the
Jazz Society of Oregon
held a
fund raising benefit
in
the belly of the city

the
Jazz Express Big Band
with
Linda Daiber and Todd Gang
aka
Tobaj

a
potent sense of swing
the echoes of
brass and saxophones
muted ooh-wahs
played
partly in unison
    
an unbroken series
of
dum-de-da
and the
staccato accents
of the ride cymbal
and
from time to time
an explosive
punctuation
of the bass drum

the
spirited rhythm
of a
no nonsense guitarist
trading licks
with
forceful big tones

an
extensive range
of colors
in the
bass passages
dissolving
into
slightly different shades
with its
double-times
and
stop-times
 
just to
tease the imagination

killer chord
combinations
on piano
and
beautifully improvised
melodies
played with
speed and dexterity

vocalist
bringing back to life
gems
that captured
the
moods of an era

sensitive interpretations
of great jazz tunes
subtle emotion
and
musical shading
scatting
replaced instruments
and the tunes
became
looser-freer
and
more diverse