Feinstein’s at Vitello’s
Studio City, CA
Material: “Life, Love, and Longevity,” Stephanie Spruill informs the audience from the stage at Feinstein’s at Vitello’s. The quote reveals her secret to success. She was kicking off one of the hottest, most highenergy and entertaining shows there since the Grammy- and Emmy-nominated Ambassador of the Great American Songbook, Michael Feinstein, took over the musical venue last year above the famed Vitello’s Supper Club in Studio City. Spruill treated an overflow crowd to two rousing sets of jazz, show tunes, blues, her own compositions, life stories, comedy and an introduction to her granddaughters. Along the way she strolled through the tables, serenading fans with a vocal power that demonstrated why the actress, singer, songwriter and producer is also head of one of Hollywood’s best voice schools. Musicianship: With a full band and three backup singers Spruill kept the evening moving as she spun, laughed, danced, sang and filled the 120-seat room with vitality and song. Whether you were at a front table where you could see every sequin on her blue and gold costume, or in the back taking in the whole performance, you felt Spruill’s uncanny ability to make her music feel personal to every
STEPHANIE SPRUILL member of the audience. At one point, she shouted out greetings to her many friends and family in the room, waving at them as they clapped and waved. It was a tour de force. Performance: Between the jazz standards like “Fever,” bluesy ballads and rocking R&B, Spruill maintained a high-energy patter of jokes, stories about New York jazz, funny experiences from a long career studded with Grammy and Oscar stage appearances, singing on platinum and gold records, and recording with the famous Blue Note Records. And she was not shy about giving her opinions on various topics, making the evening far more than the sum of its parts—it was a performance as well as a concert.
PATRICK O'HEFFERNAN
Contact: spruilhous@aol.com Web: Spruillhousemusic.com Players: See musicconnection.com
Summary: As part of her performance, Spruill used her long arms, swaying body and expressive actress-face to add an extra dimension to the enthralling music. She grinned and grimaced, whirled and swirled, strutted and seduced the audience in an up-close-and-personal stroll in a non-stop act that left fans laughing, clapping and a bit exhausted from her constant movement. She didn’t need to catch a breath, but once in a while the folks at the tables did. And they gave her a standing ovation and would not let her go. After an encore, she came off the stage and was mobbed by friends, old and new, as the room flashed with selfies. A night to remember. –Patrick O’Heffernan
CHACO
The Middle East
Cambridge, MA
Contact: chacotheband@gmail.com Web: soundcloud.com/chacotheband Players: Benjamin Goldhaber, lead vocals, guitar, drums; Jack Welch, bass, guitar, vocals; Orry Shamash, drums, guitar, vocals; Phillip Grannan, guitar, drums, bass, vocals Material: Named after one of their dogs, this funky, flashy, fearsome foursome from 48 August 2019
musicconnection.com
APPLE KAUFMANN
of musical hot potato points to both ability and musical ambition. Their hour-and-a-half set consisting of strictly original compositions further underscores this observation. They shine brightest when guitar and bass hog the spotlight, but they’re no slouches when it comes to percussion either. Vocals, although serviceable, fail to rise to the level of extraordinary. Lyrics cover the gamut of funk tropes, from call-and-response, to sexual desire (“Whoa, I want her!”), to wry humor (“Hey, what’s that funny taste in your momma’s marmalade?”).
Cambridge, Somerville and Boston, MA joined forces in November of 2016 with the express mission of ramming a boogie up your butt. Heavy on groove and never short on vibe, their named influences include jammy luminaries like RHCP, Phish and Grateful Dead. Musicianship: Make no mistake—Chaco’s members display fearsome skills. Just watching them swap instruments like a game
Performance: For visual stimulus, the crafty quartet projected kaleidoscopic, psychedelic imagery alongside the visage of their canine counterpart. A welcome method of presenting the group’s name without artificial verbalization, the cinematic trimming abruptly halted mid-set only to be mercifully restarted between songs. Although their casual patter felt natural, the majority of their mumblings proved difficult to decipher. Strangely, having each player wear a plain, white shirt imbued them with a counter intuitively memorable stage presence. An enthusiastic audience gobbled up every last, heartfelt note. Summary: Nothing serves up jam like a jam band and Chaco squarely fulfills that implicit promise. Their nimble abilities and buttstomping riffs are proof of such. Yet despite raw talent Chaco, lacks any particularly distinct element that elevates them above others who occupy the same genus. That said, your pulse has gone missing if you ever find yourself standing still when this party rolls into your neck of the woods. Jump aboard. – Andy Kaufmann
