Dennis Gruenling "Tribute To Little Walter"Live at the Town Crier Review

Indiana State University Review

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During his long and distinguished career, 70-year-old blues organist Jimmy McGriff has infused countless opening sets with the kind of freewheeling spirit associated with an after-hours jam session. Alas, at Blues Alley on Thursday night, the early show had more in common with a haphazardly paced sound check.

McGriff, looking frail and moving very slowly, was assisted onstage by his band mates. After sliding into position behind a Hammond organ console, the great keyboardist played a secondary role during the performance, leaving most of the solo work to tenor saxophonist Jerry Weldon and guitarist Chris Vitarello. The good news is that both musicians are well worth hearing. Weldon, who's been playing with McGriff for 15 years, was in typically robust form on tenor. He displayed a full-bore tone and plenty of rhythmic vitality while shaking the dust off the Sonny Rollins calypso "St. Thomas" and the swing theme "Tuxedo Junction." Vitarello, a recent band recruit, has an obvious affinity for blues and funk, plus a sophisticated harmonic vocabulary that served the quartet well.

With some prodding from his longtime drummer Don Williams, McGriff tentatively moved through a series of familiar blues progressions and jazz themes, relying mostly on his right hand to create a rippling assortment of triplets, trills, turnarounds and sustained notes. His left hand occasionally compensated for the absence of foot-pedal generated bass tones, but more often Vitarello tended to the bottom line by introducing walking bass lines or employing chordal motion that accented the root note.

The engagement runs through tomorrow.