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LIVE SHOW review!
VENUE: "The Oyster House" on Percival Landing, Olympia, WA, 6/22/2002
Photos taken the "morning after" at the Olympia Farmer's Market!
You can buy Charlie's CD, "Blackberries" with your credit card by clicking HERE!
Charlie Saibel,
Piano
Organ
Bass
Vocal
Bob Esperanza
Tenor Sax
Alto Sax
Flute
Percussion
Vocal
Lyall Smith
Drums
Harmonica
Blues Harp
Vocal
Nothin' can get my motor runnin' like a fresh plate of baked or fried oysters on the outside deck at the Olympia "Oyster House". Put that delectable cuisine together with cool jazz by th' bay, & it's a combo that can't be beat!
My wife & I have been listening to Charlie Saibel's group, The Intrusions, for nearly 5 years now... various venues around Olympia, even in th' "Oyster House" before... but this is th' first time we had caught their set on th' outside deck (right next to Percival Landing), in th grand open air environs of th' Puget Sound. Well, lemme' tell ya' folks, "sound" is what it was all about! Hip, cool & very cosmopolitan!
When we arrived, th' waitresses were already out there dancin' with' th' seagulls!
Th' first full tune we heard was "TicoTico"... beautiful flute solo by Bob,
great (& precise) rhythms furnished by Lyall! Th' break cut was next, so we got
to yak with th' band members for a couple of minutes, until our oysters arrived.
Those big space heaters they put out there were a welcome addition, as the air had a bit
of a chill, but with them warming the air, it felt just like home. "The
Intrusions" are great at makin' th' audience feel comfortable, too... they aren't
like so many local jazz groups, where the audience often feels left out. Great
group of guys to be around!
Second set kicked off with a really nice vocal & some fine piano chops by Charlie on "End Of A Beautiful Friendship". Th' next piece (which name I don't remember) featured some great left-hand bass on Saibel's keyboard (he often does th' bass lines on his boards) & great sax work by Esperanza. Bob has a style all his own, very listenable & (at times) playful. Saibel has been playin' & singin' most of his life, & really knows how to communicate th' joy of living to an audience. The group has a great laid-back style, but they have a highly-charged energy which audiences pick up on easily.
Anyone who has listened to "The
Intrusions" will know that there is a certain 
element of Delta bound to show up along th' way...
Charlie's rendition of "Ain't Got Nothin' But The Blues" made him look/sound
like a (definitely grayer) version of Dr. John... when Lyall slid in under it with some
fine & funky blues harp, I couldn't help but imagine myself ridin' a Harley right
along th' strip in N'Orleans! Put some life in th' evening air, I'll tell
you!
If you're traveling through th' great Northwest & wind up in downtown Olywa, you will want to check out this group's magick... no tired & lifeless "smooth jazz" here. Great energy, great spirit & a fine music!
If you enJOYed this LIVE review, please e-mail us at rotcod@comcast.net tell us so... & if you DIDN'T enjoy it... tell us THAT, too, eh?
Rotcod Zzaj
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