New Stories at the Musicquarium

Marc Seales never ceases to amaze me - I've been listening to him for almost 15 years, and I've never heard him play more inspired than last night with New Stories and Brent Jensen at the Triple Door's Musicquarium. The billing listed them as playing music from their new album featuring the music of pianist Elmo Hope - an unsung hero in the jazz canon -- but instead, with Marc playing keyboards, the tunes were slightly revamped from the album versions and mixed with some band-member originals. Of particular notice were two of Marc's tunes, Long March and Number Two. I know that Long March has been recorded, but I think the other has yet to make it on CD -- when it does, find it!

Last summer I told Paul de Barros that this was the best new venue in town period, and in many respects I still think so. The Musicquarium, while it can be a little Hollywood, tends to present great jazz on Monday nights, and a variety of other offerings during the week from salsa to hip-hop. If you haven't been down -- and remember, the Musicquarium is the small, outer bar at the Triple Door, not the main room -- it's definitely worth the effort of going downtown on a Monday. I'll be going next Monday to see Rick Mandyck's new band, American Voyage, so if you see me at the bar, be sure to say hello.