I started Saturday warming up and practicing parts for the band I was playing with at noon. I’d never played with John Ellis and Double Wide before and the music is not easy, so I set my alarm for 7:30 a.m. and started warming up the old trombone. Left the house at 9:30 for soundcheck with John and the band which includes Brian Coogan on drums, Derek Phillips on drums and the absolutely incredible Matt Perrine on Sousaphone. John Ellis, the sax player and bandleader is one of the baddest sax players out there because he has a full balance of the soulful New Orleans sound and is a shredding jazzer at the same time. His music is the same way, the perfect combination of both sides of Jazz. I had a great time waking up/playing with them on the mainstage and it was an honor to be asked to jump in like that with no rehearsal. I’m glad I can still read sheet music! I’d have to say that the Sousaphone player, Matt, is one of the most amazing freaks of tuba playing I’ve ever heard. He can play anything on that beastly instrument. My jaw had dropped in amazement most of the time I was listening to him.

After John’s smokin’ set we hung out with Maceo Parker who was on after us – very cool dudes. I only got to see their first song but it was big, loud and full throttle – Definitely “Festival Funk” as I call it but they sounded really tight and the horns were on fire.

Next I had a set with our very own Crystal Monee Hall at 3pm. I was glad that even though she was booked on the Blues Stage she still kept the set eclectic, dynamic and full of different ways of featuring her amazing voice, her songs and her band. Highlights for me included Crystal and Joe doing a cover of Ray Charles’ “Night time is the Right time”…I think that was the crowd favorite too. The band was layin’ it down and we all had a superb time with lots of smiles.

After Crystal’s set we all rushed over to the Rep Theater to set up for the Brass, Bows & Beats show at 6pm. The band before us ended at 5:45 and we were supposed to set up the entire orchestra, mics, monitors and everything and be playing at 6:00…hahaha yeah right! Much to my amazement we were on stage and ready to play at 6:30 which is still an unbelievable feet. Anyway, the set went smooth and it was a nice venue but a little small. The audience was capacity and very energetic and supportive of our eclectic neo-orchestral-jazz explorations.

Next up was Joe Bagale so we made our way over to the “Jazz Beyond” stage to set up and scarf down a quick bite of food with a large crew. By this point everywhere we went people were recognizing us as the Jazz Mafia; this felt nice because we never play San Jose, yet it’s so close to our home. Hopefully we’ll be able to be back down there soon to carry on the momentum we started. Anyway, Joe’s set started out looking like not many folks were gonna be there in the audience but as soon as we started tons of peeps showed up coming from all directions ready to party. We had a slammin’ set – it’s always fun to bring our music to new people and see how they react.

After Joe’s set many of us went to an afterparty that Felonious was playing – I made it about 3/4 of the 10 block walk there and fell dead in my tracks. I was done, fried, toast, kaput, useless, wasted, etc… I needed sleep and I went home and got it – 12 hours of non-stop slumber. Awesome. Success.

Many of our musicians were playing all over the festival as sidemen all day. Everyone worked their buns off and kept going all through the night as if each performance was their first. Very impressive and thanks for all the help everyone put in to make the Brass, Bows & Beats show the smooth-running concert that it was.

All the shows I was involved in at San Jose were a true pleasure and were very memorable experiences. I even went back Sunday to play with our violinist Anthony Blea’s band on the Salsa Stage which was yet another highlight to my weekend. After that we went and saw Tower of Power who sounded unreal – like an album but with more energy. I really do have love for the SJ Jazz Fest and if you haven’t been to it I’d put it on your to do list for next year. It’s a great mix of “real” jazz, jazz off-shoots and stuff like Maceo and Tower of Power that is “Jazzy” but fits because of the high level of musicianship that they posses.