I was fortunate enough to see these three gentlemen at the Seabreeze Jazz Festival in Florida last week. The group has been touring together for the past couple of years off and on, but is more exclusively touring now that their new disc hit the streets in March. The three of them (Jeff Kashiwa, Kim Waters, and Steve Cole) strutted out onto the stage with attitude and poise. They started the highly anticipated set with the title track from their new release entitled “The Sax Pack.” Cole takes the initial lead here while the other two lay down the background.  He, of course, is followed by segments featuring both Kashiwa and Waters. It really was good seeing how well each one played together and how well they played off of each other. They went right into the current single “Fallin’ For You,” which was a real crowd favorite. The three parts sounded great.

As good as they are together, it is also nice to hear a few from each sax player’s own material. Cole’s “Our Love,” from his Stay Awhile CD was simply blazing. Other favorites included Jeff’s “Movin Up” as well as the ever popular “Hyde Park.” After a few more, the guys closed with the standard “You Are my Starship” and had many in the crowd singing along. It was so good to see the three of them together and to see what synergy they can produce when they’re on the stage as a group. I left out a few surprises, so you’ll have to catch up with them and see them for yourself.