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Steve Smith and Vital Information at Catalina |
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Written by Ronaldo Oregano
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Sunday, 18 September 2005 |
Steve Smith brings his band Vital Information - featuring Frank Gambale, Tom Coster and Baron Browne to the
Catalina Bar and Grill on 6725 Sunset Blvd. for a 5 night stand on Wednesday, September 21st through Sunday, September 25th.
Now in their 22nd year since their initial 1983 release, Steve Smith
and Vital Information has become a formidable fusion juggernaut whose
longevity surpasses the Zawinul Syndicate, Tribal Tech and even Weather
Report. With the jazz fusion quartet's 11th album, Come On In, the
all-star lineup of Tom Coster (keyboards), Frank Gambale
(guitar), Baron Browne (bass) and Steve Smith (drums) serve up a
veritable banquet of sounds, from slamming funk and syncopated second
line grooves to seriously swinging, uptempo B-3 burners, South Indian
Carnatic inspired jams and sizzling fuzoid romps.
The group’s founder and drummer, Steve Smith, has a resume that
stretches from Ahmad Jamal, Zakir Hussain, The Buddy Rich Big Band and
Steps Ahead to Andrea Bocelli, Savage Garden and Journey. It is no
surprise that he won Modern Drummer Magazine's #1 All Around Drummer
award five years in a row and was voted one of the Top 25 Drummers of
All Time in a recent Modern Drummer readers poll. In 2002, Smith was
also voted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame.
 Photo by Howard A. Gitelson
In the last eight years, Smith has led or co-led fifteen different jazz
or jazz/rock projects for the Tone Center label. His educational Hudson
Music DVD "Steve Smith - Drumset Technique and History of the U.S.
Beat" is a best seller in the music educational market. Steve Smith is
one of the most constantly evolving drummers on the scene today.
Smith is quick to point out that a key to the band’s remarkable
versatility is its bassist, Baron Browne. "Baron brought a real serious
groove element to the band," says Smith of his rhythm section partner.
"He’s my favorite bass player to play with because he can play all the
styles and he always makes the music feel so good. Baron plays great
swing, great funk and groove, he can read anything, play in any odd
time signature plus he can play over changes really well. It’s hard to
find bass players who can do all of that, so he really matches up with
me well."
Browne has worked in the past with Gary Burton, Billy Cobham, Jean-Luc
Ponty, Steps Ahead and Tom Jones but has never sounded better than he
does with Vital Information.
Unique keyboardist Tom Coster, who’s versatility ranges from Hammond B3
to accordion, has been firmly entrenched in the San Francisco music
scene for over 30 years. He was playing with Gabor Szabo and Rahsaan
Roland Kirk long before he came to prominence in Santana, a stay that
lasted eight years. He has recorded many solo albums under him own name
and has been a member of Vital Information since 1986. Tom also tours
with Billy Cobham and Bill Evans.
Virtuoso guitarist Frank Gambale, first hit the international scene
(like Smith) playing with Jean-Luc Ponty, he later gained more
attention as an ongoing member of Chick Corea's popular, Grammy Award
winning Elektric Band. Frank has also made many recordings under his
own name and tours the world with his own trio.
Both Frank and Tom bring a highly developed sense of composition and
arranging to the group. Along with Steve and Baron’s versatility these
four musicians are writing some of the most grooving and sophisticated
music on today’s scene.
The group’s 1998 recording, Where We Come From, was a new beginning for
Vital Information. The band had decided to reintroduce themselves to
their musical roots and the result is a rootsy amalgam which ran the
stylistic gamut from James Brown funk to Booker T & The MGs Memphis
soul to searing Tony Williams Lifetime-inspired fusion while making
further allusions to jazz icons like Buddy Rich, Jimmy Smith, Wes
Montgomery and Ornette Coleman along the way. That Americanized formula
became more clarified on 2000’s Live Around The World, and their group
chemistry solidified on 2001’s Show ‘Em Where You Live.
On the band’s 11th album, Come On In, Vital Information continues to
hone its "U.S. music" direction while staking out some adventurous new
territory. The seasoned veterans cover a lot of bases on Come On In and
do it all in such convincing fashion. There isn’t a more flexible and
disciplined band of killer players on the jazz scene today than Vital
Information. And they prove it once again on Come On In.
Hear Steve
Smith and Vital Information - Featuring Frank Gambale, Tom Coster
and Baron Browne at Catalina Bar and Grill, 6725 Sunset Blvd.,
Hollywood, CA on Wednesday,
September 21 - Sunday, September 25
.
Steve Smith and Vital Information have booked the following
performance dates:
Monday, November
21 – Saturday, December 3
Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club
47 Frith Street, Soho, London
(+44) 020.7439.0747; www.ronniescotts.co.uk
Monday,
December 5
The Avalon Theatre
40 East Dover Street, Easton, MD
Tuesday, December 6
The
Waterfront Banquet Facility
570 North River Street, Plains, PA 18705
570.270.5862; www.pajazzalliance.com
Thursday, December
8 – Sunday 11
Iridium Jazz Club
1650 Broadway (and 51st), NY, NY
212.582.2121; www.iridiumjazzclub.com
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 Tuesday, 02 December 2008
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