Cathy is a 30-year veteran teacher-composer-producer-performer. Critic Zan Stewart of the Los Angeles Times summed up her talent: "In Control: Jazz singer Segal-Garcia's style leans toward heavily melodic vehicles that show off her flowing, at-ease, rhythmic sense ? A voice that's soft and warm as cashmere." Visit her website: www.cathysegalgarcia.com
And they say jazz is dead. No -- it's alive, growing, and getting exciting in L.A.
Friday 10/23 the Bevan Manson Sextet performed downtown in the loft area next to Japan town, at Café Metropol, one of the hippest rooms to see and hear modern jazz music in the city. Café Metropol was put together by Rocco Somazzi, who built and ran Rocco's on Mulholland Drive (now the room is Vibrato). At the time, Rocco was the only place in town that consistently hosted modern jazz and was frequented by lovers of this style. Now there are several rooms that support this genre, including the Monday night gig of the Cross/Hart group at the Angelino Hotel at Sunset and the 405. Continuing the promotion of great music in Café Metropol is Paul Im, booker and promoter. We do applaude you, Paul, for the continued support!
Bevan Manson this night led a trio not only solid as a rock, but loose enough to create high art on the spot. Rick Shaw on bass... solid time, great sound, with open and moving note choices, complimented Matt Gordy on drums... whose time, feel, and warm sound enables him to create anything he wants in a volume that is musical... a wonderful thing for a drummer to do! Originals and unique arrangements of jazz standards excited the ears and minds of the audience through the part playing and stunning solos of Bill Reichenbach on bass trumpet and bass trombone, Alex Budman on alto sax and clarinet, and Glen Berger on tenor sax and flute.
The quality and experience of the musicians floated along with the quality and experience of the arrangements. Bevan is not only a respected and brilliant arranger, classical and jazz; swinging and sensitive, but also a high level pianist... agile to play anything he wants and tuned in to the aesthetic universe so he knows innately what to play.
How does one recognize truth in music? There's something so tangible yet intangible... Rhythm, harmony, space, comping, soloing... coming together in such a real way, that it makes all the pain of the "real" world fade away and it's replaced by an opened mind and heart.
Toward the end of the 2 hour concert Tom Boyd sat in on oboe, and accompanied by Alex on clarinet and Glen on flute, and with perfect intonation and a huge heart, playing a ballad, made our hearts teeter-totter on wanting to weep with relief and laugh with joy.
The end of the evening's up-tempo "Recorda Me" spurred a Bevan solo that had the audience cheering and the band members grinning from ear to ear!
And "they" say that jazz is dead. Nope. It's actually alive and well. You just gotta go look it up!
Those people were mavericks. The only person who wanted them was me. I mean, was Gene Krupa hard to get? Was Bunny Berigan hard to get?
– Benny Goodman
Q: How do you know a stage is level?
A: When the drummer drools out of both sides of his mouth!
