Feed Your Soul's Need for Swing with Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band
By Matt Silver
Gordon Goodwin (on keys) leads the Big Phat Band in Lviv, Ukraine. Photo courtesy Gordon Goodwin.
Attention Jazz 88ers, especially Jazz Live Ticket Holders:
A friendly reminder that this Tuesday night, Oct. 10, KSDS’s Jazz Live: Best of the West concert series welcomes Gordon Goodwin and the Big Phat Band to the stage at City College’s Saville Theatre. The band hits—and we’ll be broadcasting live-to-air—promptly at 7:30 p.m., so arrive with some time to spare, indulge in some delicious treats from our friends at Blackmarket Bakery, find your seats, and strap in for an unforgettable show.
Gordon’s bringing his entire catalog of Grammy-winning big band charts and all 18 pieces of the Phat Band. All those bandstands and gleaming brass instruments on stage at our intimate concert hall will be a sight — and will produce a sound — to behold. So if you're thinking of doing something else or simply having a quiet night in, consider this: When's the last time you were truly awestruck? Intoxicated by that rare and potent cocktail of power and soul? If you can't remember, and you're among the lucky couple hundred to have tickets, make sure you don’t miss this opportunity to reawaken the part of your soul yearning to swing! Liberty, in case you've forgotten, is the soul's right to breathe! So, if you can't trust me, trust Good Will Hunting: Tomorrow night will be a truly special installment of Jazz Live!
Of course, they’re all special, but this one’s doubly special because in addition to being the most accomplished and decorated bandleader in today’s big hand landscape, Gordon Goodwin is also part of our KSDS family; he hosts “Phat Tracks” every Saturday afternoon from 1-3 p.m. As listeners know from his show, Gordon’s musical appetites are omnivorous, informed by the classic, swinging big bands led by Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Buddy Rich and Thad Jones & Mel Lewis, but also by the jazz-rock fusion bands of the '70s like Earth, Wind and Fire, Tower of Power, Blood, Sweat and Tears, and Chick Corea’s Return to Forever.... And also by classical composers like Bach and Bartok, Cage and Schoenberg.... And also by the pop icons he’s collaborated with. The names are too numerous to list exhaustively but they include everyone from Ray Charles and Johnny Mathis and Mel Torme to Christina Aguilera and Toni Braxton.
Gordon brings this entire universe of musicality to bear every time he and the Big Phat Band take the stage. We’re so lucky to have him here this Tuesday, and, of course, doubly lucky to call him one of our own. Tickets are sold out. If you’re a ticket holder, a performance of this scope and magnitude is likely what caused you to buy the tickets in the first place, so don’t miss it! If you’re without a ticket, remember that we’re broadcasting the show live! You can tune-in to Jazz 88.3 FM San Diego, or stream the show at Jazz88.org or via the KSDS app!
