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| Steve Thomas & the Co-Conspirators: New CD Thursday, Feb. 8, at Rutman's Violins, Boston, MA; Friday, Feb. 9 at Acton Jazz Cafe, Acton, MA; Sunday, Feb. 11 at Wellesley Free Library, Wellesley, MA jazz vocalist Steve Thomas and his band The Co-Conspirators (Rich Greenblatt (vibraphone), John Funkhouser (bass), Gary Fieldman (drums) will be performing original jazz songs from their new CD on Not Two Five Records, Spirits Passing Through: "Original jazz songs of spirit, with wide-ranging, intelligent lyrics, sparked by a crackling, improvising jazz ensemble, with rhythmic tastes of Brazilian samba, New Orleans second-line, funk -- and chocolate." "I'm a jazz vocalist, so I wanted to hear my songs in the context of a real, live, improvising jazz ensemble. I wanted us to play on the songs, the way jazz musicians do, so they'd open up in performance and really fly. And I wanted to use vibraphone, in place of piano. "I also wanted the feeling of a real ensemble, not just a singer backed by a rhythm section. Instead of a few guys playing one guy's songs, it's a band, something way bigger than the sum of its parts. We can go from spare lyricism to a big hollering band improv and back again ("Time/Space") or nail a funky New Orleans second-line groove in a song that's really about, well, death ("Beads"). write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |