John Tropea Band at the Blue Note Tokyo, Feb 20, 2016
with Steve Gadd (drums), Randy Brecker (trumpet), Lou Marini (saxophone), Rusty Cloud (Hammond B3), Neil Jason (bass), Larry Farrell (trombone), Ronnie Cuber (baritone sax), and last but not least, John Tropea (guitar)
First, a bit of history....
a very long time ago I bought, or was given, this:
Mmmmmm...... that would have been about 1977, when it came out. (And.... it wasn't a CD either, but a gloriously huge square of art, with a lovely black vinyl expanse inside.)
I remember liking it...... a lot.
Actually not all the songs grabbed me, but..... the songs that did grab me, boy, did they grab me!
It was fiendishly happy music. It was overflowing with happiness, and yet, there was also clearly an edge to all this. A truly bluesy edge, so much so that, whoever you were, and whatever music you liked, you couldn't help but feeling the thump and thwhack of the swing when the groove really hit the fan. It also had a Glenn Miller thing going for it.
It became an album that I couldn't stop listening to, or the tracks that I really loved ('The funk you see is the funk you do', 'Can't hide love' and 'Blue too': these were my absolute standouts). Until, I stopped listening to it, as one does, phases and all that....
Then..... this January...... yes, only this January, I rediscovered A Short Trip to Space.... on Apple Music. And, fell in love again !!!
Very kindly, about that time, Lee Finkelstein, drum legend, answered my wee question on the Tropea Facebook page, about whether the band would be coming to Japan anytime soon. Yes, he informed me. Next month! It took me a while to get back to him, but I was deciding.... yes.... I was wondering..... what would John Tropea sound like now? Would there be more of the kinds of songs I wasn't dying about (the overly smoothish ones) and less of the songs I was dying about (the ones that shook ye and made ya wanna dance), and, well, just what the hell was he playing nowadays anyway??
Yes, I had no idea.
So, I did what everyone does nowadays: I vroomed all the way to YouTube and tapped in the key words. What I could see was Tropea and the boys in action, and it looked pretty cool and good. But, I still wondered, well, it's gonna be 8,500 yen, just for me, and possibly multiplied by three.... that's a lot of dough!!
Something told me, however, that it would be worth it. That, yes, the hard edged blues and the attack, in the very midst of all that happy, even almost cartoonishly happy music, I heard all those years ago, was very likely still there. That sound, that approach, that music, that was something special, and I knew, hoped, prayed it would be worth every penny.
We were not to be disappointed !!! It was one of the greatest concerts I've ever had the pleasure to enjoy.
I remember liking it...... a lot.
Actually not all the songs grabbed me, but..... the songs that did grab me, boy, did they grab me!
It was fiendishly happy music. It was overflowing with happiness, and yet, there was also clearly an edge to all this. A truly bluesy edge, so much so that, whoever you were, and whatever music you liked, you couldn't help but feeling the thump and thwhack of the swing when the groove really hit the fan. It also had a Glenn Miller thing going for it.
It became an album that I couldn't stop listening to, or the tracks that I really loved ('The funk you see is the funk you do', 'Can't hide love' and 'Blue too': these were my absolute standouts). Until, I stopped listening to it, as one does, phases and all that....
Then..... this January...... yes, only this January, I rediscovered A Short Trip to Space.... on Apple Music. And, fell in love again !!!
Very kindly, about that time, Lee Finkelstein, drum legend, answered my wee question on the Tropea Facebook page, about whether the band would be coming to Japan anytime soon. Yes, he informed me. Next month! It took me a while to get back to him, but I was deciding.... yes.... I was wondering..... what would John Tropea sound like now? Would there be more of the kinds of songs I wasn't dying about (the overly smoothish ones) and less of the songs I was dying about (the ones that shook ye and made ya wanna dance), and, well, just what the hell was he playing nowadays anyway??
Yes, I had no idea.
So, I did what everyone does nowadays: I vroomed all the way to YouTube and tapped in the key words. What I could see was Tropea and the boys in action, and it looked pretty cool and good. But, I still wondered, well, it's gonna be 8,500 yen, just for me, and possibly multiplied by three.... that's a lot of dough!!
Something told me, however, that it would be worth it. That, yes, the hard edged blues and the attack, in the very midst of all that happy, even almost cartoonishly happy music, I heard all those years ago, was very likely still there. That sound, that approach, that music, that was something special, and I knew, hoped, prayed it would be worth every penny.
We were not to be disappointed !!! It was one of the greatest concerts I've ever had the pleasure to enjoy.
With my wife and youngest son, we were entertained for an hour and twenty minutes by some of the most enjoyable blues-jazz-funk on the planet.
OK, so the 'Bikini Beach' helped! But 'Tropea...' (spoken with a New York accent) said he hadn't tried it yet, as he didn't have enough money! At 1,350 yen who could blame him?!
