Yellowjackets at Catalina's 06-03-05
by Shannon Kennedy
Yellowjackets were out at Catalina's in Hollywood, California, so of
course I had to go and listen. I attended the 10:30 set and the last two
songs or so of the first set.
Yellowjackets really impressed me because of their musicianship as a group.
The four are all excellent ensemble players, but as a saxophone player, I
tended to watch and listen to Bob Mintzer the most. His technique was and
is incredible - his fingers never move off the keys and were very discreet.
Something he did that I found amusing was that while he wasn't playing, he
moved back behind the bass amp and it looked like he was hiding.
I talked to all four of the musicians (Bob Mintzer, Russell Ferrante, Jimmy Haslip, and Marcus Baylor) after the show. They were all REALLY
nice guys - Bob Mintzer and Russell Ferrante especially. After the show
was over, Bob Mintzer went back into the green room, so we were talking
to Russell Ferrante. He asked if we had gotten to meet with all the
musicians. At the time, the only person we hadn't talked to was Bob
Mintzer, so Russell Ferrante took us over to the green room and drug him
out to talk to us.
All in all, the show was really great. The music was inspiring, the playing
was amazing. I feel that the part of the reason Yellowjackets music sounds
so good is that it is arranged and it isn't just a head with solos. It has
parts, it first, it makes sense, and the group makes it work and sound good.
