So, my older sister has a crush on his father Clint, and my receptionist is the same for his half-brother Scott. So where does that leave me and Kyle?
Well, the good news is that bassist Kyle Eastwood leads one of the best bands around that plays fresh and sizzling hard bop, right off the Blue Note plate. This evening at Catalina’s he was delivering it piping hot with his team of Jason Rigby/ts-ss, Alex “Pope” Norris/tp-fh, Joe Strasser/dr and Andrew McCormack/p through a feast of material from his recordings which range from the cinema to 52nd Street.
Emphasizing material from his most recent album Time Pieces, Eastwood and company charged forward with a rich and driving “Prosecco Smile” that featured Norris’ lyrical trumpet and Rigby’s sonorous tenor. Eastwood whistled while he worked through a bopping version of “Big Noise From Winnetka” with Strasser’s brushing like a home plate umpire before the whole team jumped into the pool for a rapid fire “Bullet Train.”
Eastwood changed moods as he bowed his bass and brooded with Rigby’s soprano sax for an exotic “Marrakesh” that slowly built up and erupted before returning to a desert oasis of calm restoration. The band’s Blue Note DNA came through as Eastwood’s rich and thickly pulsating bass lead the band through a gospel drenched “Piece of Silver” that had Rigby’s tenor preaching the word and McCormack took over the spotlight with a rich recitative.
On electric bass, Eastwood joined with Norris’ flugelhorn for a tasty and nimble “Dolphin Dance” before delivering an evocative read of his theme from “Letters from Iwo Jima” that created a reflective and contemplative atmosphere with McCormack. The pianist’s touch went even deeper as he created droplets of misty rain on “Song For You” before Eastwood brought the whole band together for a charging latin piece “From Rio to Havan
a” that had the leader thumb, strum and pick his electric bass as he set the celebrative pace with his sonorous lines.
On this rainy night in LA, the night before the Republican debate, there was no debate as to who has one of the most exciting bands around these days.
Upcoming shows at Catalina’s include Denise Donatelli 09/25 and Roy Hargrove 09/30-10/03