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KEARNEY, GRAMS & BRONSDON (KGB TRIO) TO GO Jazz took the blues sideways and came up with a whole genre called swing. When big bands went bust and small-group jazz's abstractions and solemnities alienated the masses, pop music took swing down a side road that came to be called cabaret or cocktail music. All the above came back with the young generation of the 1990s and this permutation - everything from lounge-lizard slime to hot big-band derived dance music - got named the Swing Revival. That's what these three cats are about. The KGB Trio embodies everything rock 'n' roll rebelled against in 1954: swing, sophistication, smooth jazzy grooves, unison and harmony trio vocals, both standard and jive material, and an absolute refusal to take themselves seriously except in their obvious craftsmanship. Now, the Swing Revival may already be old-hat, but that it was revived at all demonstrated the eternal musical values to which KGB adheres, falling somewhere between the ultra-polish of the original Nat Cole Trio and the raucous proto-rock of Louis Jordan, whose popularity Charlie Parker detested. (cont.) The infamous Randy Lopez recorded this 15-song-set a year ago this month at the plush 4th Avenue venue, er, Plush. The perhaps even more infamous Craig Schumacher mastered it at his Wavelab studio eight months later. I just came across one of a limited run of CDs as the last DBB was being printed. As this history attests, pianist-singer Brenden Kearney, bassist-singer Steve "Ubiquitous" Grams and drummer-singer Kyle Bronsdon weren't even serious about getting this live CD out. So you're probably going to have to see one of these cats or go to a gig - or hire 'em! - to latch onto this record. You might want this limited-run, home-made record if you've heard it, or are in an experimental mood. You will want this record if you've seen them because they and it are delightful. Kyle Bronsdon, he of the smooth time, subtle backbeats, sports jackets and interminable commercials, explains this odd situation: "You'll hear a virtual KGB show, with all the authenticity of forgotten lyrics, instrumental screw-ups and a million laughs. This recording captures KGB's 'last gig ever.' But if you listen to the blast the three of us have together, you'll know there can really be no end to the fun. Wherever the music takes us as individuals, I know the three of us will be playing for people like you for a long, long time to come…" The recording's sound is very high quality. In fact I'd expect no less from the people and places. However, it's still a homemade project in the sense that none of the songs are credited. I recognized some right away, as will you, and they show the influences KGB combines: a chestnut like This Can't Be Love, Louis Jordan's There Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens, Gimme That Wine of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross fame, and Nostalgia in Times Square, Kearney's nod to Charles Mingus, the pre-eminent 20th century jazz composer-bassist-bandleader. If these scribblings have piqued your interest, inquire further at Vitalegacy, 1225 E. Alta Vista, Tucson AZ 85719 or www.vitalegacy.com. If you aren't interested, perhaps these gentlemen (What!? Who came in?) have already made themselves as loveably insufferable as intended. -- Stuart Faxon |