WGRV Smooth Jazz
Nights Out
Crowne Plaza Oceanfront
Melbourne, FL
Will Donato has got to be one of the hardest working sax players out there. He
has a solo career and a new CD, Will Power. He
keeps them dancing in the Southern California clubs with his long-time jazz/R&B
group Art of Sax, Redd Street, and the classic soul and pop mix of Motown and
More. He has built a following doing those almost nightly gigs in rooms where
there is usually a dance floor, and the musicians and crowd are up close and
interactive. He's also done the more formal gigs as a member of Steve Reid's
Bamboo forest, and as a solo artist playing at festivals and radio events all
over the country. Wherever he plays that invisible barrier between the artist
and the audience disappears really quickly. Maybe all those club gigs have put
him so close to the crowd that he doesn't need to distance himself; he just jumps
right in there and plays his heart out. He can turn a seated concert at
a stodgy venue into a party, and turn a group of strangers into a gathering
of friends.
The Groove WGRV, an independent smooth jazz station on the central Florida coast,
puts on a free concert every Wednesday night during the summer at an oceanside
hotel. They are usually on the deck complete with an ocean view at sunset,
but this time, wave after wave of torrential downpours passed through. Fortunately,
the hotel had a backup plan and quickly shifted the event into an unused meeting
room. The people who braved the flooded streets were in for a treat – star-level
musicianship and performance in a very cozy setting. Donato set the vibe
for the show by wandering through the crowd and saying hello to people while
he played a version of “You're Beautiful” that was considerably more
expressive and complex than the version that is on the charts.
From there it was a loose,
fun mix of songs from the his two most recent CDs and crowd pleasers from his
club gigs. He read the crowd and gave them what they wanted, often holding conversations
from the stage and talking to people by name. He had us dancing and singing
along during “More Sway,” and listening in awe as he hit the low
notes in “Wanting.” He
asked couples how long they had been together then serenaded a couple who had
been together for something like 50 years with the romantic “Italia.” The
single “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get,” and an extremely funky instrumental
take on “Return of the Mack” had everyone back on their feet. The
band even encouraged a group to do a line dance in front of the stage. Percussionist/vocalist
Steve Dahn got to show his stuff during the buoyant “New Life,” which
featured some retro-cool echoplex sax effects, and a tasty version of “What
You Won't Do For Love.”
Donato was rarely on stage for any length of time.
He navigated the closely packed tables and chairs, stopping to play in front
of groups of people, and even leading a line of dancers through the maze during
a fired up version of “Love Train.” Hotel guests stuck their heads
in to see what was going on and stayed. A group of businesspeople cut loose
from a day of meetings across the hall, followed the music, and came in to shake
off the workday. It was perfect mix of old and new, smooth and energized. By
the end of the evening he wasn't just reading the crowd, he was part of it -
looking everyone in the eyes, playing the songs that would light them up, and
proving to old fans and newbies that just walked in, that this music we call
smooth jazz can be one booty-shakin' good time!
- Shannon West |
