The group Intertwyned kicked off the evening with a nice mix of jazz selections as the crowd mingled in to the rooftop setting.  As the sun was setting over this southern city, guitarist Nils took the stage for his first appearance in the Carolinas.  Backed by Intertwyned, he hit the ground with the Toto classic “Georgy Porgy.”  The fun didn’t stop as the crowd helped sing the chorus to bring this one to a resounding finish.  “Summer Nights” was the perfect complement to the evening (although fall has set in) and the warm night air.  The notes of his guitar bounced from the adjacent skyscrapers and to the city streets below.  Saxophonist Bluford Thompson, Jr. played back and forth with Nils, which really drew rave reactions from the crowd.

The surprise was a song from Santana as he introduced “Europa” as a song “written for guitar players by a guitar player.”  He went into the crowd so they would get the full effect of this classic.  The feel was intense as each note got the crowd higher and higher.  He finished it off with more intense sax from Thompson once again.  Nils went into his latest single “Cat Nap” after explaining how the origins of the song’s title came from his two cats sleeping in the studio.  This one’s from his Ready To Play disc and seemed to be a crowd favorite.  He finished the set with the song that put him on the smooth jazz map a few years ago.  “Pacific Coast Highway” was the perfect ending to an inspired set.  The melody flowed as if we were on that road with him.  I believe his first Carolina visit was a success.

Saxophonist Jeff Kashiwa was between stops with the Sax Pack and the Rippingtons and was happy to be in uptown Charlotte.  The lights of the city were getting brighter as he started his set with “Three Day Weekend” from his Simple Truth release.  His tenor sounded great as he got into to this happy tune.  After some football dialogue and telling us how he wrote the next song, he got into the title track from his Piece of Mind disc.  This one featured a great guitar solo as well as Jeff and Thompson trading licks.  The showstopper had to be his sax-only rendition of the Gershwin classic “Summer Time.”  He started this one in the lower register of his tenor and climbed into a resounding upper on the chorus.  He moved into the crowd as he kept everyone spellbound.  Wow, is about all that anyone could say.  He livened things up with “Hyde Park.”  We all had our “aah aah oohs” down pat as we sang along with this fun one.  It is easy to see why this one is such a crowd favorite.  He finished the set with “Movin’ Up” from his new release Play.  This one featured more from the guys in the band and had Jeff in great form.  It was a nice finish to the set with a glimpse of how good the new disc is.  The crowd wanted more though, and Nils joined them on stage for “Mercy, Mercy.  Mercy”.  There’s nothing like improvisation when you have to do it, because none of this one had been rehearsed.  It brought the evening to a resounding end as the stars shone both overhead as well as on the roof.  Once again, Charlotte was alive with the smooth sounds of two great musicians.

Harvey Cline