The bloke on the right (Ronnie Cuber) seemed to prefer straight beer. At one point when he wasn't busy he left the stage, went to the bar and got a refill! (It inspired me to get the attention of the waiter....) (I might add that even though he seemed very 'happy' by the end of the show, he played a mean bass sax: astounding is the word.)
A very short review.....
Many of the songs they played came from the latest release, Gotcha Rhythm Right Here, which is a highly listenable brew. This music has an all round harder, straight bluesier thing going for it than some of his earlier great, but very slick and highly polished productions. John Tropea began as a session man, and he was always a stickler for the fine detail of sound, and rhythm, and his band's timing has always been immaculate. But, on occasion, this has resulted, in the past, in some overly produced pieces, or pieces that are too close to smooth and easy-listening music. The new music, that on the CD and that which we heard tonight, is much more raw in tone and feel. But no less a beautifully timed and orchestrated exercise in swing-funk. As ever, the guitar ultimately provides both the key and the hardest edge. The encore of Stevie Wonder's 'I wish' was to die for, as they say. It was so funky, and then it was so jazzy!
As a band, then, they were fantastic. Being out of the loop, for forty goddamned years (!), it came as a wonderful surprise to see -and hear- a few of these guys are in the original and presently touring Blues Brothers Band! The main man there is Lou 'Blue' Marini, on sweet tenor sax. And the marvellous Larry Farrell on trombone. I had only been anticipating the brilliance of Randy Brecker and Steve Gadd, two legends, and so imagine my delight when the light bulb went on. Tropea plays, and will return to Japan, with the BB Band in March.
So, this music is go ahead-soulful-old school-in your face- jivin'-kick the cat and the neighbour's cat, too, music!
As a band, then, they were fantastic. Being out of the loop, for forty goddamned years (!), it came as a wonderful surprise to see -and hear- a few of these guys are in the original and presently touring Blues Brothers Band! The main man there is Lou 'Blue' Marini, on sweet tenor sax. And the marvellous Larry Farrell on trombone. I had only been anticipating the brilliance of Randy Brecker and Steve Gadd, two legends, and so imagine my delight when the light bulb went on. Tropea plays, and will return to Japan, with the BB Band in March.
So, this music is go ahead-soulful-old school-in your face- jivin'-kick the cat and the neighbour's cat, too, music!
Take a bow, lads. You guys deserve it !
Just in case it all sounds great but a little too band-ish and making-me-tired-watching-all-the-hi-jinx, well, song three got all quiet and it was just John on guitar and Rusty Cloud on Hammond B3, with a little tasteful back-up from Neil Jason, and the lightest of touches from master Steve. It was basically a duet, and an exploration of the blues. It proved to be a beautiful counterpoint to all the action before it, and a masterclass in how blues can sound when played with a restraint that understand precisely when to let go. John Tropea is a masterful guitarist not simply because he knows all the places to put his fingers at precisely the right time, or that he possesses a huge palette of chords: it's because he has feel. He didn't learn that in Berklee!
(By the way, listen to 'Can't Hide Love' from A Short Trip to Space and hear a playing that anticipates Johnny McLaughlin: Electric Guitarist the following year. Did JMcL, playing with Shakti, hear Tropea's album and get inspired to toss the acoustic ??!! Ha!) (Here's another thought: did Tropea's music inspire Jaco's big band thing???)
(Answers on a postcard, please.) (Btw, I know Tropea did inspire me, and now I have made my own CD, which is somewhat Tropea-ish -says I!)
(By the way, listen to 'Can't Hide Love' from A Short Trip to Space and hear a playing that anticipates Johnny McLaughlin: Electric Guitarist the following year. Did JMcL, playing with Shakti, hear Tropea's album and get inspired to toss the acoustic ??!! Ha!) (Here's another thought: did Tropea's music inspire Jaco's big band thing???)
(Answers on a postcard, please.) (Btw, I know Tropea did inspire me, and now I have made my own CD, which is somewhat Tropea-ish -says I!)
Neil & John backstage.
All of them backstage, at rehearsal. (Ronnie..... focus!)
....... a last comment......
Did I mention YouTube? Did I mention Apple Music? Yes, how could I not, in this day and age. Click a virtual button, stream some music, for free! What a wonderful time to be a music lover! With one wee proviso: you can't beat LIVE MUSIC. There's no comparison. SEE THIS BAND NOW ! The experience of live music -at this level, especially- is inavlauable. There were tears coming out of my eyes as I was swept into the cauldron of jive they created before us on stage. We witnessed magic. (If you can't go see them, well, stick on a disc and PLAY IT LOUD!!!)
(And.... do buy their CDs.... artists need money. I do Apple Music, like a library, but I always get the CD. Screw all this free or near-free access to music.)
(And.... do buy their CDs.... artists need money. I do Apple Music, like a library, but I always get the CD. Screw all this free or near-free access to music.)
Thanks, lads! A big ARIGATO GOZAIMASU TO YOU ALL !!!!!!! MUSIC LIVES !!!!!!!!!