Quick note.

This past Saturday night, Joe and I took in the Steve Greene Trio (with Tina Albright) at Equal Grounds Coffee House on South Ave. We got there late. It was pretty packed. Steve was in rare form. We missed the set where he was doing awesome, straight-ahead jazz and got there in time for silliness. But even in silliness, Steve Greene is still pretty awesome.

'Tweren't the usual suspects in the band that night. The bass player and drummer were subs. I wasn't thrilled. They were okay, but . . . However, Tina was on her game, as always. In fact, she seemed clearly in charge of this show. Her voice was warm and rich, sultry and seductive as usual. She was playing games, too. She sang pointedly to her boyfriend, and it was fun watching him squirm! (Sorry, Dave, it was priceless!)

Last weekend (2/2), we saw Madeline Forster at Brio. Her bass player, Dave Arenius, is one musician I know and think is really great (and a darned nice guy, too). The other players were young Eastman guys whom I didn't know. And then there was her dad, Tim Forster, jumping in on flute every once in a while. Madeline was fine. She had a lovely voice, and she was young and pretty. Joe and Dave seemed to think that she was really good. Dave thought her phrasing was excellent and that she "really told a story" with each song. My opinion was that she sounded good, and I agree that she had her phrasing down. I'd like to hear her again. I disagree about her sounding like she was telling a story. She's 21. She sings like a well-trained 21-year-old. She doesn't have the depth of life experience that someone like, say, Tina Albright has and she, therefore, cannot sing like someone who has. If you haven't lived through heartaches and sadness, loss and betrayal, then you really can't sing it. You can sing the words, you can have perfect tone, you can phrase it just so, but if you haven't lived it, Baby, then you can't sing it. She will someday, though, and then we'll talk.

That's all for now. Joe plays next week. I'm excited.

yours in music,
Tracy