But back to last night. Trumpeter Miller has been working steadily for several years with this fine band, which includes Joe Delaney on piano, Don Mopsick on bass and Tony Viigilante on drums. All four of them have fierce musical credentials.
And they have a terrific time playing a wide range of jazz - from Great American Songbook standards to lesser-known tunes from the jazz/bebop canon. They were having such a good time last night that the planned 50-minute opening set was more like 90 minutes before they took a break.
There are two surprises on this gig.
1 - You're never sure what talents might sit in. On this particular night, tenor saxophonist Lou Califano, a long-time player in Atlantic City, joined the band for the last two tunes of the first set and was in the mix for the rest of the night.
Here are a couple of examples that stood out last night:
On George and Ira Gershwin's "Lady Be Good," Delaney wove in a snippet of Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely."
On the band's exploration of "Flamingo," Ted Grouya's exotic 1940 ballad first recorded by Duke Ellington with singer Herb Jeffries, the pianist dropped in a bit of "Poinciana."
Thanks indeed!
Snowbirds and year-round jazz lovers in southwest Florida are fortunate that Miller (originally from Chicago), Delaney (from Brockton MA), Mopsick (from Linden NJ via San Antonio), and Vigilante (from Philadelphia), decided to make this area their home base.
It's been a pleasant discovery since moving here more than five years ago, having retired from northern winters, that the region is blessed with many such talents.
Thanks a million Ken! Hope to see everybody next season at the Roadhouse.
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