A taste of New Orleans rolled into Thousand Oaks as trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis (of the famous Crescent City Marsalises) got the packed Suburbia Park crowd on its feet and dancing to the tunes and beats provided by The Uptown Jazz Orchestra, with music as sweet and tasty as a beignet and cup at the Café Du Monde.
“Good evening suburbia!” shouted Marsalis, as he provided a night of celebration for being able to get out from under the COVID lockdown and look at the bright side of life once again. The formidably funky rhythm section of Glen Fisher/b, Brian Richburb/dr and Richard Johnson/p set up irresistible grooves all night for the brass of Terrance Taplin/tb, Andrew Baham/tp, John Gray/tp, and swaying reeds of Roderick Paulin/ts, Scott Johnson/ts, Khris Royal/as, Khari Allen Lee/as-ss and Saena Martin/bars.
Marsalis had the band set the tone and the audience to the dance floor with the infectious “Got To The Mardi Gras” with Baham singing, blowing the horn and hammering the tambourine. The slow and gritty “Snow Ball” featured Martin providing deep riffs for Royal’s searing alto, before the band tapped into its inner Count Basie for a simmering “Doin’ What We Gotta Do” that featured Marsalis blowing over the boogie blues shuffle, and Gray spitting out notes like grapefruit seeds.
Adding to the atmosphere was vocalist Tonya Boyd-Cannon, who belted out the upbeat “Uptown on Mardi Gras Day” , sophisticatedly swinging through a suave “What A Difference A Day Makes” and then getting into a strutting street feel on “New Suit” that also included Lee slithering through a serpentine soprano sax solo. Following Marsalis’ lyrical intro, she then brought the house (does a park have a house) down as she displayed jaw dropping range on a spiritual read of “Summertime” before hitting the tambourine like a Pentecostal and testifying to the gospel beat of “Valley Of Prayers”. Capturing the mood of the evening, she shouted out “Everything’s gonna be all right”, and for the 90 minute set, everyone forgot their cares and felt the same way. Isn’t that one of the purposes of music in the first place?
Upcoming events presented by BAPAC for the POP UP Arts & Music Festival include New West Symphony Presents Ilya Serov 06/09, Adrian & Meredith 06/10, Gordo Goodwin Little Phat Band 06/23, Banda Magda 06/30 and Ca Wa 07/01
