John Novello's New Trio

[HammondDave]

Last night my wonderful wife surprised me and took me to the Catalina Bar and Grill on Sunset to see/hear John Novello's new piano trio.

 

We arrived early and by chance John came up and greeted us as we walked in the door. My wife introduced me to him and the surprise was complete. What a nice guy, and very grascious.

 

Being a huge fan of his B3 playing, I was a little disappointed that there was no Hammond in sight. However, there was a beautiful Yamaha concert grand on stage.

 

I had heard him play piano before on several Niacin cuts and was always impressed with his versatility. But it was not until I heard him perform with his new trio that I realized how masterful he plays the piano. His dynamics and chord voicings were superb! As in his B3 playing, he performs runs and fast chord chops with mastery.

 

But most impressive was the beautiful new music he is creating. He must have played for almost 2 hours and it was truly engaging and inspiring.

 

After the show we spoke briefly. I discovered that his first instrument was the accordion, then he moved to the B3. He later took up piano. From experiencing his music last night piano could easily be his first instrument.

 

Reggie Hamilton played bass and displayed some tastefully melodic runs and solos, and Gerry Brown's drumming was also impressive.

 

Go see them when you have a chance... Here are a couple of vids from an earlier concert there:

 

 

 

[DanS]

Cool. I always liked his Niacin stuff.