I didn’t get to many Lethbridge Jazz Festival shows last week. But one I did not want to miss was the return of Edmonton based, piano driven New Orleans style jazz musician Rooster Davis. They played a wild set of New Orleans jazz at the Owl Acoustic Lounge, June 17.
Rooster Davis is a wild piano player and showed substantial chops. His voice was alternately jazzy, bluesy with just a touch of adult contemporary pop similar to Ben Folds.
Keyboardist/percussionist Ann Vriend sang angelically while adding some piano and percussion she added a more straight ahead pop and R and B sensibility with a few songs from her new EP, but still held spine tingling, loud, long, high notes.
They had a new trombonist in Audrey Ochoa who blew beautiful, jaw dropping experimental lines as drummer Peter Hendrickson held down a rock solid backbeat.
In addition to Rooster Davis’s more contemporary New Orleans Jazz and originals and Ann Vriend’s more pop and R and B, they also delved deep into their blues roots with great versions of classics like “St. James Infirmary.”
Colin James and his band stopped by for a beer after their show at the Enmax Centre. A lot of us were hoping they’d get up and play, but it was not meant to be. Rooster Davis and his band would have been a tough act to follow. Even for Colin James.
