After gigs with Di Meola and Sandoval, Phil Magallanes brings his jazz trio to the Side Door

 One great thing about the growth of this area – especially in the arts – is the talented folks who are choosing St. Pete and the Tampa Bay area as their home base.,

 

One of the best is Phil Magallanes, an incredible pianist and arranger. He’s brought his Phil’s Juke Joint to the Side Door and his Steely Dan project: Show Biz Kids, has played two shows in Hough Hall. Phil’s musical resume is long and stellar.

 

He’s back in the Side Door next Friday, 9-28, with a trio of heavy hitting players. There’s Phil, of course, who just came off the Al Di Meola tour. Phil’s also been behind the keyboard with Arturo Sandoval, Blood, Sweat and Tears, and even Engelbert Humperdinck and Debbie Gibson.

 

He’s bringing veteran New Orleans drummer James Varnado, who has a similar track record of backing top artists. Varnado’s mentor is Zigaboo Modeliste, the drummer of the Meters and he played several years in George Porter’s band. Porter was the bassist for the Meters. James also toured extensively with Dickey Betts, of the Allman Brothers, in addition to stints with Charmaine Neville, John Cleary, Tab Benoit and a host of other New Orleans greats.

 

On bass this Friday night is  Palladium favorite Michael Ross.   Michael is legendary in these parts and his sideman credits include Nat Adderley, Jimmie Cobb, Herbie  Mann, and Nathen Page, in addition to countless other jazz luminaries. I’ve loved the “Michael Ross” quartets and quintets he’s led and people still talk about his longtime outfit Liquid Bebop. I own his last CD, Ginger, and it’s still a favorite of mine. I’m not alone. All About Jazz said of him: “Michael Ross possesses one of the FATTEST acoustic bass sounds you’ll ever hear.” And Cadance called him: “A bedrock melodist in much the same manner as Charlie Haden, possessing a dark, sustaining tone…and his compositions are both thoughtful and swinging.”

 

For tickets and information for this Side Door show you can call our box office at 727-822-3590 or follow this link for on-line tickets and information.

 

And here’s a brief interview with Phil: 

 

PalladiumPaul: Phil you’ve worked with some of the best players in the business. Most recently Al Di Meola. Can you talk about playing with Al and Arturo Sandoval in particular? What are they looking for when they hire you?

 

Phil Magallanes: Well, I’ve been super fortunate. Both those gigs were like going to school!

 

Gumbi Ortiz (Al Di Meola’s percussionist for over thirty years) was kind enough to recommend me when the keyboard chair in Al’s band became vacant. Al’s music is really complex and requires laser-precision, as well as feel. So I guess he needed someone with the discipline and dedication to transcribe and learn all the parts (literally took me 1000 hours!), and the chops to pull it off live. Gumbi and the band then trained me for an entire summer how to play some of the hardest music on the planet at the highest level. Without a doubt, it was the greatest musical challenge of my life and a great learning experience!

 

Working with Arturo was a dream come true. I was already a huge fan and couldn’t believe it when I got the call to play with him. Arturo needed somebody who could play jazz but also understood Afro-Cuban music. Needless to say, it was immediately clear when I joined the band that I had a lot to learn in both areas! I had two days to learn the entire gig and and then they put me in the deep end of the pool…sink or swim!

 

At the time, I had neither played with Cubans nor experienced fast tempos like that before. (Blues, rhythm changes and Cherokee at 500 bpm…it was like being strapped to side of a rocket ship, hanging on for dear life!) Plus, we had a live DVD to record at the Blue Note in exactly six weeks…no pressure! Needless to say, it was an amazing experience which taught me a lot of great lessons about both music and life.

 

PP: What does James Varnado bring to the band? He’s also got a stellar track record playing with top artists.

 

PM: I met James my second day in town, and played countless gigs on bass with him. So we already knew each other really well prior to my getting back into piano and putting the trio together. James is simply one of the most gifted musicians I’ve ever met. He’s from New Orleans and swings ferociously hard in every style. James is also endlessly creative has tremendous personality in his playing. It’s like playing with with someone who loves Elvin Jones, Roy Haynes Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette and Zigaboo Modeliste (James’ mentor)…and then created something totally new out of all that. He is truly unique. Above all, James is an extremely fun musician to play with and always pulls things out of me I didn’t know I had.

 

PP: Michael Ross is already a Palladium favorite. He’s been the most innovative bass player in our area for decades. How did you and Michael get together?

 

PM: Michael started calling me for gigs soon after I got back into playing piano, and we just instantly clicked. We love a lot of the same music and share similar attitudes towards music, playing in a group, space, sound, articulation, phrasing, etc. In addition to obviously being an incredible soloist and groover with a strong identity who swings to no end, Michael can play one note and you know it’s him.

 

There’s not a lot of upright bass players you can say that about. He truly sings through the instrument. That makes me want to sing through the piano as well.

 

PP: Tell me a little about what folks will be hearing in your Side Door show on 9-28.

 

PM: This show is all about us playing music from albums we grew up with and love. I took specific recorded versions of standards which somehow stood out for us and transcribed them. We then try to honor those arrangements but also play them our own way. You’ll hear renditions of tunes played by Bill Evans, Chick Corea, Thelonious Monk, Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny and others, plus original tunes as well.