The Jazzcat

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The chords played on the guitar are so sweet! Tonight, it’s a quartet but, since the bass player is on the way, the Trio kicked off the set. Tomas Janzon, Art Hillary and Frank Wilson opened the set at the Westin with beautiful melodies as intimate and wonderful as can be played in a lobby full of people. The Trio was so tight that I don’t think that the crowd noticed that there was suppose to be a fourth.

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Standing up grooving or sitting down to comp or play all of these great harmonies, Tomas Janzon was right on time. He has been traveling recently and just got back from <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />Stockholm and New York City to land right here for his second engagement here at the LAX Westin. Regular fans of Tomas were in the audience and they were happy to hear him perform!

The Swedish born Tomas is literally a master of his game. He received his master in music at Guitar Institute which is probably the reason why he flows through the standards with such ease and grace. Frank has a watch that keeps real nice time. He is a drummer who makes it so easy for everyone to get their groove on! Art, a master of piano in his own right, is fantastically seamless on piano. If you watch him closely, his positioning is such that his dangling fingers drop and hit those notes with just as much charm as his as his warm persona displays. And, just when it is really sounding good, “Suddenly, in walked Nedra!”

Nedra Wheeler comes in and just dives right in the middle of a tune and is all over it. Now the thunderous bottom of the bass kicks that uncompromising innovativeness and the second set swings even harder. Tomas has recorded a disc called “X-Changes”, which Nedra appears on. You can peep all the music and more at www.tomasjanzon.com. Tomas played all the sweet changes and beautiful chords tonight as he always does.

Check his website for the next upcoming gig!

LeRoy Downs