Home » Jazz Articles » Live Review » Amanda Ruzza Band: New York, NY, November 8, 2012
Amanda Ruzza Band: New York, NY, November 8, 2012
By
Amanda Ruzza Band
Zinc Bar
New York, NY
November 8, 2012
Brazilian-born bassist Amanda Ruzza took the stage at Greenwich Village's Zinc Bar, backed by a solid banddrummer Mauricio Zotarelli, electric guitarist Alex Nolan, pianist Mamiko Watanabe, trombonist Chris Stover and tenor/soprano saxophonist Ben Flocksabout which the bandleader jokingly referred as "a nice band with three boys and three girls." The set opened with a trombone-led samba, with a funk edge that allowed for lots of improvisation from the entire ensemble, with each player taking a completely different approach to his/her solo. Watanabe tended to be subtler, carefully choosing her notes in a more contemporary groove, while Nolan went in a more jazz-rock direction. Stover used his entire body when soloing, shaking his legs and arching his back, while Zotarelli and Ruzza kept a tight backbeat and added a few creative accents in-between.
The set list was balanced between compositions from Ruzza, Stover and Watanabe, as well as a couple of covers. On Ruzza's "This Is What Happened," the bassist was very creative, performing fast-paced solos on her five-string electric bass. Another impressive moment came with "Pagao," an obscure song by the legendary Pixinguinha (1897-1973), known for bringing chorinhos to the mainstream in his native country. Here, Stover and Ruzza started out with an intricate duet that later moved into a laidback and contemporary samba feel. Also notable was "Pimenta No Choro," an up-tempo Ruzza original that utilized a Sao Paulo samba groove.
The musiciansmany of whom participated in Ruzza's debut, This Is What Happened (Self Produced, 2012)had great chemistry together. Later in the evening, Ruzza participated in a second set of music by singer Caetano Veloso, who was in the audience during the bassist's set, in an ensemble led by Stover.
Zinc Bar
New York, NY
November 8, 2012
Brazilian-born bassist Amanda Ruzza took the stage at Greenwich Village's Zinc Bar, backed by a solid banddrummer Mauricio Zotarelli, electric guitarist Alex Nolan, pianist Mamiko Watanabe, trombonist Chris Stover and tenor/soprano saxophonist Ben Flocksabout which the bandleader jokingly referred as "a nice band with three boys and three girls." The set opened with a trombone-led samba, with a funk edge that allowed for lots of improvisation from the entire ensemble, with each player taking a completely different approach to his/her solo. Watanabe tended to be subtler, carefully choosing her notes in a more contemporary groove, while Nolan went in a more jazz-rock direction. Stover used his entire body when soloing, shaking his legs and arching his back, while Zotarelli and Ruzza kept a tight backbeat and added a few creative accents in-between.
The set list was balanced between compositions from Ruzza, Stover and Watanabe, as well as a couple of covers. On Ruzza's "This Is What Happened," the bassist was very creative, performing fast-paced solos on her five-string electric bass. Another impressive moment came with "Pagao," an obscure song by the legendary Pixinguinha (1897-1973), known for bringing chorinhos to the mainstream in his native country. Here, Stover and Ruzza started out with an intricate duet that later moved into a laidback and contemporary samba feel. Also notable was "Pimenta No Choro," an up-tempo Ruzza original that utilized a Sao Paulo samba groove.
The musiciansmany of whom participated in Ruzza's debut, This Is What Happened (Self Produced, 2012)had great chemistry together. Later in the evening, Ruzza participated in a second set of music by singer Caetano Veloso, who was in the audience during the bassist's set, in an ensemble led by Stover.
Comments
Tags
Amanda Ruzza
Live Reviews
Ernest Barteldes
Two for the Show Media
United States
Alex Nolan
Mamiko Watanabe
Chris Stover
Ben Flocks
Caetano Veloso