Jamjazz Journey - The Slip Slide Into San Diego

report filed 3/17/01, 7:21 am PST - Another week, another good news/bad news situation here at Anytime/Anywhere Studios. Can't blame the camera this time though. Bottom line: apparently under the spell of the Piper Of Dreams, I wound up falling asleep after dinner last Monday and missed the Big Wu show. That's obviously the bad news. The good news is that I managed to keep myself awake for the Slip's show a few nights later. And I'm glad I did.

Good crowd on hand for the Thursday night show. Focused too. Because it's located within easy listening distance from Newport Avenue, Ocean Beach's main drag, Winstons usually gets a pretty good 'walk up' crowd - people who may not necessarily know which band is playing, but decide to pay admission if they hear something they like. No doubt there were plenty of those folks at the show, but I got the impression that most of the people in the house had come specifically for the Slip.

The Slip are at the top of the jamjazz heap for a reason. Actually, for several reasons. Let's start with chops. All three Slipsters, brothers Brad (guitar) and Andrew Barr (drums), as well as bassist Marc Friedman, are fluid, technically advanced musicians, able to play what they feel without losing a thing in the translation. Not just individually, but collectively. Catch the Slip live you'll agree: these guys have serious chemistry.

And as a trio, the Slip's music has more open spaces than the typical 'wall of sound' jamjazz combo. No stage full of musicians or horn section here. Just a guitar, bass and drums engaged in lean and edgy musical conversation.

Mixing material from their current CD, Does, on Flying Frog Records, as well as a variety of new and old material, the Slip did not disappoint. Neither did the crowd. Although more of an intellectual experience than the typical funked up, R&B fusion common on the jamjazz scene, the Slip's sophisticated, acid-bop wavelength quickly worked its magic. Lots of smilin' faces on the wigglin' bodies and bobbin' heads throughout the room. And that's the way it was all night long...

Meanwhile back at the word factory... we're proud to post a CD review by Bryan Rodgers. A talented writer with an ear for high grade audio content, Rogers offers up his take on They Missed the Perfume, the new CD from the Disco Biscuits. Also posted Test Of Time - Like an old friend you haven’t seen in years, listening to music from the past effortlessly triggers memories long forgotten, our most recent Jambands.com column for your reading pleasure, as well as a link to Jam Bands @ About a pretty neat online resource for jamfans, including original articles, games/contests, news, forums, links and show/album reviews.

Seems like the last couple of times we mentioned upcoming shows, things didn't go smoothly - either the shots didn't come out, or I never made it out. So rather than jinx what's on the docket for our hardworking production crew, how 'bout we keep the whole thing a secret until next time, when our adventure in music journalism continues...