Talking Circle Jazz Collective at Choochokam
Published 10:00 am Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Dancing shoes?
Check.
Excellent entertainment?
Check.
Some very jazzy gents will be mixing it up on the Choochokam Main Stage this Saturday.
The Talking Circle Jazz Collective is an apt name for the seven venerable musicians who have collected their individual styles and blended them to create their very own unique, crowd-pleasing sound.
With decades of diverse musical experience between them and with the laid-back approach of Whidbey islanders this band infuses their American jazz sound with the shake-your-booty rhythms of samba, salsa, Latin, funk and big band swing.
The Talking Circle Jazz Collective — a name derived from the landmark Langley co-housing community where the band rehearses — features a front line of Rick Newell on trumpet, Steve Tarr on trombone and Greg Beck on guitar. The rhythm section is anchored by Donovan Freeborn at the drums, Greg Barnes on bass, Gary Way at the piano and Roger Bennett on congas and percussion.
While it will be his first appearance at Choochokam, guitarist Beck has been a mainstay of the Pacific Northwest music scene for many years, performing in styles ranging from rock and country, to rhythm-and-blues and jazz.
Freeborn, Bennett, Barnes and Way have rocked the Choochokam Main Stage in years past with the tropical sound of Bahia, a Whidbey Latin-jazz combo.
Newell and Tarr have also previously played at Choochokam as soloists in the Generation Gap Big Band which was led by the late great jazz drummer and South Whidbey “hometown hero” Dick Tilken. It is to the musical memory of their dear friend Tilken that the Talking Circle Jazz Collective dedicates their set on Saturday.
The Talking Circle Jazz Collective will hit the main stage at noon on Saturday, July 14 in downtown Langley. Visit the Website at www.choochokamarts.com for information. Wear your dancing shoes.
Patricia Duff can be reached at 221-5300 or pduff@southwhidbeyrecord.com.
