Review of the Joe Manis Trio in Oregon Music News
Posted: December 26th, 2009 | Author: joemanis | Filed under: joe manis | No Comments »
JOE MANIS TRIO JAZZES SAM BOND’S GARAGE IN EUGENE
by Andrew Creasey on November 19, 2009
It was a Wednesday night at Sam Bond’s Garage in Eugene. Most people walking in from the street would have been mightily surprised by the sonic assault coming from the stage in the form of theJoe Manis Trio, a jazz group tighter than Steve Perry’s pants.
They ripped down the rafters, melted faces, shattered pint glasses, and performed every other physical feat made possible by analogous musical hyperbole.
Yeah, I liked this group.
Weaving cascading sax solos and wrist snapping drum breaks with disjointed melodic themes, the Trio, featuring Joe Manis on tenor sax, Kevin McDonald on stand-up bass and Kevin Congleton on drums, filled the bar’s cavernous confines with a set that mixed original tunes with standards by Thelonious Monk, Sam Rivers and Pink Floyd.
Juxtaposing traditional jazz composition with a modern groove-based style, the group kept their set fresh and diverse. The bassist, sporting a gel infused mo-hawk, anchored Manis’ acrobatics with an array of walking bass lines and relentless riffs. The drummer took the time signature and folded it like an origami peacock, throwing off tapping feet across the bar with his unorthodox beat displacement.
Joe Manis led the Trio with a veterans touch, knowing when to take over and when to let his talented band have their turn. At one point during a particularly Buddy Rich-like drum solo, Manis restrained the bassist from reentering, recognizing the moment and letting it run its course.
The group was a great jazz amoeba, fluid and amorphous, shifting form from one song to the next, yet maintaining its basic parts.
This free showcase represented a gift to the community from Joe Manis, who graduated from the University of Oregon’s music program before heading off to the New England Conservatory in Boston to receive a Masters of Music in Jazz Studies-Performance with Academic Honor.
Look for the latest release from the Joe Manis Trio entitled Evidence.
http://oregonmusicnews.com/blog/2009/11/19/joe-manis-trio-111809/
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