David Ely sits in with The International Hustlers

David Ely sits in with The International Hustlers.

On September 12th, 2015 the International Hustlers performed three sets at The Kraken Cardiff.  In the band was Chris Lougeay – guitar, Chris Duvall – bass, Chris Hampton – alto sax, Ty Kieran – percussion, Hugo Suarez – keys, and Jake Najor – Drums.  San Diego drummer David Ely also stopped by to check out the funky grooves and drink a cold beer in the popular beach bar.  Jake Najor took a break on the second set and allowed David to come on stage a play a few tunes with The International Hustlers.  David requested to play something fast, and Chris pulled out something special.  Without any rehearsal the band played through a very fast blues.  Then the soloists all took a turn improvising over the changes.

The tempo was burning the entire nine minutes and David did not let off the gas pedal.  Towards the end of the jam, the band ‘traded fours’. This is when the soloists each improvise for four measures each, interspersed with four measures of drum solo. Again, David even while crafting creative fills on the drums, David never missed a beat.   For more information on David and his music, visit http://davidelymusic.com.

Special thanks and shout outs to Beth L. at The Kraken for bringing The International Hustlers to the stage.  Also thanks to Don ‘Riggs’ Rigopoulis for engineering the gig and making us sound larger than life.   Look for The Hustlers to return the Kraken in early January 2016.

The International Hustlers perform live music at The Kraken Cardiff.

The International Hustlers perform live music at The Kraken Cardiff.

The International Hustlers are one of San Diego’s best jazz bands.  Where ever there is good live music chances are The Hustlers can be found from time to time.  They play the crossover jazz tunes of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.  At that point, the boogaloo and go-go dancer fad was booming and many ‘legit’ jazz musicians capitalized on the craze. Saxophonists like Rusty Bryant, Stanley Turrentine, and Lou Donaldson had many hits, as well as the powerhouse Hammond B3 organ players such as Jimmy Smith, Richard Groove Holmes, and Jimmy McGriff.  No discussion of boogaloo jazz would be complete without the great guitars of Grant Green and Boogaloo Joe Jones.

Copyright © 2015. C. Lougeay


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