late night jam, no peanut butter!

Do you see it? Something just a little different?
Take a closer look at the drum kit... I'll wait...
Look just below that top rise...
.
.
.

That's right! That luscious purple tambourine!!!
I must admit, I never saw anyone actually use it, but it gave my spirits rise just to know it was there!
This was the set-up for The Late Night Jam, featuring all of the non-brass instruments to be put into play for the revolving cast of musicians over the next two hours+.
This was my first sold-out show to usher at the Morris Center, but it turned out to be just fine! Like the musicians on stage, the audience members tended to rotate in and out, so the house was only truly full for about thirty minutes, during the last hour of the performance.
Whew!
The gig began with trumpeter Sean Jones holding court, accompanied by three students on piano, bass, and drums. Wycliffe Gordon, fabulous trombone man, joined him for the first song or two.
(Side Note: (Get that pun? hahaha!) They both have the same birthday! Sean is 35 and the other is 47, but May 29th is their special day. Mine, too!!!)
Soon, folks began rotating off and on the stage. Marcus Roberts, a renowned pianist, took a turn on the bass - wow! The bassist for his trio, Rodney Jordan, also had his turn later. Jason Marsalis played not only the drums - in his usual energetic, young man style - but also the vibraphone, joined by three students. What a treat for them and for us!
At some point, Dave Stryker was up there with his guitar. It may have been while Rodney was on the bass, as it was on Tuesday. I think that's right...but, maybe it was while Jason was on the drums?
The Warren Vaché Quintet appeared in toto, joined by three students on brass: saxophone, clarinet, and trumpet. That young man on the trumpet was even getting up on his toes to reach those notes, putting his entire body to work! What a joy to watch!
As he did at yesterday's noon30, Warren introduced the two songs, which was nice. The one I heard was "The Very Thought Of You", the 1934 love song, timelessly enchanting (as Rod Stewart shows us, here).
The only other song I recognized was "Autumn Leaves" - so very beautiful! (For a listen to a classic voice, here's the Nat King Cole video.)
I wish I could say who was onstage, but the it got to be a blur after a while! I'm not sure, but there may even have been some folks from other groups, like Adonis Puentes' Latin Orchestra. Not everyone was introduced as they entered or exited or soloed. If Sean was there to emcee, names were given, but his presence was not continuous. I would have liked to have been reminded of the name of the blind jazz pianist up there. I had heard him at a noon30, once upon a time, and still enjoy his style.
Okay... yAWn... it's late and my feet are beat from so much dancing!
To bed I go, 'til the morrow!