Banderas Bay Jazz Allstars at The Red Room Gary R. Beck - Beck's Best
January 19, 2015

Puerto Vallarta and area welcome back The Banderas Bay Jazz Allstars to their new venue, The Red Room Cabaret, part of the Act II Entertainment complex which also house Stages and the beautiful Encore Bar. The showroom is very comfortable 90-seat capacity with soft yet firm chairs and small cocktail tables.

The Banderas Bay Jazz Allstars consists of Chas Eller on keyboards, Bryan Savage on sax and flute, both from the United States, Cuban drummer Lazaro Poey and British bassist Steve York. Members of the group have played worldwide with Kilimanjaro (formed by Chas), Paul Butterfield, Tom Coster (Santana), Dr. John, The Amazing Rhythm Aces, Al Stewart, Marianne Faithfull, Joan Armatrading and many more groups and artists.
 
They opened with Manhã de Carnaval (known in the U.S. as "A Day in the Life of a Fool") which is credited with first popularizing Bossa Nova from Brazil in the movie "Black Orpheus." The band offers some of the most uniquely spirited, tight and thrilling jazz in the area. These men are world class musicians who took the audience on a wild sojourn.
 
Everyone in the band is a virtuoso in his own right. Bryan blows sweet melodies and entrancing improvisational solos on sax and flute. Chas maintains the band's foundation also playing terrific solos and delightful melodies with a mix of piano, synthesizer and Hammond organ. Steve demonstrates unique strumming rhythm qualities and Lazaro rules the drums to perfection, combining many beats and artistic vibes, using every piece of his drum set.

The selections included "You are my Sunshine", King Curtis standard "Soul Serenade", Percy Mayfield's "Please Send Me Someone to Love", Mel Torme hit "Comin' Home Baby" and Bob's own "Sirens of the Sea", a recreation of the songs of the whales. Together they create a force of complex rhythms sporting an amazing chemistry. Concerns about the room's sound system for this voluminous band were allayed and the lighting was right on target.

A standard theme of the evening was "Put it Where You Want It" made famous by The Crusaders. With this song, they hit a peak in rhythm and swing. A standout was "You Don't Know Me" from Ray Charles. Great solos marked other highlights of the evening. "Ode to Billie Jo" demonstrated the joy the members share with each other and the audience. Carlos Santana's composition "Europa" (Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile) ended the raucous musical romp until the next visit.

Tonight, The Red Room Cabaret was transformed into a Jazz Club. We are all very fortunate to witness such a fine assembly of talent not seen often anywhere but now here in Puerto Vallarta.

Upcoming dates for the Jall Allstars at the Red Room are February 7 & 20, March 6 & 20. All shows at 7:30 pm except for the February 7 Saturday matinee at 5:00.

Tickets can be purchased at the Act II Box Office in Old Town Vallarta at the corner of Basilio Badillo & Insurgentes, open Monday-Saturday from 2:00 - 10:00 pm, or online at Vallarta Tickets. Telephone is (322) 222-1512.

Attend and show your appreciation for this phenomenal jazz entity which we are blessed to have honor us here in Puerto Vallarta and other Banderas Bay locations.