For the past 50+ years, the Baked Potato has served the jazz community well by being a haven for the studio studs to stretch out their chops after spending the days recording for movies, soundtracks and other artists.
Continuing the long guitar tradition of Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour and Steve Lukather, Andrew Synowiec has taken the 6 stringed baton (used in the studios to pay the bills as well as his occasional work with Gordon Goodwin) and with his team of Pete Korpela/perc, Jorgen Carlsson/b, Gary Novak/dr and Carey Farnk/B3 gave the full room an evening that was both modern sounding yet timelessly tasteful in swing.
Like the best soloists, Synowiec has learned the art of creating thoughtful excursions that rely on story telling than mindless chops. His tensile tone teamed up with Farnk’s smoky Hammond during “In The Gutter” that simmered into a soul groove. Korpela’s percussion percolated around the haunting Hammond as Synowiec glided over the mellow “So What”-ish pulse of “Dreamland” while bringing in more cowbell to the metallic and supercharged “Lead Foot” that included Carlsson digging in a funky and chunky bass line. Novak supplied a rubbernecking backbeat to the hip shuffle of “Late To The Party” while the more gentle side of the band was displayed as Synowiec gave tasteful treats on the spacious “Gone Too Soon”.
Giving homage to the venue with a hard swinging “Baked Potato Boogie”, Synowiec seared through the relentless rhythm as the rhythm ricochet’d off of the historic walls, which, if they could speak, would have said that the sounds this evening served as a fresh layer of musical wallpaper to the hallowed halls.
Synowiec will be back October 13 teaming up with Oz Noy. Won’t want to miss that one.
Besides that, other upcoming shows at the Baked Potato include The Lineage Trio 09/05, The Fabulous Thunderbirds 09/06, Michael Landau 09/09-10 and Krantz/Carlock/Lefebvre 09/16-17