Goes By." "Autumn
Blue" started with Kevin Palladini's emotive sax staying close
to the original melody. Then it showcased his skills across
a broad range of styles as it shifted into straight-ahead jazz
territory and bebop improvisation leading gracefully into "As
Time Goes By," and back into the original melody. Again,
so effortlessly the audience didn't know they'd been hit by
some deep, complex stuff. They just knew it felt and
that it sounded wonderful.
The next two songs and the stories that surround them have
long been the heart of the Craig Chaquico concert experience. Introducing "Return
of the Eagle," he talks about eagles, their close brush with
extinction and translating into music the feeling of camping
in the shadow of eagles and seeing them soar. This song
and "Gathering Of The Tribes" are driven by clear acoustic
harmonies that shape-shift into sizzling rock riffs. Percussionist
Marquinho Brazil and drummer Wade Olson tear it up in the background
as the ceiling is covered with a moving starscape and the stage
is transformed into a campfire setting, complete with an authentic
looking faux-fire. The whole experience ends with one
big drum roll, and before you can catch your breath he is off
the stage and working the crowd with his new take on the Starship
classic "Find Your Way Back." He ran from table to table
playing to dancing and sometimes screaming groups of fans. Then
he jumped on top of a table near the front and delivered a
rousing guitar tour-de-force complete with hair flying and
rock star poses. In my opinion, there is simply nobody
else who plays acoustic guitar like him. Some can play
as fast, but the clarity is missing. Some can hit the
power chords but it doesn't sound this natural or effortless. He
is one of our truly original artists, and although he comes
closer than most to duplicating his live sound on CD, you have
to experience him in a live setting to see exactly how many
boundaries he crosses. He can take you to a lot of places
in one perfect set of songs.
- Shannon West |
