Banderas
Bay All Stars
Puerto
Vallarta, Jalisco, MX., December 28, 2012 – late-early last
winter/spring we attended a jazz concert at the Paradise Community Center (PCC)
here in Puerto Vallarta for a group called the Banderas Bay Jazz Allstars. Being a long time jazz fan and having seen
many of the greats while a young man growing up in the central Mid-West and the
West Coast, I was fortunate to see, in person, some of the greats, e.g., Flip
Phillips, Illinois Jacquet (tenor sax), Sonny Criss, Bud Shank, Charlie Parker
(alto-tenor sax and flute); Ray Brown, Herb Ellis (double bassist and guitar);
Shelly Manne, Jo Jones, Gene Krupa (drummers), Oscar Peterson, Herbie Hancock,
Teddy Wilson (pianist). Additionally
I´ve been to concerts featuring the Modern Jazz Quartet, the Gene Krupa
Quartet, and many others.
The point of the above is that Dolores and I came
away from listening to the aforementioned concert with the impression that
we´ve never heard better. After
attending two more concerts over the past couple months we are convinced that
you won´t find any better jazz quartet – anywhere.This new addition to the region’s music scene consists of Chas Eller, on keyboards, Bryan Savage on sax & flute, Tom Lilienthal on bass, and Lazaro Poey on drums. Individually these players have had successful careers back in the States, in Cuba, and in England. Now they are spending winters in the greater P.V. area, and have joined forces to create, I quote…” an amazing musical chemistry the likes of which this area has not seen before.”
Members of the
group have played with Kilimanjaro, Credence Clearwater Revival, Paul
Butterfield, Santana, the Amazing Rhythm Aces, and more. Individually, they have performed at some of
the most prestigious jazz festivals in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia.
To quote a
reviewer…”The uniqueness of these four individual’s musical roots, makes for a
repertoire that covers the gamut of jazz, blues, and funk styles.”
From their
respective Bio´s:
“Bryan Savage - Bryan has toured the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Canada
with Al Stewart, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, The Amazing Rhythm Aces and John
Denver, and has opened for Bonnie Raitt, Mick Fleetwood, Santana, Glen Frey,
Eddie Money, Journey, Gary Burton, Rick Braun, Chuck Mangione, and many others.
Additional credits include a gold record for his sax work on the number
one-selling Steve Martin hit single “King Tut” and national TV appearances on
Solid Gold, The Midnight Special, and the Merv Griffin Show.
In 1992, Bryan
recorded his first nationally released solo CD, entitled “Bryan Savage”,
followed by three more successful national releases under his name on the
Elation Artists label, including the highly acclaimed “Catfood”, produced by
trumpet star Rick Braun, which became a #2 single on the national jazz radio
charts in 1996.
Chas Eller - has been in the recording industry for over 30 years and now has a
recording studio in San Pancho. As an
engineer, he has worked with artists such as Dr. John, Taj Mahal, The Indigo
Girls, Keith Jarrett, Ray Charles, Pat Metheny, Muddy Waters, Oregon, Larry
Carlton, They Might Be Giants, Shawn Colvin, Joe Lovano, Stewart Copeland (of
the Police), Odetta, The Concord String Quartet, The Emerson String Quartet,
and many more. His live concert engineering
has taken him to such famous venues as Carnegie Hall, The Metropolitan Opera
House, Lincoln Center, Tanglewood, The Newport Folk Festival, and Boston’s
Symphony Hall.
In addition to his
technical expertise, he also has played keyboards with the internationally
known pop-jazz group “Kilimanjaro.“ He also toured with blues great, Paul
Butterfield and he has toured throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and
The Soviet Union
Tom Lilienthal -Tom graduated from college with a BA in music and a
California State teaching credential.
Since that time, he has developed his skills in the music business as a
performer and teacher. He was fortunate
to be on the scene in the San Francisco Bay Area from the early 1970’s until
2007 when he moved to Mexico. During his
career as a professional bassist, he’s had the opportunity to play music with
many of the world-class musicians that were responsible for creating and
furthering the funk, fusion and jazz scene during this important time. He performed with The Coasters, The Drifters
and The Shirelles, as well as at the Monterey Jazz Festival with Margie
Baker and at the Concord Jazz Festival.
He has recently moved to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and as a result the
Allstars are currently in the process of welcoming a new electric bassist to
the group.
Lazaro Poey – Poey, born and raised in Cuba,
graduated in 1986 from the renowned Institute Superior of Art. He
represented his country on several occasions, touring Europe with a group whose
members included Chilean born pianist, Carlos Mass, at jazz festivals in
Barcelona, France, Germany, Rome, Sicily, and Austria. He shared the stage with such luminaries as
Winton Marsalis, Dizzie Gillespie and the Brecker Brothers. He currently resides in Mexico and is presently
performing with the prestigious jazz trio lead by Tom Coster (Santana), the
Gemajazz Group and The Banderas Bay Jazz Allstars.”
The groups next
scheduled appearance at the PCC is on January 11, 2013 with 4 other dates
scheduled for February through April. If
you like jazz at any level don´t miss these opportunities to see the “best.” We´ll be there.
