July 21, 2012

Dizzy’s @ 98 Bottles                                                                                                                                                                               Diane Moser, piano, with Duncan Moore, drums; Rob Thorsen, bass; Peter Sprague, guitar.                                           Diane gathered together some of San Diego’s top jazz musicians for the evening to celebrate the release of their new CD, “WDMO.”  Much of the music was composed by Diane, opening the set with “Rhythms” written when she lived in San Diego way back in 1979. She’s now based in Montclair, NJ.  It was great to see all the musicians enjoying the night -- often with big smiles on their faces.  I loved how they played together and when one was playing solo, the others complemented them so well: quiet but interesting.  It was really nice to get to hear more of Sprague who is well known in San Diego but I haven’t heard him often enough.  I was particularly taken when he went “out” a bit with looping and electronic bits.  They also played a lovely version of “Summertime,” a couple of tunes from Thelonius Monk, and a tribute to Mel Waldron, “One for Mel.”  Robert Bush’s review: http://bit.ly/Mjyc1m