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| George Lesiw Band: Deep Into Blues-Based Jazz Fusion Thousands of fans of honest to goodness, rockin' jazz fusion better get ready for an explosive earful now that The George Lesiw Band is exploding from its East Coast cocoon and hitting the national circuit. Over the past five years, the trio -- electric guitarist/composer Lesiw, acoustic bassist Preston Murphy and drummer Gil Hawkins, Jr. -- have forged an off the beaten path sound Hawkins likes to say is "slightly out of the mainstream, but burns like crazy." Based alternately in Connecticut and Boston, they've developed a loyal following with hundreds of gigs throughout the Northeast at an array of hotspots, ranging from famed clubs like Toad's Place in New Haven to Cafe 9 (also in New Haven), The Middle East in Cambridge, Mass., and Acme Underground in New York. There's nothing like hearing The George Lesiw Band live, but the group's dynamic debut CD "Anuta Was Here" -- named for Lesiw's ex-wife, who plays electric guitar on each track and composed four of them -- is a perfect snapshot of a multi-faceted, adventurous unit that's constantly evolving and charting new territory. The project combines the true improvisational essence of jazz, the daring electricity of classic guitar-based fusion and the gritty fire of rockin' blues. Before forming The George Lesiw Band with Murphy and Hawkins, the guitarist led bands that shared the stage with a proverbial list of who's who in the blues world: The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Debbie Davis, Roomful of Blues and Luther "Guitar" Junior Johnson (Muddy Waters' former guitarist). Murphy's associations include stints with numerous quintets, quartets and trios led by Jason Palmer, Cecil Brooks III, Dave Tronzo, Kevin Harris, et al. A mainstay within the jazz/blues circles of New England, Hawkins' background includes opening for Dizzy Gillespie as part of the band Suite and performing with Vincent Lyn's jazz quartet. Currently in the studio working on a follow-up collection, Lesiw promises exciting departures from what we hear on "Anuta Was Here" -- including odd multiple signatures, multiple tonalities and more complex rhythmic foundations. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Jazz News :: home page |