JEFF HAMILTON TRIO
June 5 at Palo Alto ElksA good crowd turned out for the wonderful Jeff Hamilton Trio on Sunday afternoon, June 5th. The PAJA-sponsored Bruce Powell Jazz Party was held at the new Palo Alto Elks lodge and it turned out to be a fine facility for an event of this sort: intimate, with excellent sound (provided by Bob Shea) and good sightlines—due to the Elks Club two-foot risers that elevated the group to audience eye level. The central location on El Camino Real in Palo Alto, with ample parking, also adds to the site’s appeal.
The Trio was in superb form, as usual, treating us to a number of tunes from their hit album “Symbiosis,” and some new items from their forthcoming recording. The biggest crowd favorite of the new works was “Hat’s Dance,” a lilting tune written to honor Jeff’s mother, Harriet. “Taste” is this group’s middle name, as it were—music any jazz fan can enjoy and groove to. As we’ve mentioned before, the drummer is more out front with this trio than with most other ensembles—it’s the Jeff Hamilton Trio, after all—and though Hamilton rocks, he doesn’t dominate, and each member gets ample opportunity to show his wares.
Tamir Hendelman, as the pianist, carries most of the melodic responsibilities, and he does it with elegance, and we come back to that word “taste” again. Truly beautiful keyboard work integrated into the whole. If bassist Christoph Luty was not familiar to some in attendance, he made lots of new fans, impressed by his soulful arco playing and the rhythmic anchor he lends to the group.
The Trio has played in recent years at Yoshi’s, the Pete Douglas Beach House, and at the San Jose Jazz Festival, but not for a long time in the mid-Peninsula. PAJA is very pleased and proud to have brought this outstanding group here for the enjoyment of Peninsula fans.
Photos by Andy Nozaka
Post Concert Photos at Trader Vic's
Photos by Jan De Carli
.. Katoko Sax, Claire and Harvey Mittler..............Barbara, Scott & Scotttie Norwood
Bruce Powell, Ed Fox & Bob Shea ...................Christoph Luty, Tamir Hendelman,
.................................................................... Herb Wong & Jeff Hamilton
