It sure feels nice to sit at a jazz club again and take in the scene. We fans are not alone, as tenor saxist Bob Reynolds identified with the audience by telling us “It’s a special moment for us as well. It’s our first time since March 11, 2020 since I’ve played with other people in the room.”
Before starting the set, he joked, “Hopefully, we haven’t forgotten how to do this!”
Well, if anything has come good out of this COVID lockdown, it’s that Bob Reynolds used the time off to really hone his chops. I’ve seen him with Snarky Puppy, and the year+ off had me worried that he may have lost an edge; quite the contrary, as he must have woodshedded something awful, with a mastery of his tenor with his team of Robert Rodriguez/keys, Janek Gwizdala/b and Gene Coye/dr that was as impressive as inspiring.
Supported by a hip and relentless bass line and snappy drum pulse by Gwizdala and Coye, Reynolds blue smoke rings that gave a hint of Stanley Turrentine’s gospel and Hank Mobley’s lyricism as he swerved around Rodriguez’s CTI cool chords on the soulful “Always An Upside”. Reynolds’ blue fog continued as he gave expressive lyricism to the dreamy melody of “Last Dance” as bass and keys wafted under Reynolds’ dreamy echo sifting to a close with Coy e’s deft brushes.
Reynolds then hit the pulpit and preached to Coye’s gospel backbeat on the funky “Runway” as Gwizdala passed the plate with his nifty bass line.
The mood got dreamy as the rhythm team delivered a soft canter through Rodriguez’s misty keys with Reynolds peering through the fog, mixing ethereal gasps with deep and dark subtones digging into magma and then closing with a liturgical cantorial climax on “Crush” before segueing into the searching and expressive “Unlucky”. Reynolds’ tenor searched, yearned and sighed the theme, guided by the train track beat of the rhythm team.
A take of Chris Potter’s “The Source” had Reynolds deliver the serpentine theme with a Coltranish passion as the entire ensemble flexed their collective muscles, with the keyboards digging deep and dark, leading into a sizzling bopper of “Second Wind”. The team closed with Gwizdala getting the spotlight as he created a tapestry of textures after an impressionistic keyboard intro on “Rise and Fall” as Reynolds added into the puree’ of sound by pushing pedals to add dimension to his already German Chocolate Cake layers of sound, the mix of surreal and spacey swing coagulated into a bold and confidently powerful dash to the finish line of a climactic close.
Reynolds said afterwards that, Lord willing, he will team up with Snarky Puppy for a tour in the fall. They better be ready, as Reynolds is locked and loaded, on his own, or with the Pups.
Upcoming events at The Baked Potato include Ernie Watts 05/08, Bayou Degradable 05/09, Josh Smith 05/13, Jeff Lorber Fusion 05/14-15, Charles Ruggiero with Jane Monheit 05/16 and Jerry Vivino’s All Star Band 05/20
Don’t forget that until Gavin Newsome repents and opens things up, there are only 20 seats available per show inside and 22 for the patio for the first show only, so don’t hesitate!