Tampa Calling

A few Fridays ago, I had the pleasure of seeing the Ghetto Love Sugar reunion. The band — a local experimental jazz jam outfit that enjoyed its heydey several years ago and played their last show in ‘03 — re-banded for a single show when drummer/percussionist Jon Priest returned to town for a weekend of performing. Priest (now a resident of Boone, N.C.) sat in in with pretty much every band he helped shape over the course of his many years that Friday night: Middle Rhythm Session, GLS, the funk-jazz foursome Infinite Groove Orchestra, and reggae masters Rocksteady@8.

That night, Priest told me he was going to play “until I can’t play no more.” And he did. The GLS set was, IMO, one of the most spirited parts of the night, though IGO pretty much KILLED it. (If you haven’t seen IGO perform, sans Priest, they play Yeoman’s Road Pub every first Friday of the month.) Anyway, I’ve been meaning to post some video from that night that a local music lover sent me, but just didn’t get the chance until today. Here’s two, parts one and four, the latter featuring GLS playing a smokin’ cover of The Beatles’ “Within You, Without You” from the May 8 show. Read the rest of this entry »

Talk about a homecoming.

Drummer Jonathan Priest visits Tampa bay this weekend, but it’s not just to drop in on Pop and catch up with pals at The Hub. He has three gigs on Friday night and one on Saturday — all of them, thankfully, under the same roof at Yeoman’s Road Pub on Davis Islands.

The big night is Friday (starting at 9 p.m.), when he mans the kit with three bands he helped found or establish in the Bay area: the ska/reggae ensemble Rocksteady@8; Infinite Groove Orchestra, a space-funk jazz outfit; and the marquee event, the reunion of Ghetto Love Sugar, a jam-jazz quartet that burned brightly for less than two years in the early 2000s. Bassist Philip Booth, keyboardist/EFX guy Raulton Reichel and guitarist Joel Lisi round out the unit.

It should be a freewheeling night with lots of movable parts, as the musicians in each of the bands are friends and collaborators. Expect robust jamming. For the capper on Saturday, Priest will join in on the CD Release Party for singer/songwriter Dan Kincaid’s The Walk Within.

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