In February Jazz Society members and guests were treated to a delightful afternoon of beautiful voices and great jazz players. Ginger Berglund and Scott Whitfield were wonderful together as they sang duets of mostly Johnny Mandel standards with a few surprises thrown in. Their clear voices blended so well whether singing in unison or harmonizing and their duets gave another dimension to the jazz music we are used to hearing mostly instrumentally. Having great stage presence, their joy of just singing was infectious. My favorite of the afternoon was a gorgeous rendition of Mandel’s Close Enough For Love which started out acapella later being joined by the band. And what a band…Super players like Rodger Neumann on tenor sax who contributed some great solos on most every tune. Pianist Jeff Colella was flawless as well. Jennifer Leitham, an amazing player who did the arrangement on Henry Mancini’s Dreamsville, really slapped that bass and played with gusto all afternoon. And veteran drummer, Kendall Kaye was at his best. And, of course, leader Scott Whitfield with his terrific trombone playing and solos. It’s a band of seasoned professionals, for sure, and we were so lucky to have had them here in Santa Barbara.
-Natalie Wilson
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